Prayer and God’s Promises for the NationsSample

Abraham, Sarah, and the Laughable Promises of God

An old song says, “Father Abraham had many sons.” Today we might sing that Abraham had many offspring. True, the meter wouldn’t work, but the lyrics would illuminate a four-thousand-year-old truth. 

After God’s promise to make a “great nation” of Abraham (Genesis 12), decade followed decade and no offspring arrived, let alone multiple descendants. Abraham must have wondered if God was kidding. Fast becoming ancient, Abraham and Sarah both laughed at the prospect of producing a child, enough that God heard them chuckling. 

As divine events played out, however, the joke was on them. In time God provided a son for Father Abraham, who by then looked more like Great-grandfather Abraham. He and Sarah named the child of their old age “Isaac,” or “He Laughs.”

God gave Abraham multiple promises, including the long-term plan to bless “all nations on earth” through him. 

Thank God for keeping His gracious promises, for following through on His plan to bless all the peoples of the earth, including you.