READING:
One-year plan: Genesis 20-23
Two-year plan: 2 Chronicles 28:1-29:11, Acts 8:1-13
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Yesterday we read of God’s working through the prayers of Abraham to save Lot from coming judgment. In today’s reading we learn again of the work of Abraham, the intercessor, who is also the first person called a “prophet” in the Bible. Scholars have spent much ink discussing Abraham’s decision to tell King Abimelech that his wife, Sarah, was his sister, but the text shows us that God struck Abimelech with some kind of illness to keep him from being with Sarah. It would then be through the prayers of Abraham that the king would be healed:
- “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, ‘You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.’” (Gen 20:3)
- “Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live.” (Gen 20:7)
- “Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children.” (Gen 20:17)
The prayers of Abraham, in spite of the prophet’s own sinful tendencies, were the means through which God worked to heal Abimelech and others around him so they could produce offspring. Abraham was a praying sinner God used; indeed, In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “More fierce than the flames of hell to Satan are the prayers of convinced sinners.”* You and I are also sinners God chooses to use through prayer.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: For whom is God calling you to intercede today—perhaps in response to yesterday’s devotion prayer?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, keep me faithfully on my knees on behalf of others.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Genesis 24-26
Two-year plan: 2 Chronicles 29:12-30:27, Acts 8:14-40
MEMORIZATION VERSE (JAN 1-15):
“A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.” (Gen 4:26)
* Spurgeon, Charles (1998-11-01). Spurgeon on Prayer & Spiritual Warfare (6 In 1 Anthology) (Kindle Locations 8923-8924). Whitaker House. Kindle Edition.