The silence of Zachariah

The lesson we taught yesterday in Sunday school was based on the passage in Luke 1 which describes the story of Zachariah and Elizabeth. Do you remember the passage from Luke in which Zachariah expresses disbelief to the angel?

Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.’

We talked about it in Sunday school and then again in our youth meeting that evening.

Do you think Zachariah's muteness was punishment?

Last week we watched Evan Almighty in youth group. There is a line in that movie that God says to Evan, "Anything I do, I do because I love you."

I like that, and I think it describes God. What he does, he does because he loves us. So why was Zachariah struck mute?

I don't think it was a punishment. I think it was preparation. God was giving Zachariah time to grow in faith, to come to an understanding of what was happening. The last thing he said was doubt. When he got his voice back, his first words were ones of faith. The silence changed him.

One of the recommendations of the curriculum that we are using is that we all observe periods of silent prayer this season to draw us closer to God. It's a good idea. Can we find time for silence? For prayer?