Anna: A Model of Faithful Prayer

Every day, an elderly man makes his way down my street. His head protrudes forward on a slender neck, his back is bent with the weight of years, and his feet seem to shuffle rather than take proper steps. In his hands, he holds two small weights, and with his forearms at right angles to his body, he slowly moves the dumbbells in front of him. His pace is incredibly slow. From my window, I can spot him approaching; even after I’ve done a load of laundry or started the dishwasher, he still hasn’t passed my house. I’ve never met him, but he’s become a well – known sight in my neighborhood.

In a place filled with fast – paced runners wearing stylish athletic gear, this man stands out. His movements are sluggish, and his clothes are unkempt. But what truly strikes me is his unwavering faithfulness. Rain or shine, he’s out there, walking steadily down the street, one step after another.

In first – century Jerusalem, Anna was perhaps a similarly recognizable figure to those who frequented the temple. We can picture the priests saying to each other, “Here comes Anna,” as the elderly woman made her way slowly through the temple gate and across the courtyard, a daily ritual for her.

When we reflect on our own lives, Anna has much to teach us about remaining faithful over long periods, even in the face of hardship and often in solitude. Specifically, Anna shows us that God’s people, even in a state of exile, should be a people of prayer.

An Exile Among Exiles

Anna’s story in the Bible is told in just three verses. We encounter her in Luke’s Gospel when Mary and Joseph bring the newborn Jesus to the temple:
“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, 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. 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.” (Luke 2:36–38)

Although Anna’s account is brief, we shouldn’t overlook her importance in the history of redemption as a faithful exile, nor her value as an example for us.
In these few verses, Luke reveals that Anna was an exile among exiles. She was a prophetess at a time when prophets were scarce, an Asherite when the tribal line was thought to be extinct, an elderly woman from a generation that had endured much, an Israelite living in Roman – occupied territory, a woman without a family, and a devout believer in a world that had lost its faith. Year after year, God had taken away everything that could have made her feel a sense of belonging in the world.
Yet, every day, she went to God’s temple to worship.

‘She Did Not Depart’

Anna’s life was centered around persistent prayer. When we, too, feel like exiles—living in neighborhoods or families where no one else seems to share our deepest beliefs—we can draw inspiration from her.
Year after year, God had stripped Anna of all that could have given her a sense of home on earth. But every day, she made her way to the temple to worship.
Anna “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (v. 37). Only in the afterlife will we know the exact content of Anna’s prayers. As a devout Jew, she would have asked God to meet all her needs. In this respect, her prayers might not have been so different from ours.
However, the Bible suggests that Anna’s prayers were more than just a list of immediate needs. Her commitment to fasting and her decades – long dedication to non – stop intercession indicate that her prayers went beyond simply reacting to daily wants. Anna’s prayers were not determined by the concerns of the moment. Instead, she prayed for the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise: redemption.
Anna knew that she and the rest of God’s people didn’t just need a comfortable life or to live in their own land. What they truly needed was redemption from their sins, reconciliation with God, and the renewal of their hearts. They needed the Messiah, the one promised to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and awaited by the faithful ever since. When she prayed, Anna pleaded with Yahweh to send the Christ.
And Anna didn’t give up. Pestering the Lord day and night for decades would seem audacious, but God had commanded it: “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth” (Isa. 62:6–7).
Anna was bold in her prayers because God told her to be. She kept asking because God told her not to stop. Like the famous widow in the parable Jesus would later tell, Anna didn’t stop petitioning God. And like that widow, Anna teaches us “always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

Keep Praying

Living in exile is difficult, and it’s all too easy for the daily struggles of life in a fallen world to dominate our prayers or even keep us away from prayer altogether. When we pray for decades for the salvation of our loved ones, the growth of the church, and the revelation of Christ to those who aren’t seeking him, we often see few tangible results. Year after year, the world around us continues to look for hope anywhere but in Christ. Meanwhile, as exiles, we still have to go about our daily lives, getting dressed, eating, and paying the bills.
Praying for the advancement of Christ’s work in the world can seem fruitless, and over time, our prayers may shrink to short lists of immediate needs or perfunctory requests with little expectation of an answer. But Anna encourages us to pray for more and to pray more frequently. She invites us to confidently ask God to do what he has promised: to redeem his people.
As we live among those in spiritual darkness, we can commit ourselves to praying that God would shine the light of the Messiah in our hearts and in the hearts of others, bringing new life and glorifying Christ. Anna’s example also prompts us to pray for the return of the Lord, not as a baby this time, but as the victorious King. In the midst of the discouragement of exile, we need to fix our gaze on Jesus, eagerly anticipating his work in the world now and his final appearance in the near future. Like the saints of old, we keep praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20)