We read in Genesis 18:12, after so many years had passed, Sarah was told she'll soon have a son. Her response is telling. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
From this passage in Genesis we learn what it means to submit our requests.
1. Submitting our requests to God means experiencing a moment where we must be “as good as dead” to any possibility of it happening in our human efforts and abilities. We learn to be unwavering, trusting in the power of God to fulfill His promise. (see Romans 4:19-21).
2. Submitting our requests does not always mean an immediate answer to our prayer. Our condition may not change or it may even worsen. Sarah said, “I’m worn out (decaying) and my master is old”. I suppose even years before God first made the promise to Abraham, Sarah had long resigned to her barren state. How often have we grown weary from praying when the answer seems delayed? Jesus encourages us in Luke 18:1 to continue to pray and not faint. The word faint means to “be negatively influenced with the outcome of experiencing inner weariness.” If we look at natural condition and draw a conclusion based on those things that are temporal rather than reminding ourselves of God’s eternal power to fulfill His promise, we can easily grow weary and faint.
3. When God answers our requests, we may find ourselves tested by God to sacrifice the very thing He provided. Think of Abraham asked by God to take Isaac to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him. Why? Genesis 22:12 says, “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Lastly, Hebrews 11:11 gives a powerful insight into Sarah’s heart. She who said, “God, I’m so worn out. Life has been very hard and difficult. When I was young, you know how much I longed to hold a child, my own child in my arms. Just look at me now! I’m not only old and worn out, but then there is Ishmael, my husband’s child by an Egyptian handmaid. Why would you visit me now? Why this appointed time?”
Listen beloved, the lie of the enemy is to come to us and say it’s too late, my time has passed, I have no strength even to conceive the thought of a promised realized, it’s too painful even to consider. Hebrews 11:11 says God gave Sarah strength to conceive. Why? Because Sarah judged Him faithful to do as he promised. Sarah not only became a mother but she’d become a mother of nations by faith! Her smallest plea was answered but impacted countless others – even today.
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