“And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” — Luke 2:36-38
Anna is mentioned in only three verses of the Bible, yet what great lessons we can learn from her. For the next few weeks we’ll consider just a few.
We hear about the 400 years of silence—the years between Malachi and John the Baptist, during which there was no prophetic voice to the nation of Israel. Yet here is Anna, called a prophetess. What can we make of that? She may not have been either a speaking prophet like Elijah or Elisha, or a writing prophet like Isaiah, Ezekiel or Jeremiah, but in some way she was considered a prophetess nonetheless.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a public ministry or are cloaked in obscurity, if you are a man or woman of God, one who walks closely with Him, hears and heeds His voice, you too may be considered a sort of prophet or prophetess. You may be the only one listening to and following what God says to you, or your sphere of influence may be no larger than your immediate family, but if you hear from God and speak out for God, your calling is no less important than was Anna’s.
More next week...