ABRAM BELIEVED GOD

Genesis 15:4 “And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.”

How does faith come? It comes by hearing the word of the LORD. Abram now knows what the will of God is, so he must decide whether he believes God or not. Verse 6 tells us what Abram decided: “And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness.”

At that moment, Abram is in faith, and God and Abram enter into covenant with one another to seal it. From this point on, it looks to me like Abram is in faith, but it takes a man and a woman to make a baby, and Sarai is not quite there yet.

How do I know? Genesis 16:2 says, “And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing…” This is what she believed. Whether it was because of the length of time, or because Abram told her what God had said since she wasn’t there to hear it herself, I am not sure. But whatever it was, it did not produce faith in her at that moment, so she was not in faith. Thank God that changed.

When God speaks something to us, we have a choice to make—to believe or to reject what He said. You hear from God. You are His sheep, and you know His voice. For the things that concern you, God will speak to you in your heart, and from that you will receive a rhema word so you can release your faith.

Just as God spoke to Abram and he believed, it can and will happen to you. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God. When God speaks to you, it will always agree with the written Word of God (logos). From there, your faith will take hold of what God has said, and you will have faith to receive your promise.