Alone time.
What comes to mind when you think about alone time?
Do you like the idea of alone time or dread it?
How do you spend your time alone?
Do you focus on hobbies or self-care activities?
Are your activities active or sedentary?
I realize some people reading this feel they never have time alone, while others may feel they are always alone.
But whether other humans surround us or we are by ourselves, we can trust that God is fully aware of everything about us.
And he can communicate with us while we’re going about our work or when we are resting.
How do I know this?
Consider the following passage when Mary, a young lady, experiences this incredible reality with an angelic visitor announcing she will bear the Christ child.
Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas? | Part Three
A Study of Luke 1:26-47
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.[1]
What is significant about the “sixth month”? (See Luke 1:24)
Why does Luke immediately tell us that the angel appearing to Mary is Gabriel? (See Luke 1:19-20)
List the details shared about Mary in these verses.
Unlike in the narrative of Zechariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1: 8-24, scripture leaves out what Mary was doing when Gabriel appeared to give her this amazing news. Considering how Gabriel greeted her and her initial response, what might she have been doing?
How do we know Mary was not completely alone even before Gabriel appeared?
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” [2]
Gabriel repeats for a second time that God favors Mary. What does it mean to receive favor from God?
Describe the significance of the promised child.
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” [3]
What clues from Gabriel’s announcement cause Mary to neglect to consider her betrothed as a potential father? (Also see Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:22-23)
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”[4]
How is this birth accomplished compared to the one in Luke 1:11-24?
Why does Gabriel bring up Elizabeth?
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. [5]
What does Mary’s response to this news reveal about her trust in God?
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” [6]
Why does Mary hasten to visit her cousin Elizabeth?
How does this section confirm Luke 1:15?
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, [7]
Who does Mary say the Lord is? Why?
Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas? | Part Three
A Study of Luke 1:26-47 | Application
What did you learn about God from this study?
I learned God knows each of us even better than we know ourselves. God has the power to fulfil his promises at the most appropriate time. If Mary, a young woman asked to bear the Christ child, can trust God to carry her through the process, then I can trust Him to carry me through anything I’m experiencing.
Do you respond to God the way Mary did — with obedience, humility, and praise? Why or why not?
I admit I have a history of being quite stubborn and slow to respond to what God communicates to me. The good news is that the time that I am stubborn and slow to respond is much shorter now than when I was younger.
Case in point, it took me twenty years to accept that the Lord wanted me to attend seminary. Comparatively, it took me less than thirty minutes to ask God to help me forgive my husband for choosing to depart this world. Yes, there was still anger in me, but I also knew that without forgiving my husband, I would only become bitter. I marvel at how quickly I responded this way and know that it is God who enabled me.
How can Mary’s response help you prepare your heart for Christmas, a celebration of the birth of Jesus?
Mary focused more on God than she did on herself. I think this is a powerful key point for preparing my heart for Christmas this year. Last year I was still in the shock waves of grief, having lost my husband to mental illness in July 2024. This year, I am reminding myself to focus on who God is and what he has done and will do than on what I have lost. Yes, there is still grief present, but there is also a vibrant hope in my God, for whom nothing is impossible.
Heavenly Father, thank you for upholding your word throughout history. Thank you, that when circumstances seem impossible, nothing is impossible for you. Enable us to respond to you the way Mary did when you sent Gabriel to inform her of your favor. Give us time alone with You so that You may prepare our hearts to serve and obey You as we approach the anniversary birthday celebration of Jesus, the Son of God. Amen.
Warmly,
Barbara Lynn
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:26–29.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:30–33.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:34.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:35–37.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:38.
[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:39–45.
[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:46–47.