Anna

Anna – a woman of great influence on both natural and supernatural worlds, staying in the temple, praying and fasting, waiting and rewarded for loyalty and faithfulness as she beheld the fulfillment of the promise of the Redeemer (Luke 2:36-38)

As a woman who knew marriage for just 7 years before being widowed, she should have borne the shame and rejection of women like her, but instead, God elevated her and rewarded her faithfulness to Him by giving her the gift of prophecy and power of intercession. She was in the temple, interceding for all those afflicted and in need of the revelation of the redemption of God, and with every ceremony she was present, but silent in her prayers and supplication offered up for every man, woman, and child laid on her heart while waiting years for the promised Redeemer.

She was continually in the presence of God and what great light must have shone from her face and what peace would have surrounded her as she traversed daily life in the temple, touching lives in more than just a physical way as she rejected no one, but did what was needed for everyone she encountered, whether in the physical or the spirit.

When Joseph and Mary arrived with Jesus at the temple, she and Simeon were led by divine knowledge to the Child and the moment Anna saw Him, she knew that He was the Messiah and unlike Simeon who prophesied over the Child, she gave thanks to God and immediately started spreading the gospel about Jesus to everyone that was near her.

So many of us find ourselves in the same predicament as Anna – alone and so easily feeling rejected by man, but she learned at an early age that with God you need not be conformed to what the world sees as acceptable to be useful. In her example, she never left the temple but prayed night and day and to us this seems impossible because of the challenges of our daily lives until we remember that unlike her, we are now the temples of the Holy Spirit, and every prayer, short and powerful or long and conversational, goes up like incense before the throne of God, reaching His ears and touching His heart.

Just like Anna, we all have what the world so likes to call intuition, but in fact are words of knowledge when we ‘see’ something before it happens, when we instinctively know what the outcome of a situation will be and we simply know what and how to pray to bring the supernatural to bear on the natural.

Precious sister, do not let your circumstances define who you are in Christ, for every one of us was born for a time such as this. Through you, circumstances will change, hearts will be touched and souls will be saved. The secret to living lives of influence and power is in subjecting ourselves to our Creator, bringing all that we need before Him, and being totally convinced that He will bring about the fulfillment of His promises, whether immediate or whether it takes some time. What a privilege we have to not need to be in the temple building anymore, but to carry the glory of God within us and be given the gift of being aware of His presence wherever we go. May you become intensely aware of the power of God within you, the light of His glory that has risen on you, and the peace that pervades your being and changes the atmosphere where you are.

Written by Anna-Mart for Women of the Word

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