Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

Abraham. At age seventy-five Abraham was told he would have a son whose seed would produce a great nation. At that time Sarah was sixty-five years of age and was barren. Both prospective parents no doubt made the effort to conceive, but eleven years later, there were no children in the crib. Sarah saw herself getting older, and she assumed that this son must come through another woman. She offered her Egyptian handmaiden to Abraham for a second wife. Twelve months later, Ishmael was born. This seemed like a simple solution to help God fulfill a promise. However, it was totally out of God’s will. It would not be until fourteen years later that Isaac, the seed of promise, would be born. Sarah was trying to help God out. Yet, according to the Scriptures, God was purposely waiting for Sarah to go through menopause.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. —G ENESIS 18:11

God waited until it was physically impossible for Sarah to conceive. This made the birth of Isaac a greater miracle. The lives of Abraham and Sarah demonstrate what happens when we fail to rely upon God’s promises to us.