A Thank You After The Benediction

A Thank You After The Benediction

Luke 2: 36-38, ESV

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.[f] She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Anna is:  

1. Part of a prophetic pair - yet stands in her own calling.  
2. Carries a prolific background, the daughter of Phanuel from the prosperous lost tribe of Asher, but forges her own identity.  
3. Subverts a precarious plight - she has spent most of her life as a widow - in the ancient North African world of Scripture, she is uncovered and by herself, and eligible to remarry, but for whatever reason does not.  
4. Engages a purposeful prayer discipline and conducts an unconventional life.    
5. Has no problem with protracted and powerful praise, because GOD provided evidence for the validity of her journey - A thank you after the Benediction!