Right Thinking, Right Words, Blessed Life – Daily Devotional (Day 10)
Romans 4:17 (KJV) – (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
In Romans 4:17, Paul describes the faith of Abraham and provides us another example of what faith looks like. This verse references Genesis 17:4-7 in which God spoke with Abraham and declared his covenant to him. Abraham was 99 years old when God explained to him that He was changing his name from Abram (meaning “exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of a multitude”).
In Genesis 17:15-16, God also changed Abraham’s wife’s name from Sarai (“princess”) to Sarah (“noblewoman”). 15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
Keep in mind that when Abram was 75 years old, God said that He will make him a great nation, He will bless him, He will make his name great, and Abram will be a blessing (Genesis 12). Again in Genesis 15, God promises Abram that he will have a child of his own, and compares the number of his descendents to the stars in the sky. In Genesis 15:6 it says that “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
Now it may not seem like much, but a person’s name in the Old Testament was extremely significant. In Genesis 17, the Hebrew word “name” in this verse means “reputation, fame, glory, monument, memorial”.
Abram wanted children of his own. God promised Abram descendents. God changed Abram’s name, causing Abraham to say “I’m a father of a multitude” every time he said his own name, even though it was clearly evident that he did not have any children. God caused Abraham to literally “call those things that be not as though they were” every time he said his own name.
What do you want to see happen in your life? Your family or your friends lives? What are you declaring today? What are you saying and confessing? Start declaring the end from the beginning – start saying what you want to happen instead confessing your circumstances – and you’ll see changes in your life. Start praying the solution instead of praying the problem.
Believe in your heart that God wants to bless you. God wants to answer your prayers. He already knows the problem – pour out your heart to Him and declare His Word. God’ Word will not return void – find promises in the Bible that fit your situation and start declaring them over your life. What you confess is what you possess.
God promised that we would have the same blessings as Abraham. Abraham literally declared he was a father of a multitude every time he said his own name. And, he had to ask his friends to say his name as well, so every time he heard his own name, he also heard God’s promise!
Find scriptures that fit your situation and start quoting God’s promises to overcome your circumstances. Believe God’s promises as you confess them and thank God for them. Call those things that are not as though they are right now! Go for it!
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION:
Romans 4:17 (The Message Version): We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn’t that what we’ve always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, “I set you up as father of many peoples”? Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, “You’re going to have a big family, Abraham!”
Psalm 35:27; Psalm 34:1; Psalm 40:3
JOURNAL:
Find scriptures that apply to your life and speak them out loud. Start speaking life over your body, your finances, your family and your children. Stop speaking about what your circumstances look like. Start speaking what God’s Word says about your situation. Fill your mind with the living, breathing, active Word of God so that your mind has a firm foundation!
Write down the verses and phrases that line up with God’s Word that you will declare today that will help you persuade your heart that God’s promises are true for you today.
THANKSGIVING:
Remember to thank God and honor Him with your words. You may want to begin your praise to God with a verse from the Bible or a song you’ve heard.
PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, that your Word does not return void. Thank you, Lord, that your promises apply to me and my family. “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. (Psalm 9:1)
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FAITH IN GOD DAILY 
It states Abraham believed in God who spoke those things. Abraham wasn’t doing the speaking but he believed in God
In Genesis 17:4-6, God changes the name of Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah. So Abram (Noble Father) becomes Abraham (Father of many) and Sarai, (Princess) becomes Sarah(Mother of Nations). Every single time they heard their new name called it reminded them of God’s calling on their life. Every single time they spoke their new name it reminded them of God’s calling on their life. Every time they were reminded it increased their faith in the calling, remember the Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So in those cases there was a supernatural thing happening.
Romans 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.””
Romans 4:16-22 “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.””
Abraham thanked God and gave Him glory for His promise of an heir. He spoke it out loud.
Galatians 3:5-9 “5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”
Also read James 2, which basically says that “faith without works is dead”. In addition, Jesus asked people to tell him what they wanted when they asked for healing and He gauged their faith. What you speak comes from what is in your heart. Every time Abraham said his name, he was saying, “father of many nations”. You can be sure that he spoke to his friends about his faith that God will provide him with an heir. Finally, Abraham gave glory to God and thanked Him for an heir. Giving God glory – out loud – speaking the words.