Christian Reflection and Prayer

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Read Luke 1:13

TEXT: "Do not be afraid Zechariah, for your prayer has
been heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son."
(Luke 1:13)


A few days ago I heard a Christmas song I hadn't heard
since I was a teenager. It reminded me of something I
had long ago forgotten-how desperately I wanted to be
married at that age. For more than 20 years I kept
praying for a wife, but that prayer went unanswered.
There were times I was convinced I would be single all
my life. Then I finished seminary and went to my first
call in Missouri. Within a month I was dating the woman
who would become my wife.

For decades Zechariah had prayed for a child. But when
no child came he eventually gave up-but not God. On
the very first day Zechariah prayed God marked that
prayer in His memory. Decades later God vividly
remembers every detail of that prayer, including the
urgency Zechariah felt when he first poured out his plea
to God. Now as the clouds of incense rise from the altar
to symbolize God's acceptance of His people's prayers,
the angel brings Zechariah the answer to the prayer he
had long ago forgotten.

Have you been raising heartfelt prayers to God for years
and years, only to find things get worse-finances,
employment, health, family strains? Does it seem God
is against you-that He just doesn't care? We learn the
truth in this angel visit. The first moment we offer a prayer
in faith to God, He in His great wisdom and care chooses
the best way to answer that prayer as well as the best
time to answer it. Sometimes, like Zechariah, we just
have to wait until God's time is right, and He has made
everything fall into place.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, fill me with confidence that You mark all
my prayers, and will answer them out of Your Fatherly love
for Jesus' sake. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Read Luke 1:8-10

TEXT: "He was chosen by lot to enter the temple
of the Lord and burn incense." (Luke 1:9)

Do you have Christmas memories that are so
strong you can close your eyes and see, hear,
feel and smell them? For me one of those vivid
memories is singing "Silent Night" by candle light
in church on Christmas Eve. I can still smell the
hot wax, feel the warmth on my face, see the
flicker of the candle's flame, and hear the voices
blending together in beautiful harmony.

That's how clear Mary's memories were. She
remembers Herod was king of Judea at the time.
She can even name from which of the 24 divisions
of priests Zechariah belonged. Each of these
divisions worked two weeks out of the year at the
Jerusalem temple. Each afternoon the priests cast
lots to see who would enter the temple alone to
burn incense.

Mary recalls the day the lot fell to Zechariah. It may
have looked like luck or chance to us, but Zechariah
knew better. God was inviting him into His presence.
As Zechariah smelled the clouds of sweet, fragrant
incense rising to heaven, he knew God was pleased
with the prayers His people were offering to Him.
These were prayers which rose from hearts that
believed His ancient promise to send their Savior.

At Christmas we are often invited to other people's
houses. Sometimes we get the tremendous honor of
a special invitation. But God extends a much higher
invitation to us. Like Zechariah we can enter His
presence in His house. And not just once in a lifetime
can we do this, but every week. At the same time
He promises to make His home in us. What a great
privilege and honor to sit in God's presence and learn
about His saving love.

Prayer: Lord what a tremendous honor You give when
You invite us into Your house. Thank You for coming
to us and making Your home with us. In Jesus' name.
Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Scripture:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” -
Matt. 1:22-23

My wife and I have only seriously lost track of our
daughter once. We were walking through a crowded
tourist town and the streets were lined with shops.
It was evening and the crowds were dense. Suddenly,
I noticed that neither my wife nor I had our
eight-year-old daughter by the hand. We spun around,
unable to spot her. With candy stores beckoning
children indoors, and winding side streets all around,
she could be anywhere.

A few minutes of running around, and somehow I
spotted her, a far way down a side street. The look on
her face was unforgettable: “Where were you?” she
asked, but her eyes said, Thank God, you are with me
now. I am never going to leave your side again.

“With us.” There is hardly a more central promise that
God has ever made to human beings. The alternative is
just too horrifying to imagine. If God has abandoned us,
and that is why so many bad things happen in life, then
what does that say about God? What does it say about
our destiny? If God oscillates in and out of our lives,
willing to be with us only as long as we don’t get too
obnoxious, coming and going like a father who grows lax
in his responsibility—where does that leave us? If God
cannot be with us, then we would have to conclude that
we will never reap the benefits of divine presence, and that
words like grace, mercy, love, and truth have no meaning.

Jesus was born, but he was also sent, and Immanuel was
one of his names. Immanu-el: “with us [is] God.” “God with
us.” His body among us, his message from the heavens.
He turned life upside down with the divine truths he
presented. But he also left people with the sense that they
had never been closer to God than when they were with him.

We don’t need to stay lost. God is not indifferent to our
condition. And he came to us in the most radical way, by
taking our flesh, our humanity, on himself.

Prayer for Today:

Dear Lord, I need to know you are with us. Help me, this
Christmas, to know, more than I have ever known before,
that you have come and that we can always live in the
conscious enjoyment of your presence.

(Biblegateway.com, Mel Lawrenz)