Luke 1:5-15 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For He will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb”.

“Are you still waiting on a prayer request to be fulfilled?”

Reading this story about Zacharias and Elizabeth encourages and gives me hope that God keeps His promises and He will answer my prayers in His own way and in His time. I’ve been praying for almost 12 years now for the Lord to bless me with a godly husband. I thought for sure that this request would have been fulfilled, but it’s not God’s timing yet. I’ve often questioned God and asked, “What are you waiting on?”, “What’s taking so long?”, “Is my husband not ready?”, “Am I not ready?”, “Are you really going to bless me with a husband?”, “Did I hear you correctly?”, etc. To say the least, I’ve struggled with the belief of His promise to me. It seems as though it may not be fulfilled. But after reading the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth, my faith has been renewed in the Lord. They prayed for a child, but God wanted to do something bigger than just give them a child. He wanted to give them a child with purpose. The scripture says, “He will be great in the sight of the Lord, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, and in verse 16, he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God”. And that child they were praying for is none other than John the Baptist.

What I believe the Lord is saying to me, “Mae Lee, I don’t want to just give you a godly husband, I want to pour out an abundant blessing in your life and give you My very best, a God-fearing man who has been instilled with My purpose and vision for his life, someone who loves Me more than he loves you, someone who is completely surrendered to Me, a godly husband who will cherish you, love you as I love the church, and someone who will be faithful to you”. This is what the Lord desires for me as His daughter and He will be faithful to bring this promise to pass in His own way and in His time. His timing is always perfect and the Lord is not slack concerning His promise.

2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Ladies, my prayer is that each of you will be encouraged and your faith will be renewed too as you read the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth in Luke 1. Whatever you are praying for and although your requests may still be unanswered, believe that God is working behind the scenes and His plan may be to bless you in a much bigger and greater way than you can ever imagine. It may be what you least expect, but you have the assurance of knowing that He’s Sovereign, He’s Good and He always gives the Best Gifts! Keep trusting and believing in God. He will not disappoint you!

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways”, says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.