Have you ever felt like David as he prays in Psalm 28? Like God couldn’t hear you?

To you, O LORD, I call;
      my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
     I become like those who go down to the pit.
Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
     when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
     toward your most holy sanctuary. (Psalm 28:1-2)

Luke begins his gospel with a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, a devout couple advanced in years, but they had no child. For decades their prayers for a child had been answered with silence. Until now. A son is coming!

It also begins with a multitude of people praying outside the temple where Zechariah has the once-in-a-lifetime honor of entering the temple and offering incense, a symbol of the prayers of God’s people ascending to Him. Prayers like Psalm 74, which cries out:

We do not see our signs;
     there is no longer any prophet,
     and there is none among us who knows how long.
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
     Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? (Psalm 74:9-11)

For four centuries, the faithful among God’s people had prayed for a child, the Promised One who would reclaim David’s throne and establish it forever, and these had also been answered with silence. Until now. A Son is coming, and their son would prepare His way.

This opening story is a beautiful reminder of God’s faithfulness to his people, his attention to our prayers, and how He will answer them all in His timing and in His way. He is not deaf. His silence will not be forever.

Jackson Randall will be preaching Luke 1:5-25 this Sunday and Kenny Clark will be leading our sung worship. Please pray for each as they prepare. And let’s pray for one another for faith in our waiting to keep praying and entrusting ourselves to our good and wise and sovereign God.

See you Sunday, Grace. Come hungry!

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Song Link of the Week

The Dark Before the Dawn by Andrew Peterson