Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 18 before reading the devotional below.
Yesterday we covered the reality that God’s plans are bigger than we can imagine, and we see that here again when Sarah hears about her coming pregnancy at the age of 90. She laughs, God calls her out on that, and then she denies it. It’s always funny when we try to hide things from God. (Spoiler alert: it never works).
The second half of this chapter is a great example of our role in prayer. God tells Abraham he is going to destroy the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Recall that this is the area where Abraham’s nephew, Lot, now lives. Abraham pleads with God and haggles him down to saving the cities if there are only ten good people left there. (Sadly, there aren’t even ten…). But God will spare Lot because of Abraham’s prayer, as we’ll read about tomorrow.
Here’s your freedom for today:
God hears you.
God’s not just listening, he hears you. He sees your heart, he changes his mind when you talk to him. He wants us to give him good reasons to show mercy. When we pray for others, it makes a difference in history. There are many examples of this in the Bible, but this chapter is a fascinating look at how Abraham bargains with God (and it works!). What do you need to wrestle out with God today?