Anna in the Bible

I have a speaking engagement at my church next week and the topic is Anna.

Luke 2:36-38
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

After her husband's death, she lived in the temple until she was 84!
Yes, decades upon decades she was waiting to see Jesus.

What touched me most was the Bible says she prayed and fasted both day and night.  All the while living in the temple...never leaving the temple.

Not getting married again, not seeking out a part time job to give her some extra spending money, not worrying about people knowing her, but only faithful to who created her...God.

In today's world, people rank fame over kindness, and even in the Christian world, there are people striving to be the next Billy Graham, the next Beth Moore, the next famous singer who loves the Lord.

But Anna did nothing of the sort.  She was only worried about one thing...waiting for Jesus.  Praying and fasting, serving the Lord in the temple, to be called out in the Bible as one who was faithful.





 It is hard to imagine living a life so devoted to God. Every day was focused on HIm.  In my life of car pools and casseroles, I am sad to say that I more often squeeze God in rather than have my schedule surround my Lord.  The kids are asleep, I can read for a few minutes.  My meeting is cancelled, I can pray for a few moments.  


But Anna lived a life completely for Him.  No matter what she as doing at the tample, it was serving Him.  Some days she might have been cleaning.  Maybe not messy diapers, but messy floors. Maybe she was baking bread for the priests.  Not bake and take cookies, but the attitude can be the same.  Am I doing it for the Lord and for the purpose of glorifying him?







God was Anna's first priority. She didn't just "know" He was first in her life, she "showed" it by her actions. Once again, I am humbled as I think about her walk with God.

Romans 12:11
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Scripture also tells us that Anna recognized who Christ was when she first laid eyes on Him. She knew who He was. Even though He was a tiny infant, she knew He was the Savior she had been waiting for. She had finally seen the Promised Child. 

The Bible says that she "spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." We don't know the exact words that she said, but the Bible does tell us that she was a prophetess, so the words she spoke would have been true about Jesus and His life. I wonder what her exact words were, and did the people she spoke to believe her?........

I'm sure then just like now, some people would have thought she was just a crazy old lady, but some would have recognized the truths she spoke and held on to her every word.

The devotional posed a question for us to think about regarding prophesy and our own lives.
"If an Anna were to have spoken (prophesied)about you when you were six weeks old, what would she have said?"

That question has given me a lot to think about.
As far as I've come in my walk with God, I've got so much farther to go.

I want to pray for my own life to mirror Anna's. I don't mean living at the church and skipping lunch for the rest of my life, but I do mean a life that puts God first.
A life devoted to Him.
A life that honors Him above all.
A heart completely surrendered to God.

Jeremiah 7:23
Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.