Several years ago, my son told me about an elderly woman in his church. She prayed whenever there was a meeting or small group within his church. It wasn’t just occasionally; it was each and every time. I can only imagine the comfort that brought to the pastors. When we know that someone is praying, it helps us to walk more boldly in the Lord. The church had a great loss when she passed away. In many ways, things have never been the same.
We read in Luke 2:36-38 about the same kind of woman. “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
Len Woods in his book, 31 Women of the Bible, describes her this way, Anna, whose name means “grace,” aged gracefully. Given her sad history, she might have turned bitter. She might have become self-absorbed. But she rejected a life of self-pity and embraced a life of service. She would faithfully steward her prophetic gift. She would expend
Anna, whose name means “grace,” aged gracefully. Given her sad history, she might have turned bitter. She might have become self-absorbed. But she rejected a life of self-pity and embraced a life of service. She would faithfully steward her prophetic gift. She would expend
gift. She would expend her energy and use her breath to pray. Rather than giving up, she would keep showing up and looking up. All those days, all those decades, she waited, wondered, and watched. p. 96
Anna joined Simeon in praise when Jesus was brought to the temple. Can you imagine being in the presence of th infant king? We don’t know much about Anna other than she did not leave the temple. She remained in prayer. Most likely, she would have instructed other women.
Anna was in the temple continuously. Some think that she may have had lodgings in the court of the temple. When there was work to be done, Anna was there ready to serve her Lord. Do we grumble when things need to be done at church? Do we give of our time willingly to the Lord? How willing are you to serve the Lord in ways maybe you haven’t before? Is God leadidng you to do something different? Something more?
What can we learn from Anna? Pray, pray, and pray. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray without ceasing.” It was a lesson Anna knew well. We need to help our younger ones grow in their faith. We need to learn from our senior believers while we help our younger believers. Anna was ready to do what needed to be done. She prayed, but she was at the ready to do other things as well.
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Image from https://freebibleimages.org/illustrations/dm-simeon-anna/