Prayers Jesus prayed 2,000 years ago (for example John 17) are still being answered!
Genesis 25 begins with one final flourish from the fruitful life of Abraham. “Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people” (v 8). But the death of the patriarch could not stem the blessing that came from his life. The chapter is full of names, unlikely as that may be, because they are all related to the man who didn’t receive the son of God’s promise until his hundredth birthday! I am reminded of the words of our good friend, R.E. Harlow, who advised, “Don’t let a little thing like death interrupt your ministry!” What was he saying? That those who trust the Lord receive eternal life while still living on this planet, not just when they arrive in that other world. This new kind of life allows us to do things in time that will last for eternity. Prayers prayed now may be answered long after we leave this scene. Gospel seeds are “incorruptible” (1 Pet 1:23) and, though lying dormant even for generations, may yet sprout in the hearts of people not yet born. The same truth spoken into the heart of Timothy by his mother and grandmother, he was to “commit…to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). In fact, like the rainfall that fell on the patriarchs thousands of years ago, and that still recycles and falls on us today, so the truth passed on from the eternal Book by the first century Christians is still the same “faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). The devil tempts us to sow to our flesh and thus reap corruption, “but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” So, adds Paul, “let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal 6:8-9).