Eternity 14 - Praying For A Spiritual Legacy

(Luke 1:13-17 NKJV) But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. {14 } "And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. {15 } "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. {16 } "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. {17 } "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Zacharias was a godly man who wanted a child for his barren wife Elizabeth. In his heart he wanted more than just a son - Zacharias wanted someone to carry on God's work - for Zacharias was a priest and his son would also be a priest. He wanted a successor in the ministry - a spiritual legacy in the future. God even sent an angel to tell him "your prayer is heard!". John the Baptist, the great revival preacher, was an answer to prayer of this godly couple.
Many other great preachers and missionaries have had praying parents and been "answers to prayer" - the Wesleys had praying mother in Suzannah Wesley for instance. Parents who want children that will truly serve God and give the family a spiritual legacy and an inheritance are often heard by God! In Malachi it says of God: "(Malachi 2:15 NKJV) ....He seeks godly offspring." God "seeks godly offspring" so He answers the prayers of parents who are earnestly seeking that they may build a godly family.
But there is a wider application here. God wants us to have continuity. He wants the good works of our hands to be established and confirmed and to be influencing the generations to come - for hundreds of years into the future. My wife and I married late in life and cannot have children - does that mean we cannot carry a godly name into the future? By no means! God can cause us to "give birth" to a ministry or a book or an idea that will last for hundreds of years. We may be getting older but we can still 'give birth" to great things in God! And so can you!
What do we need to do to have an angel tell us that God has heard our prayers and we will father a revival? Firstly we have to have a singular desire to God, a burning single clear luminous desire to give birth to something great in God. Not just a mere wish or a vague notion or an "I sort-of hope-so". Zacharias had his moment with God, in the holy of holies and he knew what he wanted and he evidently asked for it. If you had just one minute in which you could ask God for anything -do you know for certain what you would ask? Is it that clear that you would just blurt out " a spiritual legacy - a child!'. then our desire must be one that God can honor. One that is as simple as a child or as deep as a revival. John Knox used to pray "Give me Scotland or I die!". he got his revival.
In ourselves we are "barren" and cannot leave an effective spiritual legacy. The future is God's and the only way we can influence the generations to come is by the grace of God in answer to believing prayer. Some time today get pen and paper and ask god to show you what sort of spiritual legacy He wants you to leave, then write it down and pray for it , every day, until you know that the angel has come and your prayer has been answered and your "John the Baptist" is on his way.


Blessings,

John Edmiston