Anna’s Spiritual Beauty

In the Bible verses I want to show you today, we have a little cameo of a beautiful elderly woman named Anna. Her beauty was on the inside—a spiritual beauty that proved she was truly a beloved daughter of God. This is everything Scripture says about her specifically in just three verses.

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. 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 (ESV).

Anna’s Time

In God’s plan, Anna lived during a very special time in history, the time when Jesus the Christ had just been born, about 2000 years ago. She was elderly, about 84 years old, while Jesus was still a little baby. She probably had white hair, wrinkled skin, few teeth, and poor posture. She survived long enough to see the Savior come into the world from heaven which God had promised from the very beginning.

Now while there was no other time quite like that time, we all live during the days in history which God appoints for us. And if God blesses us with long life, it is because He has special plans for us and others around us that needed us to live longer than many other people do. Sometimes elderly people forget this and think there is no use for them any longer. That is not true. The very fact that God is preserving you shows He is carrying out His great plans in your case, whatever those plans might be. For Anna, her senior years let her see the baby Jesus and have this eternal tribute recorded about her in God’s Holy Word.

Anna’s Devotion to God

By the grace of God, Anna was very religious in a good way. She was a “prophetess,” which means a person who speaks to other people for God.

Sometimes the Lord spoke to Anna with special messages, and she, as the Lord’s faithful servant, passed these messages on to other people. It is a very exalted privilege to speak for God, a favor He generally bestows only on people He loves very much.

Now while we cannot expect that God would speak to us in the same way, yet He speaks to us by His Word, the Holy Bible. Did you know that the Bible, although written by human beings, is just as much God’s words as if God had spoken them from His own mouth? God’s own words in the Bible belong to us, and we can be “prophets” with a little “p” by learning what He says and passing the message along to others, just like I am doing for you today. This is one reason we should study the Bible.

Not only did Anna speak as a prophetess to people for God, she spoke to God for people as a holy woman of prayer. It says in this little Bible cameo of her that “she did not depart from the temple,” that special place in Jerusalem, and that she was “worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.” There were lots of things she could not do for God and for people. She could not be a priest offering up sacrifices on an altar, like some Jewish men could do. She could not bear children and raise them up to worship the true God, as some younger, married women could do. But she could give herself completely to praying that God would save and bless His chosen people, and that is what she did. She was so devoted to this, and her heart was so burdened, that sometimes she went a considerable time without even stopping to eat. That is what religious fasting is all about.

Sometimes elderly people feel that they are only a burden, and that there is nothing they can do to help people. As long as you can pray, you can accomplish a very important spiritual ministry. Little do people realize how much good in the world happens because some white-haired little old lady who loves God and knows His promises in the Bible was quietly, persistently making her prayer requests, and God finally answered her prayers. This is one way an older person can still be beautiful and useful.

Anna’s Faith in Christ

One day while Anna was praying at the Jerusalem Temple, Joseph and Mary came for a Jewish ritual 40 days after Jesus’ birth. This proved the most special day of her 84 years of earthly life! She had been waiting to see the Messiah which God had promised in the Scriptures for thousands of years, and now, in her lifetime, that Messiah-Savior had come into the world, and He was the baby Jesus. She recognized Him immediately because God gave her a supernatural ability to do this. And even though it would be 30 more years before He would begin preaching the gospel and working miracles, and finally die on the cross for sinners and emerge from the tomb as the resurrected Savior, she knew for sure that He was the one that God the Father had sent to save His chosen people. Therefore she did two things.

She began to give thanks to God for Jesus Christ, and she began to tell other people who were also praying that the Savior had finally come. I wonder if you believe in Christ like Anna did. Do you believe that He is the only hope of humanity’s salvation, and also your only hope to be accepted by God and have all your sins forgiven? It may be that God has kept you alive all these years so you could hear this very message and respond to it in faith. The Bible promises, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” And once you are a real believer and a sincere Christian, you are bound to do two things, which you should strive to do more and more. Give thanks to God for Jesus, and tell other people about Him.

No matter how old you are, God still has plans for you. He wants you to trust in His Son, to worship Him, and to tell others the good news of Jesus. You can be spiritually beautiful like Anna, if you will be truly devoted to God like she was, believe in Jesus like she did, and help other people in keeping with her great example. As your true friend and the Lord’s faithful messenger, I urge you to trust Him today. Amen.