Stop Payment?

Luke is my Gospel reading for March, and in reading about Zacharias in Chapter One I got to thinking about whether God let’s us put a stop payment on a prayer we’ve prayed the way banks let us put a stop payment on a check we’ve written.

Before I get to that, it seems appropriate that Zacharias and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s parents, were of the tribe of Levi; after all, the Levitical Priesthood prefigures Christ in many ways, it goes before Jesus Christ – so shouldn’t the one prophesied (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; 4:5) to go before the Messiah be of that same tribe?

Now back to the stop payment question.

Luke writes about Zacharias and Elizabeth that “they were both advanced in years.” What he means is that they were old. Luke tells us that they didn’t have any kids and that they were old to the point where kids weren’t in their future…at least in their foreseeable future…at least in their future as near as anyone could tell. So imagine when Gabriel the angel shows up and tells Zacharias, “Do not be afraid, Zaharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.”

Now just when do you imagine the last time was that Zacharias prayed for a child? It wasn’t a year before Gabriel showed up, and it probably wasn’t five years or ten years; it may not have been twenty years or even thirty years – this couple was “advanced in years.” It had been a long time since either one of them gave any realistic thought to having a child and it had been a long time since old Zacharias had prayed for a child – he had written that check a long time ago and had gotten to the place where he figured it would never be cashed. There that check was, written years and years ago, all but forgotten; God had no doubt listened to his prayer, heard his prayer, but for whatever reason God decided not to answer the prayer, God had decided not to cash the check. Oh really?

“Your petition has been heard,” that’s what Gabriel said. I wonder if ol’ Zacharias thought, “Hold on here. It’s been years since I prayed that prayer, the statute of limitations has run out – this can’t be, it’s against the rules. You can’t negotiate that check now, it’s too late.”

I don’t know, does God allow us to put stop payments on our prayers? If He doesn’t then I guess we ought to be prepared for the answer to show up when we least expect it.

Zacharias didn’t believe, he doubted that God could cash the check, doubted that God could answer the prayer; I think he has had plenty of company down through the ages, I know I’ve kept him company more than a few times – I’d pray and then I’d doubt, and then pray and doubt more, and then see answers to prayers come and doubt some more – it’s a wonder I haven’t been stuck dumb like Zacharias at least once. 

Can we put stop payments on our prayers? Maybe I’d better go back through my checkbook and see which checks are still outstanding…you just never know when Gabriel is going to show up.