Pitch your tent and call!

As I was pondering and preparing to lead a time of prayer last week, I was reminded of Genesis 12 and as I read verses 1-8, I was pleasantly surprised.

Here is the text,

“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your  father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great  nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a  blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will  curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram   was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife,  and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered,  and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the  land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed  through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oakof Moreh. At that time  the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and  said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to  the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill  country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west  and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon  the name of the LORD.”

How often do we neglect and forget about how valuable, vital, imperative and influencial prayer is. As Christians and disciples of Jesus, prayer is the foundation of all that we do. And here in this passage of scripture, so well known for it’s “sending” message {Go from your country} I was reminded and brought to the realisation that part of every one of God’s stories is a moment of STOPPING {pitched his tent – vs 8} to call upon the name of the Lord {called upon the name of the LORD. – vs 8} How often are we so busy and too busy to just STOP and CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD? How often do we make a plan and quickly set our thoughts into place before taking a moment to STOP and CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD? How often do things not go as we would like them to or catch us off guard because we have not taken the time to STOP and CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD? 

Abram had heard the Lord speak clearly {Now the LORD said to Abram – vs 1}

Abram trusted completely {So Abram went, as the LORD had told him – vs 4}

Abram exercised faith by obeying the call not knowing where he was going {to the land that I will show you – vs 1}

And he still STOPPED to CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.

Hebrews 6:11 – 12 says

“11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full  assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of  those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

“It is through faith and patience that God’s people inherit what He has promised. ”        (W. Wiersbe)

And it is through prayer that we can find the courage to:

hear the call (the promise),

trust the caller,

patiently (doing word – “may not be sluggish” Heb 6:12) seek His face and

faith-fully follow and walk into the call.

I don’t know about you, but I’m keen to take the time to pitch my tent and make the call!