The Prayers of Christmas: Mary's Prayer Life
Christmas Prayers • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
For the next three Wednesday evenings, we will look at [The Prayers of Christmas]. Tonight, we will focus on [Mary’s Prayer Life].
Christmas is my favorite time of the year. We already have our decorations up and ready to go. We’ve been discussing Christmas plans for a few months now.
I can’t overestimate just how much I love Christmas. But I have noticed in our culture, people celebrate Christmas, but it has almost become a secular holiday.
People get excited about the decorations, the gifts, the charity, the time with family, and all of the “holiday” parties.
Even in the church, I know we realize that it was incredible that Jesus came down to earth to save us from our sins. But in churches around the nation there are people ONLY make it to the house of the Lord on Christmas and Easter.
It gets to the point where most can retell the story pretty easy and it can become more historic than a living testimony of what God did and what He can do through people who pray and trust Him.
Thousands of children will put on costumes, dress up like shepherds, wise men, Mary, Joseph, and some unsuspecting baby will either be baby Jesus or they will pick a realistic looking baby doll.
While all of these people were present, everything they did was built on a foundation of prayer and expectancy that God would help them.
As they prayed, God supernaturally answered through miracles, signs, wonders, and supernatural events.
A life of prayer invites God’s supernatural activity.
Nothing was more supernatural than the conception of Christ. God visited a young girl with a promise that would not only change her life, but would change the world.
Like many other places in Scripture, the word prayer is not specifically mentioned. However, God visits those who pray. He answers those who pray. He meets those who pray.
If we want God to speak to us and come to us, we must pray. Mary was a part of the remnant who prayed!
Let’s look at three results of her prayers, [An Angelic Visitation], [An Awesome Vision], and [An Anointed Victory].
Let’s begin
1. An Angelic Visitation
1. An Angelic Visitation
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Luke shares what happened to Mary. Her relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant. That was supernatural in itself, because she was barren and advanced in age.
Six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God send the angel Gabriel to Mary with important news.
But first, what are angels and what do they do?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
God sends angels on assignment to help His people.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
Obviously Mary feared and respected the Lord, which is why God sent the angel Gabriel to speak to her and instruct her.
One word caught my attention with what Gabriel said— Favor. Two times he told her she was highly favored and that she found favor with God.
Something in her life caught God’s attention, and she was favored by the Lord.
Again, the word prayer is not mentioned, but the effects of prayer are obvious. At this time in Israel’s history, many people have slipped into religion, void of a relationship with God.
While they could not have a relationship with God in the same nature that we do, they did pray, fast, worship, and study the Law and prophets.
Was a part of the remnant of Israel who still called on God and looked for Him to fulfill His promises.
Who would like to receive favor from God?
The word favor in the original language means, a winning quality or attractiveness that invites a favorable reaction, graciousness, attractiveness, charm, winsomeness
Our prayers attract God and bring His favor.
She recieved favor from God! Her prayer life also brought...
2. An Awesome Vision
2. An Awesome Vision
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
She found out she was favored by God, but what was she favored to do?
Gabriel presented a vision for her future that would change everything. She found out that she would have a son and name Him Jesus.
Before Gabriel finished that alone was an amazing vision for her life. In those days, having a child was a sign of God’s favor and blessings.
Having a son was even better. By having a son, she knew that when her husband died, she would always have someone to take care of her.
Surely these thoughts entered her mind, but they were only partly true.
Yes, having a son would be a sign of God’s favor, and truly this Son would take care of her the rest of her life, but not in the ways she thought.
Gabriel promised that the baby would be named Jesus, which means God saves. Also, he will sit on the throne of David and will reign over God’s people forever.
This was an amazing promise for a young girl. In her mind, Gabriel was promising that her baby will become the next King of Israel!
God was laying out His vision for the future. He had a promise of a son that would save Israel.
We know what that word SAVE means, but she had no way of knowing that God would use her Son to save the world of sins. Surely she thought He would save from their earthly enemies.
But God’s plans were higher than she could ever imagine.
We need to pray for God’s vision for our lives and trust that He can see what we cannot.
When we engage in a lifestyle of prayer, we can have angelic visitations and live in God’s awesome vision!
3. An Anointed Victory
3. An Anointed Victory
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary shows that when we enter into a time of God’s favor and get to live in His vision, there will be times when we need victory.
For Mary, the problem was glaringly obvious- she was still a virgin, how could she have a child?
This was a big problem, but Gabriel had an astounding promise, one of my favorite passages concerning the birth of Christ:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you
The power of the Most High will overshadow you!
When the Holy Spirit comes, anything is possible.
How do we know this to be true?
Gabriel explains what has happened to Elizabeth, which was humanly impossible.
Then he promises, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
How do we know Mary was a woman of prayer and faith?
When she heard the word of the Lord, she did not doubt, she declared, may everything you have said come true.
From that point forward, Mary walked in a the realm of God’s supernatural power. Imagine if she hadn’t have trusted God in her prayer life?
Thankfully she did, and she got to experience anointed victory over and over:
God gave victory when Herod wanted to kill her Son
God gave victory when the wise men brought gifts
God gave victory when she encouraged Jesus to turn the water into wine
God gave victory when her Son rose from the dead
God gave victory when she waited in the Upper Room for the Holy Spirit to come.
She lived a life of anointed victory.
Close:
God does so much when we pray.
I know we are about to enter the Christmas season, but
We cannot afford to stop praying consistently because of the busyness of the holidays.
When we pray, God will give His favor. The favor of God is excellent, but it is not without Satan’s attacks.
Mary had the honor of being the mother of God’s only son, but she also endured the pain of ridicule and watching her Son’s rejection and death.
But she held on and enjoyed the blessings of His resurrection, the empowerment of the Spirit, and hope of heaven.
Even though she faced difficulties, she continued to pray and trust God.
Prayer will also help our lives align with God’s vision for our lives!
I think the greatest gift we can give our families it to walk in the vision God has for our lives!
Then, when we are secure in His vision, we will experience anointed victory after victory!
Who wants a visitation from God?
Who wants to walk in His vision?
Who wants or needs a victory?
Let’s pray!