This worship profile of Anna is from the Praise and Worship Study Bible published by Tyndale House Publishers. It is a great study Bible for all who want to learn more about biblical praise and worship. Let's see what we can learn from Anna's worship:
Anna
Waiting seemed to be a life calling for Anna, an eighty-four-year-old woman in the Temple who greeted Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. Everything we know about her can be summarized in a few words: She was a widow and lived as a prophet in the Temple. As Luke tells us, the Temple became her home, and she stayed there day and night, worshiping God continually in anticipation of the Messiah. In today's society, where everything is instant and time is considered money, many lessons can be learned from Anna's patience in worship.
Anna the Worshiper
Anna recognized that waiting meant preparing for God's leading. She disciplined herself to put all else aside to listen to his voice.
For Anna, waiting was not simply marking time. It was a period of joyful expectation as she watched for the fulfillment of God's promise.
Learning from Anna
Waiting should not be confused with laziness, inactivity, or purposelessness. It involves trusting God and surrendering our life to him. When we learn to wait, we learn to rely on God's faithfulness instead of our own ability.
We should pray for patience and learn to recognize and respect this quiet gift in others. Anna waited faithfully for her people's Redeemer, and God rewarded her patience by allowing her to see the Messiah with her own eyes.
Following the Example
The Bible admonishes us in more than fifty places to wait on the Lord. One way to do this is to regularly seek out a quiet, solitary place, removed from the hectic concerns of daily life, where we can read God's Word and pray. This time of meditation can helf us focus our thoughts on God and find our security in him. Practice setting aside a time each day to be alone in God's presence. This simple exercise will help you learn to wait on the Lord, as Anna did long ago.