Zacharias and Elizabeth were husband and wife, and lived in the late 1st century B.C./early 1st century A.D., i.e., at the time of the birth and early life of Jesus. They were “both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6). But they were both old, apparently beyond the age of child bearing, and had had no children (v. 7). Good people, but a sad situation for them.
Zacharias was a priest, who, when it was his turn, served in the temple of the Lord. One day, while he was performing his service, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him, “your prayer is heard,” and his wife, Elizabeth, would bear a son (v. 13). That son was the son of prophecy (Isaiah 40; Malachi 4), John the Baptist, one of the greatest men who ever lived. Great joy for Zacharias and Elizabeth!
But my point in this essay is Gabriel’s words to Zacharias: “your prayer is heard.” How long do you think Zacharias and Elizbeth had been praying for a child? They were both old, so they had probably been praying for decades, and Elizabeth was “well advanced in years” (v. 18). It doesn’t say she was beyond the age of child-bearing, but that seems to be the meaning. It’s also possible that Zacharias and Elizabeth—if she were indeed beyond child-bearing age—had given up praying about it, just accepting the will of God for them to be childless.
But, their “prayer is head.” In God’s time, maybe even decades after that “prayer” was offered to Him, God finally answered it in the way Zacharias and Elizabeth desired. They would have a son.
God works in His own time, not ours. We often make prayers to God, for days, weeks, months, maybe even years, and there is no answer to them—at least not the answer we want. God does say “no” sometimes, in fact, often. He knows best what we need, and He isn’t going to give us something we ask for if it won’t be best for us. When I was a child, I asked my earthly father for lots of things he didn’t give me. I usually pouted about it, but he usually knew best. God always knows best.
One of the hardest lessons for humans to learn—and most never learn it—is that we are on this earth to serve God, we are not here for Him to serve us. God hears our prayers, and He answers them. Sometimes the answer is “no,” sometimes the answer is “yes,” sometimes the answer—as with Zacharias and Elizabeth—is “wait.” Wait until God is ready. That’s what trust in God is all about.
But don’t give up (Luke 18:1). God does hear prayer. But we need to hear Him, too, and obey His word. If we won’t listen to Him, we can hardly expect Him to listen to us.