Gênesis 18

Gênesis 18

Murray - Beware of limiting God in your prayer, not only by unbelief but also by pretending that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, greater than all we ask or think. Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God. Acknowledge what He can do and expect great things..... The God who said to Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14), pledges to work His power in us, too, if we will learn to trust Him. L B E Cowman - Springs in the Valley - page 118 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? (Gen. 18:14) GOD wants us to ask Him for the impossible! God can do things that man cannot do. He would not be God if this were not so. That is why He has graciously made prayer a law of life. “If ye shall ask…I will do.” This inviting promise from the Lord means that He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves; He will do for others what we cannot do for them—if we but ask Him. How little do we avail ourselves of this immense privilege! Someone spoke this searching word at Edinburgh in 1910: “We have lost the eternal youthfulness of Christianity, and have aged into calculating manhood. We seldom pray in earnest for the extraordinary, the limitless, the glorious. We seldom pray with any confidence, for any good to the realization of which we cannot imagine a way. And yet, we suppose ourselves to believe in an Infinite Father.” The natural man calculates results. Calculations have no place in our relation with God. That matter which has been so burdening us just now, and with which we can see no way of dealing, how are we praying about it? In anxiety, or with thanksgiving? Worrying prayer defeats its own answer; rejoicing prayer gets through. “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Then will come the answer “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” The more we are cut off from human help, the greater claim we can make on Divine help. The more impossible a thing is to human or mortal power, the more at peace can we be when we look to Him for deliverance. “Only those who see the invisible can do the impossible!” God will answer when to thee, Not a possibility Of deliverance seems near; It is then He will appear. God will answer when you pray; Yea, though mountains block thy way, At His word, a way will be E’en through mountains, made for thee. God who still divides the sea, Willingly will work for thee; God, before whom mountains fall, Promises to hear thy call. M. E. B. Tim Lahaye - Embracing Eternity - GOD’S BIG PLANS page 172 Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18:14 “My friend, if I had gone through what you’ve gone through and seen prayer answered the way you have, I would not be challenging God to do something so simple.” Nicolae, 199 WHEN GOD PROMISED Abraham a son, his wife, Sarah, was listening nearby. She was long past the childbearing years, and she laughed silently at the idea. “How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?” she thought to herself (Genesis 18:12). God heard her scoffs and confronted her about it. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” he asked her (18:14). Most of us know the end of the story. Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac, the son of promise. I wonder how often we scoff at the Lord’s plans. How many times have we inwardly laughed at the big ideas that God plants in our spirit? Have you ever found yourself dreaming of doing something great for God? Have you ever lain awake at night and imagined yourself in the midst of a task so big and powerful and overwhelming that you eventually chuckled and shook your head in embarrassment? Who do I think I am … Billy Graham? I could never do that. God would never do something like that through someone like me! You blame it on the pizza and roll over and go to sleep. “The reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it,” James tells us (James 4:2). It doesn’t always occur to us that maybe the big dreams in our mind were placed there by God. He plants his plans in our heart, and we scoff at them simply because they feel much too big. And how will we ever know if we are so quick to discount the idea? Why would we expect God to do great things through us if we don’t ask? How can we accomplish big plans if we never try? How can we expect God to answer big prayers when we never ask him to? Do you need healing—healing that only a miracle from God can bring? Why not believe that he will do it? God wants you to have a faith that is active and expectant—a faith that knows his power and believes that he is waiting to show it. God wants people who will listen to his unbelievable plans and then believe, shaking off any doubt. Don’t scoff at the ideas God puts in your heart. Trust him to carry them out. REFLECTION When was the last time God planted a big dream in your heart? How did you respond? How would God have you pray about this now?