ANNA


A. "AND THERE WAS ONE ANNA, A PROPHETESS, THE DAUGHTER OF PHANUEL, OF THE TRIBE OF ASER; SHE WAS OF GREAT AGE, AND LIVED WITH AN HUSBAND SEVEN YEARS FROM HER VIRGINITY; AND SHE WAS A WIDOW OF ABOUT FOURSCORE AND FOUR YEARS, WHICH DEPARTED NOT FROM THE TEMPLE WITH FASTING AND PRAYERS NIGHT AND DAY" - LUKE 2:36-38
  1. It emphasizes personal piety:
    1. The temple and its services was her environment all the days of her widowhood
    2. Also, she devoted her life to fasting and prayer
  2. What a pattern for true godliness:
    1. The worship in the house of the Lord her continuous environment - Ps. 23:6
    2. Fasting and prayer the constant assignment - I Thes. 5:17
B. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BIBLE STORY OF ANNA, THE DAUGHTER OF PHANUEL, OF THE TRIBE OF ASER
  1. She was a prophetess:
    1. God's specially chosen messenger to convey light and truth to His people - Num. 12:1-6; Acts 2:14-17
    2. This shows conclusively that the gift of prophecy was never limited to sexes, that God used women as well as men as His prophets - Acts 2:17-18; Acts 21:8-9
    3. It is most significant that Anna a prophetess spent her life in the temple, and she spoke to the people that came to worship in the temple - verse 38
    4. Now, if the law had forbidden women to teach, how come that Anna did every day in the temple
  2. She practiced strong discipline over her body:
    1. Fasting implies refraining from food and that in turn means to resist the appetite like Daniel did - Dan. 9:3; 10:3
    2. That simply means that Anna exercised complete control over her body I Cor. 9:27
  3. She was, as far as I know, one of the oldest females that lived in Bible times - nearly 100 years old:
    1. This indicates further that fasting and prayer did not shorten the life span of this godly woman
    2. But rather, I believe it helped her to prolong her days
C. NOTE FIVE HIGH POINTS IN THE STORY OF THE LIFE OF ANNA
  1. She was a widow for eighty-four years - that is a long time to be alone:
    1. It meant that she had to make her way alone so many years; just what she did in the temple for her livelihood, we are not told
    2. But it is significant that making her own way through life, did not prevent her from being at the service in the temple - Matt. 6:33
  2. She was a prophetess:
    1. She communed with the members of the church and conveyed to them messages from the Lord - I Cor. 14:3
    2. This should explain Paul's statements about women speaking in the churches - he must have had reference to local conditions - compare Acts 2:17-18 with Phil. 4:1- 3; Rom. 16:1-4; Gal. 3:28-29
  3. Anna was, in a certain sense, the first Christian missionary:
    1. She spoke of the Messiah to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem - Luke 2:38
    2. This is most revealing; showing that there was a remnant among the Jews who looked for the Messiah to redeem Israel
  4. Anna's life was a life of prayer:
    1. That shows that godliness and prayer are inseparable - they are twins
    2. Because prayer is the breath of the soul it is utterly impossible to have fellowship with God without prayer
  5. Finally, Anna was a female saint:
    1. How fortunate is the church when its services are graced by praying saints
    2. Let there be more Annas among God's remnant people


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