Luke 1:56-64 :

Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house. Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her. It happened on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father. His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.”

They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.

He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.”

They all marveled. His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God.

God didn’t give Zacharias his voice back until eight days after his baby was born. It appears that God thought it was important for Zacharias to take action first.

Although I don’t believe I know all of the reasons why God made Zacharias wait, it is clear that when Zacharias named the child, it showed that he believed the angel’s words enough to take action. In other words, his faith was forced to take action. I think that this gives us some insight into how faith must be demonstrated through works. Let’s read what it says in James again:

James 2:26 :

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

God only recognizes the kind of faith that takes action and He was committed to building that faith in the life of Zacharias. This shows how much God loved him. It is no wonder that Zacharias blessed God as soon as he could speak.

So we can learn about our relationship with God from how He worked with Zacharias. God takes faith very seriously, and he will work in us until our faith comes out in how we live. The process may be difficult for us, but God loves us, and will be with us to the end.