Luke 2:36-38 (ESV) And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Who is Anna
Anna is a woman thrice worthy of honor. First, she is unique among women in Scripture. She is one of five women to be identified with the title prophetess (not all of them noble, see Neh. 6:14). While only mentioned once, this title makes here a bit of a who’s who, being named among the ranks of Mariam and Deborah. Second, she is “advanced in years.” Luke found her age worthy of mention and honor as age and wisdom often are tied together (Pro. 16:31). Third, she was devoted to the Lord. “She did not depart from the temple” is likely hyperbolic language but is indicative of the depth of her devotion to the Lord. Her discipline before the Lord epitomizes the actions of a godly widow worthy of honor. “She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives” (1 Tim. 5:5-6).
What is Prayer
From this text, we learn that prayer is a vital aspect of worship. Anna worshipped “with fasting and prayer night and day.” As the Baptist Second London Confession stated, “Prayer with thanksgiving is an element of natural worship” (22:3). We know from the testimony of Scripture that one does not have to fast to pray. However, if you are fasting before the Lord, you ought to be praying. In other words, you can pray without fasting, but you can’t fast without praying. So why tell us that she was fasting? Luke could have shown that Anna was a pious woman without telling us she was fasting. Additionally, Paul did not include fasting in his admonition to widows in 1 Timothy. Luke’s inclusion of Anna’s fasting indicates to us the type of seriousness Anna gave to her daily prayers.
How to Apply the Text
We should remember that the text is describing the piety of a Jewish widow “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” and not prescribing a pattern of life for all believers in various kinds of circumstances. But don’t miss what it describes for us. First, notice her status. She was a widow. Thus, not every person should quit their job, go to church daily, and devote themself entirely to prayer and fasting. Actually, most people shouldn’t. Recall Paul’s instruction to the widows in 1 Timothy. Remember it was widows, like Anna, that he encourages to take up this way of life. Second, notice her ministry. Her life was taken up with service to God at the temple through prayer and fasting. As R. C. Sproul points out in his commentary on Luke, A Walk with God, we often think that significant “service involves preaching, or teaching, or reaching out to the poor, the hungry or the imprisoned, all of which, of course, are forms of service and dedication to God. But this singular devotion of prayer and fasting can also be a ministry” (40). Anna likely engaged in other forms of service and worship to God but Luke wanted his readers to note her service to God in prayer and fasting—we should not discount the significance of this service in our own lives. As Corrie Ten Boom asked so appropriately, “is prayer your steering wheel, or your spare tire?” Is prayer your first effort or your last resort? Third, don’t miss Anna’s implied satisfaction in the Lord. She did not get remarried even though she was widowed in the prime of her life. Anna could have thrown herself into self-indulgent pursuits, instead, she pursues service to God. If she had pursued her own self-indulgent pleasures, no doubt this would have led to her own spiritual death and temporal discontentment (1 Tim. 5:6). Anna’s satisfaction in life was enriched by her service to God in prayer. Many people complain of distance and discontentment in their relationship with God. They say that God feels distant or cold, but do those same people pray? Do they pray both night and day? Do they seek God for satisfaction and contentment? Do you? If you lost your spouse in the prime of your life and felt God’s leading to surrender the rest of your life to serving God through prayer and fasting, would you? Would the pursuit of God be enough? For Anna, Luke wants us to know, the pursuit of God was enough.
Komentáře