The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold: Zechariah
Note: This week we will contemplate the journeys of the people who play key roles in the events leading up to the birth of Christ.
Luke 1:5–23
In 1990, Garth Brooks had a hit country song called “Unanswered Prayers.” If you’re not familiar with it, Brooks sings about running into an old high-school girlfriend while attending a football game with his wife. He remembers how desperately he wanted to be with that girl and how he prayed for God to make it happen. It was all he wanted at the time. But God didn’t give him what he asked for, and looking back, he was grateful. Had that prayer been answered the way he hoped, he might never have married his wife. The chorus says, “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers… Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”
I understand what he means, but I also remember my dad’s comment about that song: “There’s no such thing as unanswered prayers. Sometimes the answer is just no.” (He was a theologian and didn’t know it.)
Most of us have something we longed for, maybe even prayed for earnestly, that never happened. Some of those things seem small in hindsight; others feel deeply significant. I’ve had both kinds. I prayed. I waited. And eventually, I became quietly resigned to the idea that certain things simply weren’t for me. That kind of waiting can feel heavy. Maybe you’ve been there, or maybe you’re there right now. You are simply wondering if God hears you at all, lowering your expectations until you don’t expect much from God anymore.
Today’s Scripture takes us into that kind of disappointment. Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were righteous, faithful people who longed for a child. And yet, despite all their prayers, they remained childless. By the time we meet Zechariah in Luke 1, he seems to have let go of that dream. He is simply continuing his priestly work, being faithful and steady, but also resigned to never realizing his dream of fatherhood.
But on this particular day, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. As Zechariah offers incense in the sanctuary, the angel Gabriel appears with a message almost too good to believe:
“…your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.”
—Luke 1:13b (NRSVUE)
It’s easy to empathize with Zechariah’s skepticism. It sounded impossible given all the years of disappointment and their advanced age. But Gabriel affirms that this message comes from God and that it will happen. Zechariah’s doubt leaves him unable to speak until the day John is born, and when his voice finally returns, it bursts into praise.
I don’t know the struggles you’re carrying. I don’t know the deepest longing of your heart or the disappointments you’ve endured. But Zechariah’s story reminds us of this: God can step into our waiting and longing at any moment. This isn’t about false optimism or pretending every desire will be fulfilled. It’s simply a reminder that God hears prayer—even when God’s timing and God’s ways don’t make sense to us.
We may never fully understand why some things happen when they do or why others never come to be. But we can trust that God is still listening, still working, and still faithful in ways we may only recognize later.
Rev. Dana Ezell
