Malcolm Cox

Introduction Studying Anna for a sermon led me to some unexpected insights about her devotional life. It inspired me to put a multi-episode series together. The Text “There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36–38 NIV11) What do we learn about Anna’s relationship with God? Her personal times of worship led to a natural enthusiasm to tell others about the works of God. Anna is in tune with God. There's something about her devotion to him which puts her in the right place at the right time to notice what God is doing. Luke tells us that, ‘at that very moment’ she approached the family of Jesus. It seems that