Copyright 2013 by Bob Rogers

“Then the Angel of the LORD responded, ‘How long, LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that You have been angry with these 70 years?’ The LORD replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.” – Zechariah 1:12-13, HCSB

I believe that the person called the Angel of the LORD in this passage is the pre-incarnate Son of God, and that this is a unique example of a prayer of Jesus in the Old Testament.
Notice that He is called “the LORD” in Zechariah 3:2, even though He is called the Angel of the LORD in verse 1 and 4 of that same chapter.
We also see that the Angel of the LORD appears to Abraham in Genesis 22:11-12 yet speaks as God, and appears to Jacob in Genesis 31:11 and wrestles with Jacob in Genesis 32:24-30. In the last passage, Jacob says He saw God face to face. In Daniel 3:24-25, a fourth person appeared in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrews, and one is described as looking “like a son of the gods.” All of this leads many Bible commentators to wonder if these are appearances of Jesus, the Son of God, in the Old Testament.
Another reason why I take Zechariah 1:12 as a prayer of Jesus is the unique wording of the prayer. While we read of angels praising God in Ezekiel 3:12, Luke 2:14, Revelation 15:3-4; 16:5-6, it is unusual for an angel to pray like this, making intercession. However, this prayer fits the prayer and personality of Jesus. Hebrews 7:25 says that Christ always lives to intercede for us, and Matthew 23:37 says that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. In this passage, the Angel of the LORD prays for God to show mercy and forgiveness to the exiles of Jerusalem after 70 years in Babylon.
Notice also how the LORD replies to the prayer of the Angel in Zechariah 1:13: “with kind and comforting words.”
Oh, that Christ might intercede for us, who are His followers, and He does! Oh, what joy to know that the Son prays for mercy for us and the Father replies to that prayer with comforting words!