We never know when God will reach out to us. We also don't know when God will send an opportunity our way. The question is are we prepared? We read in Luke 1:8-12, concerning Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, "So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him." Zacharias was fulfilling his duties, not expecting an angelic encounter announcing the birth of his son, in his old age. Just as Zacharias was not expecting this, we read in 1:21-22, "And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless."

Imagine this event took place now. Would Zacharias have even noticed. or would he have been listening to music with earphones in his ears, perhaps surfing the internet for the latest scores on ESPN? Would the people have noticed, or would they have been distracted? We have a choice continually. We can either get up as late as possible, grab some food and brush our teeth, then make it out to work or school unprepared, or we can get up a little earlier, spend some time in His Word, and in prayer and embark on our day prepared. We can either go through the motions of each segment of our day, or pray before each segment. We can pray before entering the gym, before entering our workplace or school, before returning back home and seeing our family, etc. Even concerning our God directed activities, do we stumble into the sanctuary, or prepare our hearts beforehand. Do we simply pick up the Bible and start reading, or do we pray that the Holy Spirit will illuminate things before reading? Do we prepare before prayer, or simply mutter out a few spiritual sounding phrases? John the Baptist's commission was told to Zacharias in Luke 1:17, "...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." This should also be our commission everywhere and anywhere. God is sending us opportunities too numerous to count, but how often rather than living in a spirit of anticipation are these opportunities missed and squandered simply because we were unprepared. May God open our eyes day to day, and moment to moment. We never know, only He does, so be prepared.