Note: This part 3 of a series on prayer missionaries and Levites
In previous articles I have discussed the unique ministry calling to full-time prayer & worship – what I refer to as a “prayer missionary”. One of the earliest examples of this ministry function were the Levites in David’s Tabernacle.
Before we examine Christian prayer missionaries in future articles, we need to look at one more Bible character who sits right in the gap between the Old and New Testament – the intercessor and prophetess Anna.
Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Luke 2:36-38
Luke describes Anna in the midst of the narrative surrounding the birth of Jesus. Although she is a more obscure character than others in the Christmas story, she prayed in the Temple leading right up to the first coming of Christ. God uses her intercession to spiritually “birth” His promises into the earth. In the case of Anna, God’s promise was the coming of the Messiah himself.
The Prophetess
Anna was a widow who spent decades in prayer. It is not clear from the text if she was 84 years old or if she had been widowed for 84 years, but either way it is clear that she had been praying faithfully day & night for decades before Jesus was born. This is a stunning character!
What would cause a young woman (probably in her teens or twenties) to give her life to prayer and fasting in such a radical way without wavering in her commitment? After five years, she kept going to the Temple. After twenty years, she kept showing up. Forty years. Fifty years. When no one understood, she kept showing up. When she lost friends over her lifestyle choices, she kept showing up. Why?
Seeing what no one else sees causes you to do what no one else does.
It is interesting that she was called a prophetess but we never see her prophesying. As a prophetess, she was obviously hearing from God with words and/or visions. She knew by the Scriptures and through the Holy Spirit that a Messiah was coming. She had a vision for something greater than her own life. She was living for something more than her personal fulfillment. She had locked her eyes on Yahweh’s promise to bring a Deliverer to Israel.
God’s word gave Anna faith, which kept her steady before God even when she was all alone. She knew God would keep his promise. God had invited her close to Him to be a part of what He was going to bring forth on the earth. She had a revelation that her “yes” to show up and pray made a difference in human history. It was as if she had been impregnated with the prophetic promise, and she labored for years in intercessory prayer to see it (Him) birthed into the earth.
Every prophetic word and vision from the Lord is first and foremost an invitation to intercession. Anna knew that God had shown her something special that He was planning to do. Interestingly, Anna’s primary response to the prophetic insight was day & night prayer with fasting. Rather than start talking, she started praying.
Ministry to the Lord
The story says that Anna “served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” Anna ministered to the Lord with her prayer. Ministry to the Lord is priestly terminology, and it is the primary activity of a prayer missionary. We see the priority of ministry to the Lord throughout the Scriptures.
The Church at Antioch “ministered to the Lord” (Acts 13:2) with worship & prayer offered to God. This is actually every Christian’s primary ministry as a New Testament royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9). This is not just the activity of prayer missionaries! Prayer and fasting is also for me and for you. Yet Anna gives a glimpse of what it looks like when someone is called to this ministry vocationally.
Anna the Prayer Missionary
Anna is clearly a vocational intercessor. Her full-time job was to minister to God with fasting and prayer. She was so committed to this extravagant expression of prayer that it describes her doing it by herself “night and day.” She obviously had to go home to sleep at some point, but she spent so many hours at the Temple with the Lord that it was as if she never left.
‘In this very hour, the Lord is wooing those with a heart and calling like Anna to the full-time occupation of worship and prayer. He is personally appointing and setting them into their places. The Lord is calling forth modern-day “Annas” in churches and prayer rooms around the world. Those whom God raises up as “Annas” we must celebrate as a great gift to the Body of Christ and the prayer movement. These individuals need to be called forth, recognized, and released by their leaders to obey their God-given mandate.’
– Mike Bickle
Some have an Anna anointing/calling to give themselves in extravagant worship & prayer vocationally. All believers should engage in intercession on some level, but not everyone can or should do what Anna did!
For some there is grace to pray 40+ hours per week. That is a rare but totally valid expression of this calling. Others may spend 20-25 hours per week in prayer (and the rest of their workweek doing other ministry activities), which is typical for many full-time prayer missionaries in houses of prayer. Some may serve as part-time prayer missionaries with 10-20 hours per week in prayer. Many prayer missionaries will also be musicians, singers and worship leaders – functioning like the modern-day equivalent of the “Levites” who served in David’s Tabernacle.
If the story of Anna stirs your hearts, perhaps God is calling you as a prayer missionary?
It’s also worth noting that some enter into vocational prayer & worship for a season until God leads them elsewhere. Others will be like Anna and give themselves to this vocation as a lifelong commitment.
Prophetic Forerunners to Christ’s 2nd Coming
Anna was not only a prophetess but a prophetic picture of the end-times bride of Christ. Jesus came and He is coming again. The forerunners of Jesus’ first coming are types and shadows of the forerunners of Jesus’ second coming. Anna is one of those first forerunners that points us to the purpose and function of the body of Christ before the second coming of Jesus.
It’s likely that Jesus had Anna in mind as he taught about prayer in the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). Here Jesus instructs his disciples to pray always and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). Jesus encourages His people to cry out “day and night” for justice (Luke 18:7), similar to how Anna was praying “day and night” in the Temple. And before Christ returns, there will be day & night worship & prayer across the earth. The body of Christ will be see as a house of prayer for all nations.
However, unlike Anna, the Church is not a widow, but a Bride who is partnered with God in covenant love. The Spirit and the Bride will say “come!” (Revelation 22:17) in unity together as we long for the return of our Bridegroom and the consummation of our betrothal to Him. Just as Anna partnered with God’s promises through prayer to “birth” the first coming of Christ, the Church at the end of the age will partner with the Spirit of God to “birth” the second coming of Christ through day & night prayer, intercession and fasting.
Regardless of our personal callings, Anna is an inspiration to all believers to be faithful in prayer and fasting as near the return of our Savior to earth. Come, Lord Jesus!