3RD WEEK OF ADVENT

Your prayer has been heard.

American baseball player Yogi Berra once described back-to-back astounding plays as “déjà vu all over again.” Extraordinary, astonishing, and repeated—that sounds like today’s Gospel (Luke 1:5-25)!  At least three other times in Scripture, God promised a barren woman a son. Sarah, Manoah’s wife, and Hannah each saw that promise fulfilled, just as Elizabeth did (Genesis 18:10-14; Judges 13:2-7; 1 Samuel 1:1-20). It’s only natural to wonder why God did something so wonderful.

The simple answer is that God hears the prayers of his people. Every. Single. Prayer. He heard the longing in the hearts of Sarah, Manoah’s wife, and Elizabeth. He heard Hannah’s tearful pleas in the shrine at Shiloh, and he hears your prayers, spoken and unspoken. God is neither deaf nor indifferent. Let that be the starting point as you tell him what’s on your heart. Engrave it in your mind: When I pray, God hears.

Sometimes we ask, “Why is God taking so long to give me an answer?” But it’s more helpful to ask, “What does Scripture say about who God is, and how does that apply to my situation?” Today’s readings reveal that God cares about what is on your heart. He cared about Elizabeth’s longing for a child, and he cares about your longings. He was faithful to Elizabeth, and he is faithful to you. He always prepares the way for his works, even if that preparation takes years—or most of a lifetime, as it did with Elizabeth. Even if it takes until the day you see him face-to-face, he will answer you.

God is always faithful. He always hears you. He always cares. Make that your bedrock, your unshakable position of faith. When the prophet Habakkuk complained that God seemed neither to hear nor answer, the Lord replied that what he had planned would come to pass: “If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come” (2:3). Or as Yogi Berra once claimed about a hopeless-looking baseball season, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

“Father, help me to trust in your faithfulness and love.”

Luke 1:5-25
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25
Psalm 71:3-6, 16-17

WORD AMONG US