And he will go on before the Lord,
in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous -
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:17 NIV)
This is the word about John the Baptist, prior to his birth. The angel speaks these words to John's father, Zechariah.
This must have been an amazing experience for Zechariah (who was a priest), for at least three reasons:
1. An angel shows up and gives you a message. Not an everday-sort-of-event, right?
("your prayer has been heard" he says to the elderly priest.)
2. A great future promised for your child.
("he will be a delight and joy to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth". What parent or grandparent wouldn't want to hear that about their offspring? Have you asked God if He would be willing to use your children in this way?)
3. And this one is kind of important...John had not been BORN YET!
Zechariah and his wife were well along in years, similar to Abraham and Sara. They had NO kids. We'll talk more about this one later.
But think about #2 for a minute.
What does God want to say about your child or children? For those of you who are parents or grandparents, you may know the child it is that is on your mind. What great promises and blessed futures does the Heavenly Father have in store for them?
May we take time to ask, seek, and knock on their behalf.
But for those of you who don't have children or grandchildren...
...this may seem to be a devotional that has NOTHING to do with you. Not so fast, my friend.
Zechariah thought the same thing. And God had something else in store.
Maybe it is a niece or nephew. Maybe it is a child at church who needs an adult to really show an interest in them. Maybe it is a neighbor who could use a "prayer warrior" interceding on their behalf.
May you ask, seek, and knock to find out how it is God wants to bless you and who it is God wants to bless through you.
Grace & peace
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I use a prayer calendar to pray for my grandchildren. The prayer for today is that they will be peace-loving...that they'll "make every effort to do what leads to peace." (Romans 14:19) Yesterday's prayer was that they will be generous, and tomorrow's is for joy. I pray that their lives will be shaped in these wonderful ways.
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