There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having been married to her husband for seven years until his death. She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment, she came up to them and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. -Luke 2:36-38
Things I find fascinating about the prophetess Anna
- She prayed and worshipped night and day for 84 years and she didn’t have the gift of tongues to aid her!
- Anna didn’t have YouTube to stream UpperRoom worship sets. It was just Anna and her voice worshiping God!
- She was widowed at a very young age so she had 84 years of being single. When she found herself without a husband she decided to dedicate herself to worshiping the Lord. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, as a young widow in her early 20’s, Anna gave the next 84 years of her life to prayer, worship and fasting before the Lord!
- For 84 years Anna had a lifestyle of fasting. This absolutely blows my mind. Fasting was like eating to her, it was completely normal.
- Anna defines the meaning of the word consecration. There were many widows in her day but we don’t hear of them devoting their life to worshiping in the temple. There were no doubt people who esteemed her in her old age, but Anna sacrificed her life to the Lord when she was a young woman and remained faithful. For much of her life people probably looked at her as being rather unfortunate to be so young, widowed, and never remarried. There’s also a very good chance that Anna lived in poverty. But God rewarded her to be the second person mentioned in the bible (after the shepherds and a man named Simeon) to see and recognize Messiah after His birth!
- God blessed Anna with a long life. Generations came and went but Anna was still in the temple! She would have only been allowed to go into the Women’s Courtyard, but it was a crowded place filled with both men and women of that day. A constant stream of people passed by her for 84 years. She was undoubtedly thought little of during that time in comparison to the important religious leaders of the day, and yet, she ended up with her name in the Gospel of Luke, forever connected to the story of Jesus’ birth!
- Before there was such a thing as Apostles, or there were even any disciples in existence, Anna was evangelizing for the Messiah! The Bible says that after she saw Him in the temple courts she began speaking of Him to all the people. As far as I can tell, Anna is the first woman evangelist after His birth!
A man named Simeon was also in the temple courts the day Anna saw Jesus. Like Anna, Simeon was blessed by God to see the promise of Messiah come to pass. Simeon’s heart was so filled and satisfied by that encounter that his prayer afterwards was that he was ready to die and go home to be with the Lord.
I’m fascinated by the fact that unlike Simeon, Anna prayed nothing about being released to go home and be with the Lord. Instead, Anna started talking to people right away about the Messiah. You have to love that about Anna!
Anna was probably over 100 years old on the day that she saw Jesus as a baby in the temple. She wasn’t chosen of God for that epic moment because she had the beauty of youth or because of human attainment and status. She was singled out by God because of her devotion. She proved her consecration, love and dedication, by giving 84 years of her life in sacrifice to God.
Anna has forever proved that love for God and consecration to Him for His own sake is its own reward. There is nothing higher than pouring out our life to Him in sacrificial love. God highly esteemed Anna because Anna highly esteemed God.
My takeaway from the life of Anna
In an age where people are more concerned than ever with outward appearance we need to look deep into the life of Anna who exemplifies what it means to be seen in secret by God. The Father openly and highly rewarded her for a life that was lived in the secret place of prayer and worship.
Anna illustrates the beauty of consecration. She powerfully portrays the value of a life lived in pure and simple devotion to God. She shatters the spiritual constructs of our Modern Age, and reminds us that humility and simplicity are the foundation stones of God’s Kingdom
The enemy may come to accuse us by telling us that our lives amount to nothing, but the truth is there is never anything wasted before God. Every prayer, every song of worship, every act of devotion, every moment of sacrifice that we give Him, is seen by God and rewarded.