JANUARY 4, Luke 1:18-25 

It is almost strange that after praying for a long time for a child, Zacharias did not have the faith to believe that his wife would be pregnant. That caused the angel to remind Zacharias who he was. That he was Gabriel. The words in verse 19 are powerful – “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God”! The name Gabriel means “strong man of God”.

Gabriel is not some low-ranking or ordinary angel – he is an archangel. What is an archangel? It is an angel of the highest rank. He is God’s direct messenger and we know that every time Gabriel appears, a great announcement would take place. In the New Testament, we read of Gabriel here, and soon we would read of the same angel appearing to Mary to tell her that she had been chosen to be the vessel through whom Jesus would be born.

When Gabriel saw that Zacharias was not convinced, he showed him a sign. It was a painful one for Zacharias, for the sign was such that he would be struck dumb from that moment until John was born. That would be at least 9 months long! That is a long time for anyone who can speak normally to not be able to. Imagine you not being able to talk for 9 waking hours. That is a long time, is it not; especially for those of you who like to talk! But Zacharias was struck dumb for at least 9 long months!

Dear child, do not doubt the Word of God. In today’s reading, we learn that Zacharias was struck dumb not because he did not believe the word of the angel Gabriel, but that he did not believe the power of God; that his wife would be pregnant. May we learn to have more faith in God from this incident!

Thought: Heavenly Father, increase my faith!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder to always have faith in You. In this world that encourages us to have faith in ourselves or only in things we can see or touch, I confess it is sometimes not easy to have faith in a God that I cannot see with my eyes. But Father, please teach me to be able to see with the eyes of faith, that I may continue to be a good Christian boy or girl. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.