…And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. – Lk. 1:60-61 KJV
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Zechariah, a priest of the Lord was on his priestly duties when the angel of the Lord appeared to him with the news that a long term desire had eventually been granted by the Lord. He was going to be a father at last – Lk. 1:13-15. Like any human being who had given up hope would react, he expressed shock, surprise and doubt and the last part of his reaction did not go down well with the angel who instantly declared that he will be deaf and dumb until the prophecy was fulfilled – Lk. 1:18-20.
Elizabeth, his wife did become pregnant (Lk. 1:24) and after nine months gave birth to a son – Lk. 1:57. The state of the father made it impossible for him to play his role on a very significant day of his life and family members had to deputise for him, deciding to name his son after him which is Zechariah – Lk. 1:59. Elizabeth reacted immediately asking that he be named John to which family members equally reacted in the two verses that formed the foundation text of today – Lk. 1:60-61. The situation was eventually cleared by Zechariah himself who after asking for writing materials confirmed by writing that the name of his son was John.
The following prayer points immediately pop out from this events;
1. May another person not play your role on your day of joy. For something that he had been long expecting, it is sad that he was alive but yet not able to have the full pleasure of the experience. His health state limited his involvement to a mere participant instead of being the celebrant. He received pity instead of congratulations on his special day. May that not be your portion in Jesus name. Amen.
2. May all the actions taken at a time that you could not defend yourself and which today is creating huge challenge for your life be corrected in the name of Jesus. But for the quick intervention of Elizabeth and her insistence on the name given by the angel, John’s name would have been Zechariah. Whereas Zechariah means, “God has remembered”, John means “God is gracious”. With the obvious effect of name on the life of the bearer, there is no doubt that there will be a huge difference between a life that God forgets only to later remember and a life filled with grace of God through and through. The entire destiny of John would have been changed from what it was supposed to be – Lk. 1:13-17.
3. May God help correct whatever wrong, the intention to stick with tradition has introduced into your life. Several negatives have been introduced into many lives especially at those times that the individual was not in control and which today have constituted a huge hindrance to comfortable living. Many oaths and vows have been made on behalf of individuals that are today the source of the problem in such lives. The people that gathered at the naming of John implied that traditionally, no one had received grace expressly in that family as they have all lived a life of being forgotten only to be later remembered. John was not going to be the one that will change that trend but to God be the glory, a quick intervention from the mother saved his destiny and that of the entire family. May all that tradition has left in your life be removed today in the name of Jesus – Amen. It should not be about tradition but about the Will of God for your life. That will be your portion in Jesus name. Amen.
Aside from the above prayer points, the need for proper communication especially on very sensitive issues is further emphasised in the fact that, but for Zechariah letting Elizabeth know about his conversation with the angel, something he did not share with others, his wife will not have been able to do the needful when he was incapacitated -Lk. 1:21-23. There could just be where your problem started from. Christians need to understand that they need trusted people around them because they may not always be in a position to do things by themselves. No matter how strong you may be, you will need to take care of a time that you will not be able to do that important thing that you have always done. It may be today or may be in the future. Your challenge today may be due to your not having a confidant to mirror your actions, and so, most things you need to do or should have done, to get you out of that situation have been left undone.
You cannot live a life of distrust and loneliness and expect progress or victorious life. We all need someone that we can trust to get us out of those challenging situations of our life. Do not wait until the problem comes, prepare for it now. If you are already a victim of it, it is yet not too late as you can begin to build those bridges of trust today asking God to direct you on whom to place your trust in. Yes! you trust God but you also need Him to show you someone to trust in that situation, as He will mostly intervene in it through such a persons. For Zechariah, it was his wife. Let God show you who to trust for that situation that you are in or that you may be in the future so that it will not drown you. May God help you to identify and build your circle of trusted people in Jesus name. Amen
