Word of Encouragement (01/20/2022)
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir." 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." 5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Gen. 15:1-6).
Abram’s response to God’s assurance displays his doubt about God’s promise—this after God had shown him time and again His power and mercy. If we are honest with ourselves, we can’t point finger at him for his doubt. Do we not wonder whether God will come to aid us when a new difficulty arises in our path even though His grace has brought us safe thus far through many dangers, toils, and snares? We cannot deny how God has helped us in so many wonderful ways. But we manage to think that this new problem is different. How foolish that is! Is there anything that is outside of God’s sovereign lordship? Is there any situation God cannot change? Is He not the Creator of all things, who made the heavens and the earth out of nothing? Is there anything too difficult for God?
Not only is our doubt foolish; it is also offensive to God. Yet, God is so gracious. When Abram expressed his doubt, God did not rebuke Him out of anger. Instead, God renewed His promise to Him, making it clear that his heir would be his own son, not his servant, and his offspring would be as many as the stars in heaven! This act of kindness and patience seems to have deeply moved Abram; he believed in God’s promise.
We see Gen. 15:6—“And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness”—as a prooftext for the principle of justification by faith because of Paul’s use of it (Rom. 4:3), and rightly so. This is an important verse in this regard because it shows that even the Old Testament saints were justified by faith! But we can see it also as a prayer of sorts—an act of saying “Amen!” to the promise of God. What does “amen” mean? In Hebrew, it can mean “faithfulness” or “truthfulness.” It can also mean “Surely!” or “Let it be so!” in response to a declaration. This is why we end our prayer with “Amen!” To believe is to say “Amen!” to God’s word.
This shows the importance of praying according to God’s Word. We can bring anything to God in prayer, of course. But that doesn’t mean that we can have the assurance of God’s answer; what we pray for may not be what is good for us, at least for now, and God loves us too much to grant it. So, we should punctuate all such prayers with, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). But John assures us, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14). Do you know God’s promises for you? How well do you know them? All of God’s promises are recorded in God’s Word. Are you familiar with God’s Word?
But I hope you see that simply praying according to God’s will is not sufficient. I’m not saying that God cannot use even that kind of prayer to fulfill His purpose. I’m talking about what should be our proper understanding of prayer. In praying, we should not just focus on saying the right things; we should pray in faith, believing that God will honor His promises: “...without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb. 11:6).
Why we should pray is obvious: we are weak and needy. But it is hard to see why God should delight in our prayers, but He does! Only love can explain God’s delight in our prayers. That’s why our “Amen!” cannot be perfunctory; it should be an expression of our faith in Him, particularly His promises we look to. How wonderful it is when we can end our prayer in faith! Will it not change our attitude toward what we are praying about and our outlook on today from dread and resentment to hope and gratitude?