Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 66

Day 66 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Luke 1:5-25 and reflect on Elisabeth, who had been barren for many years and was now well advanced in age, yet was visited by God in His appointed time. Through her story, this devotional helps women trust that God hears long-prayed prayers and that He can prepare His wondrous work even in seasons of shame, silence, and waiting. 

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 66 of our reading journey. 

Some prayers are not answered quickly. Some waiting is not measured in days or months, but in many years. At first, we may pray with faith. Later, we may pray with tears. After a long time, we may even feel too tired to speak. When the waiting stretches on, we may begin to wonder: Did God really hear me? Does He still remember? Has my hope become too late?

Elisabeth was a woman who knew long waiting. She and her husband Zacharias were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Yet Scripture tells us honestly, “And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.”

In that culture, barrenness often carried heavy shame and pressure. Elisabeth not only experienced the pain of an unfulfilled longing, but also the sorrow of social reproach, the ache of years passing by, and the silence of prayers that seemed unanswered. Yet God had not forgotten her. When the angel appeared to Zacharias, the message began with this assurance: “thy prayer is heard.”

A Minute of Grace

Luke 1:5-25 gives us the background before the birth of John the Baptist. Zacharias was a priest, and Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Yet they had no child, because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

This passage holds two truths side by side: they were faithful before God, yet they carried a long-unanswered sorrow; they walked in righteousness, yet they still lived with a deep lack. This reminds us that genuine faith does not mean God’s people never suffer. It means that even in suffering and waiting, they are still seen and remembered by God.

Elisabeth’s name appears only a few times in this passage, but her life speaks tenderly to many women who are waiting. Some are waiting for a child. Some are waiting for a relationship to be restored. Some are waiting for healing. Some are waiting for a loved one to come to faith. Some are waiting for direction, work, marriage, ministry, or a breakthrough in a hidden place of life. When waiting becomes long, it is easy to feel forgotten and to mistake unanswered prayer for God’s absence.

But God’s silence is not the same as God’s absence. When the angel spoke to Zacharias, he said, “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard.” This was not only a word for Zacharias; it was also a response to Elisabeth’s years of tears, endurance, and hope. God had not just noticed their sorrow in that moment. In His own time, He had been preparing a plan far greater than they could imagine.

After Elisabeth conceived, she said, “Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.” She understood that this was not only a pregnancy of the body, but also a visitation of grace. God had looked upon her, cared for her, and removed the reproach she had carried for so long. Her story reminds us that God hears long-prayed prayers, and He can give perfectly timed grace even when everything seems too late.

Today’s theme, “Elisabeth: Conceiving in the Waiting,” invites us to reflect: When prayer seems long unanswered, do we still believe God hears? When others see lack, delay, reproach, and impossibility, are we willing to believe that God is still working unseen? God’s timing may be different from ours, but His care has never stopped.

Whispers for the Heart

1 Elisabeth and Zacharias were both righteous before God, yet they remained childless for many years. Have you ever faithfully followed the Lord while still carrying an unanswered sorrow? How does this passage help you not to interpret delayed answers as proof that God does not love you or remember you?

2 The angel said, “thy prayer is heard.” Is there a prayer in your life that you have prayed for so long that you almost dare not hope anymore? Could God be reminding you through Elisabeth’s story that He may hear long before you see the answer?

3 Elisabeth said that the Lord had looked on her and taken away her reproach among men. Are there places in your heart where you have carried shame, loss, or self-doubt for a long time? Are you willing to bring that hidden pain before God and let His care and grace redefine you?

As you read Luke 1:5-25 today, do not see this passage only as the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth. Also notice Elisabeth, the woman who waited in silence and was visited by God in old age. Her story reminds us that God hears long-prayed prayers and can open His plan in places where humans say, “impossible.”

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your long-waited prayers, unanswered hopes, and unspoken griefs before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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Luke 1:5-25 (KJV) 

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

💡 Closing Thought · Waiting Is Not Being Forgotten 

After reading Luke 1:5-25, we see that Elisabeth had been barren for many years and was now well advanced in age, yet she had not been forgotten by God. In human eyes, her hope seemed too late. But in God’s timing, her story was being brought into a much greater redemptive plan. The child she would bear would become John the Baptist, the one who prepared the way for the Lord.

As we close this page and return to real life, perhaps there is also a prayer in your heart that has waited a long time, a hope that has not yet been fulfilled, or a road that still has no clear answer. Remember this: waiting is not being forgotten, and silence is not the same as God’s absence. God hears your long-prayed prayers and sees every tear you have shed in the waiting.

May today’s Scripture remind you that your life is not defined by lack, nor is it judged by delay. May you be upheld by God’s Word in the waiting, trust His care when you cannot yet see the answer, and in His perfect time, see how He can turn human sighs into testimonies of grace.

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