Characters at the Cradle: Anna, A Life of Abiding

by David Chadwick

This week we are looking at Anna, a beautiful figure in the early days of Jesus’s life.

At 84 years old, this woman shows us a real-life example of what happens when someone abides in Christ.

Jesus says in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” There is no replacement for a life that has been marked by the Spirit, is full of the Spirit, and is producing the fruit of the Spirit.

As we saw yesterday, Anna regularly worshiped, fasted, and prayed in the temple, even at the age of 84! She was a prophetess who sought God’s wisdom for Israel’s future.

Don’t you think that Anna must have seen baby Jesus while worshiping, fasting, and praying in the temple day and night? At that moment, she just knew, deep within her soul, that he was the Messiah, the one for whom she and many others longed, prayed, and hoped.

How do we know that she saw him? Because Luke 1:38 says, “And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God…” All her years of waiting were now realized, and all of her prophecies about the coming of the Messiah were now satisfied.

At that very moment when her eyes saw Jesus, her prayers were answered. She saw the one who would redeem Israel and the world. You and me.

When your prayers are answered, what else can you do except give thanks? That is what Anna did. It is also what we should do whenever God finally gives us our breakthrough. We should also train ourselves to praise God BEFORE the breakthrough occurs, believing we’ve received, knowing God’s promises are true, and claiming them before we actually see them.

I want to challenge each of you as you read about the life of Anna. Do you have a life that would recognize Jesus if he were standing right in front of you? Anna knew it was Jesus because she KNEW Jesus. Too often, people learn about Jesus through other people but don’t actually encounter him personally.

An abiding life is marked by worship, prayer, and fasting. It prioritizes King Jesus and wants to see glimpses of his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.