He is Calling Twice

I have always been intrigued at the times when God called people twice. The first I find is with Abraham, after by faith he had prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar, and God sent an angel to stop him, “Abraham, Abraham!”. (Genesis 22:11). Because Abraham trusted God, God called him to a deep friendship, and later, the Bible tells us that, Abraham was called, “The friend of God” (James 2:22; Isaiah 41:8)

Four hundred years passed till Moses became the second one called twice. While he was watching sheep, he noticed in the distance a bush on fire, but not burning up. When he came closer to see it, Moses heard God calling. “Moses, Moses, and he said, ‘Here I am,” Moses didn’t know what God’s calling meant, but he trusted God and made himself available.

The third person we meet is a young boy named Samuel. God came in the middle of the night; not because of anything special that Samuel had done, but because he had been dedicated from birth by his mother to God, and he had become a servant to the priest. “And the Lord came and stood calling, as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, “speak for your servant is listening.” Though Samuel’s call originated in his mother’s faith, God’s purpose for Samuel could only be fulfilled by Samuel’s own response. Samuel listened to hear what God had for him to do.

The last person we find with that double calling, lived almost a thousand years later, and her name was Martha. “But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha! Martha! You are anxious and troubled about many things, “Luke 10:41 The Bible later tells us that Jesus loved Martha, as he also loved Mary who sat at his feet and Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead, (John 11:5) God called Abraham, tested his faith, and called him a friend, He loved Moses, and called him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. God loved the young boy Samuel, even before He knew Him, and He loved Martha, who was so busy serving that she hadn’t taken time to listen. And just as God loved each of these very ordinary people, He also loves you and me. He calls us like Abraham to be a friend. He also calls us like Moses, to be used to rescue others. He calls in the middle of the night, like Samuel, even before we know Him, and He calls us like Martha, even when we aren’t listening. He loves us and is calling us to trust Him when we can’t understand, to come closer to His presence, to wake up to service, and yet also slow down, take a seat, and listen. Which of these calls is He calling you to today?

Prayer: Father God, I am here, unworthy of your calling, yet I really want to know you, to obey your will, and to learn what it means to be your friend!

The Legacy of Intercession

Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” Genesis 18:25 ESV

We begin looking at prayer this week, with one of the most vital purposes of prayer: intercession. If you are interested in a deeper look at intercessory prayer, I highly recommend Andrew Murray’s book, “The Ministry of Intercession” It is interesting to me that until we encounter Abraham (the Father of our Faith) we hear very little about prayer in the Bible. Surely Enoch prayed, along with other good guys, like Noah and Abel, but only Abraham’s prayers are recorded in detail. But if you think that Abraham started out by praying super spiritual requests you will be greatly disappointed. One of his earliest prayers that we have is found in chapter 15 of Genesis where he begins by saying,

O Sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I am childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? Genesis 15:2

Then, even when God promises Abraham that despite his age, that he will not only have a son, but that God will give him the entire land of Canaan; what is his response?

O sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" Genesis 15:8 ESV

Though these questions seem both a bit selfish as well as impertinent, God is not at all bothered by them. He loves Abraham’s prayers, and He is preparing to answer them one day in a spectacular fashion. Abraham’s prayers (and even better God’s response) give me hope as I grow in my own prayer life. After all, we don’t delight in listening to our children, only after they have graduated from college. We enjoy even their most immature conversations while they are toddling around our house, and we are still changing their diapers! Skipping ahead to chapter 17, we listen in again to Abraham praying a few years later, as now he is praying for someone besides himself.

And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" Genesis 17:18 ESV

And then in the same way that friendships deepen as we become more deeply committed to one another, God continues to draw Abraham into a more intimate fellowship. So. just a couple of years later we come to Abraham, the intercessor in chapter 18. Here, he is no longer praying for himself, or even his family. This time, Abraham is asking for God’s mercy for the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and God patiently listens to his every word. Then Abraham asks –

"...will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Genesis 18:25b

What a question to ask God! It almost sounds like Abraham is making an accusation and yet God does not leap to His feet in anger. Instead, God gently guides Abraham’s prayers, step by step, towards greater and greater mercy. “Spare the city for fifty righteous.” evolves to thirty, twenty, ten and finally, only five. The biggest surprise for me is that eventually those who were spared were the family of Lot. These were not folks who I would have picked out as a particularly special loving group. No! They were complicated, messed up, far from perfect and a lot like us! So be encouraged today. God has given us a legacy of intercession that stretches all the way back to Abraham. Just as God cared enough to listen to Abraham pray for his own imperfect family, so God longs to hear us cry out for ours. He is eager to teach us, He is eager to listen, and He is waiting to answer us in spectacular fashion far beyond anything we could ever ask or think or even imagine!

Where are you going?

Today is our big moving day however unlike Abraham we do know where we are going. We are truly thankful for all the help of our brothers and sisters who have helped us be ready for this time. We are launching out in faith a lot like Abraham and though we do know where we are going we have no idea clearly of what God has for us there. We do sense He is calling and today we will take our first few steps on that journey. Maybe we should all pause more often to ask ourselves the question: where am I going today? And our faith can answer – God knows the destination!

y faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/heb.11.8.NKJV