5 Stages of Knowing God: Devotion

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:45-46

There is a realm in God where we seek not what He has for us, but what we can do for Him. In order to access this realm, we must have come into absolute submission to God, as we discussed yesterday. It is a place where Jesus becomes more important to us than anything else in the world.

Thinking about this kind of devotion to God, one woman comes to mind: her name is Anna. “There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after their marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36-38 NIV)

Anna must have been married somewhere around the age of 18-20, or at most 22, as was customary in those days. Let’s take the best-case scenario of 22. She lived with her husband for seven years, by which time she would be 29. She became widowed without children at 29. That was still a good age to remarry, if you ask me.

Instead, she never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. What was she praying for? The consolation of Israel; the coming of a Messiah that would redeem her people from their worst enemy – sin. At the time of Christ’s arrival, Anna was eighty-four years old, meaning she had been interceding for fifty-five years. That is a very long time, indeed.

In Anna’s day, a woman was largely defined by marriage and fruitfulness. It was a great honour to be married and be in a husband’s house. I can only imagine how much pressure she must have faced from friends and family who probably thought she had taken her faith too far. I can imagine side comments like, “Even the rabbis are married and blessed with beautiful families. Why do you want to just waste your life over this religious fanaticism?” Yet, for 55 years, she stood her ground.

Anna could have spent just one year of the 55 years of fasting and prayer focusing her prayers on securing a dream husband and settling down again. However, the truth is that she had been apprehended into a higher calling. She no longer cared about what God would do for her, but what she could do for her Lord. While Anna could care so little about marriage in the face of God’s mission, others are quitting God’s mission because He has taken too long to send them a husband or wife. The difference lies in devotion.

PRAYER