Before Amen {At Advent}
An Advent study on prayer adapted from the book Before Amen by Max Lucado
Father,
You are good.
I need your help. Heal me and forgive me.
They need help.
Thank you.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 5: Thank you
“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, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at the very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” – Luke 2:36-38
Anna Prays:
Anna, a prophetess, one of five mentioned in the New Testament, is an example of true godliness. She worshipped and prayed at the temple night and day and never remarried after becoming a widow in what most likely was her early twenties.
Anna was of the tribe of Asher. She could trace her ancestors back to Asher, one of Jacob’s two sons by Leah’s servant Zilpah. By the time of Jesus, his tribe was counted among the 10 lost tribes of Israel. One of the two remaining was the tribe of Judah, which was the line of David and Jesus. It is interesting that Anna did not remarry in her youth and have children to carry on the line of Asher.
On the day of Jesus’ presentation for the redemption of the firstborn Son of Joseph and Mary at the Temple, Anna meets them in the courtyard of women with Simeon for the ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn son, Pidyon HaBen, the custom was for Jewish parents to offer a sum of money, 5 sheckles, as an acknowledgment of the salvation of firstborn Israelite sons in the Passover when Pharaoh let the Israelites go.
Exodus 13:13-16 says, “…Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come our sons asks you, ‘what does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’” So Jewish families paid redemption money to the coffers of the temple for the care of the priests if that child was not from the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron, the appointed tribe of Priests.
Luke’s passage tells us that “at that very hour,” or moment, “she began to give thanks to God.”
Saying thank you to God is our prayer, our worship, our offering.
Being grateful for the things and opportunities we have shifts our focus from all of all the things in our life that make us feel ungrateful, unloved, unworthy, unappreciated and lifts our eyes to the one who gives us all we need. Our Lord is all sufficient, our El Shaddai, giving all good gifts for our needs and our blessings.
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” – Matthew 7:11
In the middle of our suffering, if we can be thankful for even the simplest of things, we have hope, and a future.
Lucado says, that saying “Thanks. Just the word lifts the spirit. To say thanks is to celebrate a gift. Something. Anything. …To say thanks is to cross the tracks from the have-not to have-much, from the excluded to the recruited. Thanks proclaims, ‘I’m not disadvantaged, disabled, victimized, scandalized, forgotten, or ignored. I am Blessed.’ Gratitude is a dialysis of sorts. It flushes the self-pity out of our systems.”
It may be that the reason Anna could give thanks to God after her suffering was because she was grateful for something, anything. Her focus was on her gifts, the blessings from God. And we learn that she didn’t keep her blessings to herself.
Luke describes for us in this small passage that her days were full and she was surrounded by women who wanted to learn from her. He says, “[she began] to speak of him (Jesus) to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
There probably weren’t many, but there were some who believed in the prophecies from the old prophets that Jerusalem would be redeemed and would become God’s holy city. In Isaiah 52 we read about the promise of the redemption of Jerusalem.
1“Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; 3For thus says the LORD: ‘You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. 6’Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.’7How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ 8The voice of your watchmen – they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion. 9Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” (Isaiah 52: 1a,3, 6-10)
In Lucado’s book, Before Amen, he goes through each letter of the alphabet and lists things he’s thankful for. When he gets to O he writes that he is thankful for “Oh, as in ‘Oh, it is beautiful.’ ‘Oh, it’s a girl.’ ‘Oh, that tastes great.’” He says, “I’ve never said thanks for all the ohs. Which is a shame, for aren’t there so many?”
And that is where we meet Anna in our Christmas story.
She was doing what she always did. In the everyday, in the mundane routine, God gifted her an Oh!
The Son of God, the Savior Messiah, the redemption of Jerusalem came into the court, her court, her home that she never departed from. And she immediately thanked God.
It was unexpected, but because of her prayers and the time she spent with God, she recognized the greatest gift. She knew, deep in her heart, that that moment was what she had been waiting for.
For us, spending time with God in prayer and in His word can afford us with the same unexpected joy and wonder in our lives. Our words don’t have to be many, or fancy, they just have to be sincere. We can say thank you to God through a simple prayer:
Father, God you are so good – Thank you for your goodness God, you hear my prayers, my deepest longings and you meet me where I am. I seek you and you find me, even if I am in the deepest pit or on top of the highest peak, and you answer my prayers.
I need help – Thank you God for all you give me. For helping me to make tough decisions, for helping me to discern your will, and helping me to obey.
Heal me and forgive me – Thank you for healing me from the inside out and for forgiving me of things that I don’t deserve to be forgiven for.
They need help – Thank you Lord for opening my eyes to the needs of others. For showing me that my world is so much bigger than just myself. Help me be your light to other people. Use me to help them seek your salvation.
Thank you – Thank you for your gifts. For the precious moments and the moments that make me draw closer to you. Thank you for giving me Ohs that refocus my eyes back onto you.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen
“Thanksgiving is the gateway to life, joy, obedience, perspective, hope, victory, friendship with God, and more than we dream. Ingratitude is the fast track leading us to sin, rebellion, suspicion, loneliness, selfishness, and death. Choose life, open your eyes to God’s goodness, and say, “Thank you!”” – Max Lucado
Discussion:
How can a grateful heart and a commitment to express thankfulness for the little and big gifts of God fill our cup to overflowing?
When is it most difficult for you to say thank you to the people in your life?
When is it toughest to stop and say thank you to God?
Reflection:
Am I truly confident in the absolute and infinite authority of Jesus? If so, how can I walk in greater confidence as his child? If not, how will I ask Jesus to help me grow my confidence in his authority?
Action:
In Before Amen, Max lists things and people he is thankful for from A to Z. Take some time in the coming week to make your own list of things God has given, provided, or allowed you to experience. Try to list two or three things that start with each letter of the alphabet. Have fun with it. Then, when you have made your list, read it slowly, prayerfully – and thankfully!