Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 / Luke 1:5-25
To be a religious person, doing religious duties like offering prayer and praying for others, it can be quite difficult to cope if your own prayers are not answered.
More so if what you are praying for is not something in the sky but just for the gift of a child.
For Zechariah and Elizabeth it was difficult to keep holding on to their faith, especially since they were childless, and in those days it can be a valid reason for separation.
More so for Zechariah, since he was a priest, and he has his religious obligations. What would people think of a priest whose prayer is not answered.
But Zechariah and Elizabeth stayed together and held on to their faith in God and in each other.
So on that day when Zechariah entered the Lord's sanctuary to burn incense, his mind may be having other thoughts as he resigned himself to be that priest whose prayer was not answered.
So when the angel Gabriel told him that his prayer has been heard and that Elizabeth was to bear him a son, he was obviously cynical and skeptical.
And for that he was silenced and lost the power of speech, until his son was to be born.
We too may have prayers that are not answered. But let us keep faith in the Lord and trust in His plans for us.
God's ways are not our ways. But when we let our hearts be silent, then we will be able to listen to the voice of the Lord and see His ways.