# 165 Your Prayer May Be Historic

The Book of Genesis

Day 165

Ge 19:17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." 18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! 19 "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 "See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." 21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.

There’s that phrase again! “It came to pass,” one of 452 times it shows up in Scripture. Another go or no go proposition is placed before God! Don’t think your prayers matter? Well sometimes they matter very much! This God-granted request of Lot’s altered history and spared the city of Zoar from destruction!  

Desperate people, pray desperately, and that’s what Lot was doing.  We aren’t told why Lot had a fear of living in the mountains, but it was a strong fear. “Please no my lords!”

Now I’m thinking if I’m in charge here, I’m telling Lot, “Man up!  I said I would spare the cities IF I found ten righteous, um I’m counting only four!” Out of my way!” Thankfully I’m not in charge and Lot pleads to the abundant mercy and grace of God  to grant his prayer request and spare him from mountain living and spare the city also!

Now, this is not the only intercessory prayer connected to this situation. I find it amazing that the Lord tells Lot, “I cannot do anything until you arrive in Zoar.” What? This is God, why the delay? The delay is for the sake of Abraham who had interceded for the cities earlier.

Remember?

He had whittled God down to sparing the cities if there were ten righteous people.  Were there ten? No! God had every right to destroy the whole shooting match, but the Lord knew the heart of Abraham, and Abraham’s number one concern was for his nephew Lot. So He voluntarily tied His hands until Abraham’s reluctant nephew was out of harms way! As it turns out, Abraham’s initial prayer for Lot saved the city of Zoar, and because of his prayer Zoar was allowed to have a history, as was Lot!

Abraham’s prayer, and the prayer of Lot altered history. Yes indeed, “the prayer of a righteous man availeth much!”

God doesn’t always alter history for the sake of our prayers, but I think we would all be amazed at how many times He has interceded on our behalf and altered the courses of events!  Those times that He has allowed something like a new job, a healing, safe travel, and anything else we have prayed  for to “come to pass.”  Php 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”

So pray for all your concerns today. Who knows! Your prayer may be historic!

Pray: Father, sometimes we don’t pray because we somehow think it won’t make a difference. Help us to get over that. Help us to learn to pray for all things, and then let You sort it out!

# 48 "The Go and No Go's of God

The Book of Genesis Day 48 Ge 4:3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. I want to spend a little time on the phrase, “it came to pass.” Did you know that this phrase shows up 452 times in the King James Bible? 452 times! It would seem to me that the Holy Spirit is striving to make a point here! The phrase is almost always used as a way of ushering in an important occurrence or event. In this case, the important event is an offering. It’s the first mention of an offering to the Lord in Scripture. The word “offering” means “apportion” and we get our first hint of a tithe in the Bible. Cain “apportioned” a part of His crop and offered it to God. Just think about the phrase for a moment. In order for something to “come to pass,” it has to arrive at a point where it is “go” or “no go.” Many things “come” to God and to the Throne Room, but not all things come to pass. 452 times in the Bible we read of situations where God in His omniscience, (all knowing) and in His omnipotence (all powerful) either sets things up or allows them to move on to where He needs them to be, to carry out His good and gracious will. It came to pass, it came to a time when God allowed it or didn't allow it. How can this knowledge of “it came to pass” be useful for you and I? Well. you've heard it said perhaps, that God answers prayer in three ways: Yes, no, or not yet. Well we are reminded of this fact 452 times in Scripture. It is just as the Bible states in Ro 8:28 “And we know that all things (I might add, that “come to pass”) work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Once armed with this knowledge and the sincerely held belief that “Father knows best,” we can than learn to live like thankful people, for to live thankfully, is the will of God. 1Th 5:18 says, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. We are thankful for everything, because “everything” is what God has allowed to “pass.” We have a good and gracious God, and we can be certain that anything that He allows to come to pass in our lives will ultimately serve a good and gracious purpose. We may not ever see it or understand it this side of heaven, but one day when we are in glory, standing on the sea of glass, we shall see, and it will give us even more cause to fall down and worship and praise His holy name. When unpleasant events and tragedies occur in our personal lives or the lives of others we sometimes find ourselves shaking our fist at God and wondering, “Why did You allow these things to pass?” It's an honest response and let me assure you, “God's not afraid of your honesty.” But one thing we should also consider is those things that we are not aware of, that God did not allow to pass! Sometimes I shudder to think of the things that COULD have happened in the wild days of my unconverted and foolish youth. I wonder how many times I put the Lord my God to the “pass or not pass” test. I wonder how many times many of you did the same thing! I believe one of the great things about heaven, is that all these things will be revealed to us. We will see what God allowed to pass and what HE did not allow to pass, and we will become keenly aware of His love and wisdom, which will stimulate even more worship (praise and thanksgiving) in heaven. Reflect: What are some important things in your life that “came to pass?” How have you seen God’s hand of protection in your own life? Have you ever had a bad thing happen to you only to see it turn out good later on? Pray: Father, thank You for this reminder of your all knowing power and sovereignty. Help me to learn to be thankful in all circumstances. Amen.