One such example is recorded in Luke 2:36-38 where we
see the summary of the life of Anna. She
had been married at a young age and had become a widow after only 7 years of
marriage. We may wonder why Anna’s life
was recorded for us in Scripture? God is
showing us the tremendous, life changing ministry that Anna was able to have
even after she had endured the heartache of losing her husband. She was not a famous public speaker or travel the world with a Christian ministry. She
simply committed herself to fasting and prayer out of her love, devotion and
commitment to God. God used Anna in a
mighty way to impact the world as a prayer warrior during her earthly
lifetime. Anna is also an example to us
today, to show us that anyone CAN be used GREATLY by our God to make a
difference in our world for the kingdom of God. We don’t have
to be public speakers or talented teachers to be used in an amazing way by God, BUT each one of us
can pray which one of the greatest ministries we can ever have in impacting others lives.
Just in case you were wondering, Anna was not a young lady
who had lots of energy to devote to serving God. When we see this example of Anna she was 84
years old. A lot of people might be worn
out by that point in life and maybe feel as if their best years of ministry to
the Lord were behind them. Not Anna, she
faithfully and quietly carried out a world-impacting ministry which hastened
the coming of Jesus Christ. God greatly
blessed Anna for her faithfulness by allowing her to see baby Jesus in the temple
with her very own eyes! That was an
AMAZING reward!
Anna’s prayer ministry was faithful. Luke 2:37 says that “She did not depart
from the temple…”. Her prayer
ministry was focused on serving God. The
greatest way we can serve the Lord is to have a ministry of prayer. Anna’s prayers were frequent as she “served
night and day…” and were fervent through “fasting and prayers.” This special lady is our example to not let
the tragedies and trials we experience in our life to make us bitter and give
up on serving the Lord. We need to let
God use those heartaches we experience to turn our hearts toward serving Him
like Anna did. No matter what season of
life we each may be experiencing by being single, raising a young family, the
empty nest years or when we are in our golden years like Anna, we can ALWAYS
serve God and others by having faithful, focused, frequent, and a fervent
ministry of prayer.
Can you think of those godly saints in your life like Anna
whose prayers directly impacted situations and outcomes for you? I definitely can! My grandma was like a mother to me. She not only led me to the Lord, discipled me
by teaching me many Biblical truths BUT she was also a godly example of to me
in her prayer life. My grandma prayed
for me several times every day while I was growing up and throughout my teenage
years for God’s protection over me and guidance in making the right
choices. I would often stay with my
grandparents on Saturday nights and then go to church with them on Sunday.
I began to notice how tired my grandmother
was every Sunday morning and when I asked her why she was so exhausted, she explained
how the H.S. had prompted her to pray for me while I was out with my friends
the night before. My grandma earnestly
prayed for me to go to Bible College, marry a godly man and commit my life to
serving God. Without her example and
influence, I honestly do not know where I would be!
My grandmother not only prayed for her three children who
all ended up serving the Lord in the ministry, she fervently prayed for her 10
grandchildren and their spouses every day, naming each of her great grandkids
by name. When one of our children
rebelled against God about 6 months before she went to heaven, she prayed all
day for them to come back to the Lord.
She encouraged me to keep praying and have faith that the Lord would
bring our wayward child back in fellowship with Him. 
After my grandma’s funeral, all of our extended family went
back to clean out her house. The first
place I went was to her recliner rocking chair in her living room where her
Bible and devotional books sat next to our child’s 8 x 10 photo where she cried
out to God on his behalf several times a day. I sobbed as I remembered her godly example and
I will NEVER forget her prayer ministry in my life. My grandmother’s prayers have radically impacted
me and it’s the GREATEST legacy and wealth that I could have EVER inherited
from her.
What about us? Will we ever be a godly example to others
through our prayer lives? For this
amazing ministry to take place we must first make sure that God will even hear our
prayers. Psalm 66:18 says, “If
I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Harboring unconfessed and unrepented sin
in our hearts is grievous to our Father and blocks our prayers to Him. We must regularly humbly bow at God’s throne
and clean our hearts out from our filthy sin if we expect Him to accomplish the
impossible through our prayers. For
years I was blinded to the fact that my prayers were being hindered by my sin. When I prayed, I never felt like God was
actually hearing me and my prayers were not getting answered. As soon as I finally humbled myself and
confessed all of the sin I was holding onto, It was absolutely AMAZING how God
began answering my prayers to the most seemingly impossible situations.
Are we willing to follow the examples of godly prayer
warriors like Anna that have had amazing prayer ministries which led to them to
be used greatly by God? We can be
instruments in God’s hands to make an impact on our world now, our church, our
families, our marriages and on future generations to come if we are simply
willing to serve the Lord by having a ministry of prayer. Are you known as a faithful prayer warrior
who goes to God in prayer for everything, even in the little things? As you closely examine your prayer life, do
you see your requests being answered? If not then you may have some heart cleansing
to do. May each of us follow the godly
example those True warriors have left behind.
We also need to recognize the value of leaving a godly heritage of
prayer to future generations that will follow us into eternity.
