Your Dreams Matter

Luke 1:13 "The angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son; you will name him John".

Zacharias is doing his priestly duties in the temple when the angel Gabriel appears to him and tells him that his prayers are getting answered and Elizabeth will have a son.  I find it interesting because with his response it was obvious that he was not currently praying for that but was perhaps a prayer he had prayed for many years but due to delay had let that dream die. The angel comes and speaks directly to something dormant in his heart.  Here he was faithfully doing his service, a man who feared God and kept his commandments but had not seen his own heart's desire until now and what a plan, this son would be used to herald in the coming of the Lord.  

Zacharias gave the wrong response which was full of unbelief and could not see how God would be able to answer that prayer as the natural circumstances said otherwise.  The angel had to shut him up so he would not abort his own promise.  

Isaiah 55:11 says "So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth, it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

God shows up on the scene and is ready to perform his plan and has to shut down Zacharias so his unbelief won't get in the way so God can perform what he needs to do.  

I can understand Zacharias probably had hope deferred in that situation and his heart was sick.  Here he is faithful to pray for others and perform his service day after day but has never seen his own prayer answered.  

God has not forgotten the desires resident in our hearts and at the right time, he will fulfill every promise spoken to us individually and corporately.  The Bible tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick.  My prayer is for God to awaken anything in you lying dormant, any dream that you have set aside because of delay. May God awaken your heart once again to believe him to fulfill every promise made to you. Your part is only to believe. WE ARE THE BELIEVER, GOD IS THE PERFORMER!