Of all the colorful characters in the Bible it might be easy to overlook Anna the Prophetess. Sure, there’re some famous women in the Word, but Anna? Some have never even heard of her.
Maybe like Anna, you can relate to being overlooked. My prayer is that you will find hope in these words penned today by our #ShiningLikeStars guest writer, Jamie Lapeyrolerie.
When You Feel “Lesser,” Remember Anna the Prophetess
By Jamie Lapeyrolerie
Some of my favorite stories in the Bible are the ones that share the ways Jesus interacted with women. Even many of the stories of women from the Old Testament inspire and move me. What I see is women leading, serving, being deeply loved by Jesus. It’s beautiful.
Some of the biggest inspirations over my life and faith come from the Bible. Of course there are the big names, like Esther, Ruth and Mary, but I love how God weaves in so many other stories of women. Lesser known women who may have one or two sentences in scripture, but still have an incredible story to tell.
One such woman? Anna the Prophetess of the New Testament. This was what we know of Anna from scripture from Luke 2:36-38 (NIV):
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 her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped 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.
She gets two verses in the entire Bible. Just two. At first glance that may not seem like much and that there might not be much to learn from Anna.
Yet.
Isn’t that just like Jesus? What we might see as insignificant is far more than we can imagine. So Anna. She got married as many young women back then did. Only seven years later, her husband died. That in itself is terrible, but in a culture where women depended on men in many ways, I can only imagine the extra grief that was set before Anna.
Yet.
She chose joy and serving the Lord. For 84 years! Fasting, worshipping, praying. Just think about that. I sometimes fall asleep after 3 minutes of prayer. But Anna was committed and because of this, Anna is the New Testament’s only named female prophet.
I would say Anna was content with her life. She had dedicated her life in service to the Lord and never gave up on that mission. I really believe she could have gone on to glory and that would have been more than enough for Anna. But the Lord wasn’t finished with her. Because then, Baby Jesus was born.
What she thought was another day of praying, fasting and worshipping at the Temple, was much more. Instead, Anna the Prophetess was gifted with perfect timing of seeing Jesus and witnessing Simeon bless baby Jesus.
What an incredible gift! What was Anna’s response? Telling any and all about Jesus and the redemption of Jerusalem.
So yes, I would say there’s a few things to learn from Anna the Prophetess and her two verses.
Life doesn’t always turn out how we expect.
But we can cling to the hope that God still reigns, He has a plan and His timing is perfect.
Tweet ThisWhen we trust Him, He blesses us more than we can imagine.
And in ways we couldn’t dare to imagine. But, as Aslan once said, do not dare not to dare, friends.
When we draw close to the Lord, He draws near to us.
May I never lose sight of this!
I hope you were encouraged by Anna’s story as I was!
How about you?
In what ways has life turned out to be a bit different than expected?
How has God shown Himself faithful through those times? Join the conversation below and let’s encourage one another.
Meet Jamie
Jamie Lapeyrolerie is a writer, traveler, and works in publishing. She is passionate about books and story and how they change people’s lives. She might have a slight obsession with J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, loves exploring Colorado, her cat Max, enjoys wandering through bookstores, and sports. She agrees with C.S. Lewis in that “you can never get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
You can find her writing about all things bookish and travel adventures at www.musingsofjamie.com. She also runs the Literary Rebel Etsy Shop.
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Wonder why the two olive trees of Revelation 11 have a female definite article in the Greek? Could these two be women prophets? Discovered some years ago. Lord Jesus, help us.
Thanks for writing this! Reflecting on Anna’s story is humbling and encouraging.
Anna always strikes me as one tough lady! 🙂 Even though she only has two verses, her example is powerful. Love this: “Life doesn’t always turn out how we expect. But we can cling to the hope that God still reigns, He has a plan and His timing is perfect.” Amen.
She sure is, Lisa. I wanna be like Anna when I grow up. 🙂
I love how Jamie used Anna’s life to speak hope into us. Life might not go as planned but God always has a plan!
Blessings to you.
Love this!! It is something so very powerful when breaking this story down, in how she gave her all to God. A very beautiful picture that you have painted for us today, Jamie! God is the God of the great and mighty and He absolutely let’s us be a part of great and mighty things when we fully surrender to Him!
I love reading about women in the Bible, Anna’s story is a good one and imagine holding baby Jesus.