Abram was 75 when the Lord called him to leave Ur.
Read Genesis 15 to learn of a very interesting encounter where the Lord renews his covenant with Abram.
25 years after the covenant was first made the Lord showed Himself to Abram and calls him Abraham.
Being called by a new name is representative of becoming a new person and turning a corner in our lives.
- When women get married they turn a corner and take on a new name.
- In traditional societies there are corners that we would turn in life where the name by which people refer to us would change. A young woman might come of age and begin to be known by her surname rather than her Christian name.
- A young man would go from boyhood to manhood by being called by his surname rather than his given name. These changes are reminiscent of this change of name in covenant.
“My hand is stretched out still.” He keeps His promises even though we break ours.
God’s abilities to keep his promises is not dependent on our ability to figure out how He will fulfill them.
Brigham Young once said “God does not have grandchildren” (emphasizing that we are His children just as Abraham was)
We are each meant to make our covenant with God as individuals, not merely as descendants of those who have made covenants.
We can ask for a renewal of the feelings which we have had of promises we personally have received from the Lord.
Sometimes we have to look to fathers further back than our own mortal parents. We may look to grandparents, or to the faithful patriarchs long dead. They are our fathers inasmuch as we are faithful.
One woman testified of the importance of writing down our sacred experiences so that we can recognize when the promises of the Lord are fulfilled.
Keep a prayer journal to become more conscious of what I ask of the Lord and how He answers.