36 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, 37 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. 38 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. 39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Previously we saw an old man, Simeon, who was waiting for the coming of the Lord. Now, we see an older woman, Anna, who was also waiting for the coming of the Lord. Anna was known for coming to the temple night and day to worship and fast. What an example.
We look at the prophets and prophetesses in the scriptures with awe and wonder. What we can take from Anna is an understanding of what was important to God in our lives. She was devoted to the Lord as was Simeon. The common ground for both was prayer. Simeon saw the baby Jesus, took Him into his arms, and prayed a blessing to God about the child. Anna saw the child and began speaking of Him to everyone who was waiting for the Lord to come.
These faithful worshippers of God not only followed when they saw the Lord being brought into the temple; but, they were faithful throughout their lives. Anna was faithful to follow the Lord with the lot in life that she was given. She was young, married, and then her husband died. Through this we are not told of her struggles and trials from that experience. What we are told about Anna is her devotion and dedication to the Lord in her life, period. We cannot take a situation in life and assume that the Lord has abandoned us. Anna came to the conclusion, just as Job did in Job 1:21, “… The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
If we want to serve the Lord let us take the example of Anna and pray to the Lord with our words. Let’s also bring praise and worship to the Lord with fasting. Fasting is not something that we do in a begrudging manor. Fasting is something we do as a devotion to the Lord through denying ourselves for a period of time. Life is more than food. So many days we set our days around food. Our needs and desires the Lord will take care of as He sees fit. When we come to know Christ we are deny ourselves, Colossians 1:1-4. Fasting is a physical example of our spiritual submission to the Lord.
As Mary and Joseph leave Jerusalem to return to their town of Nazareth, we have seen three things that are not emphasized within some, if not most, churches today: Blessings, Prayer, and Fasting. We tend to get into our routine of life and put the Lord on the backburner. The first things to go are the things listed above. Lord help us to return to You. You have not changed, You are constant, we are wavering. Praise God for who You are and what You have done for us.
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