“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you”. John 15:14.

What a privilege we have, what a great honor to be His friends. Just imagine, the Lord Himself coming to talk with us. But first, we have to be tested and approved to be worthy of this privilege. In Genesis 18:19 the Lord said: “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him”. So the Lord had been watching Abraham and his household all this time; how he had been giving God’s message to the whole family faithfully. Every family should have family prayer regularly. If we will teach our children God’s Word regularly and faithfully we too can become God’s friends and that which is hidden from the angels will be revealed to us.

When God told Abraham about the coming events, Abraham interceded for the men of Sodom and Gomorrah. He gained boldness as God’s friend. We can also have boldness and liberty to intercede for others, and to claim grace and mercy for those who are in darkness. Thus we can become God’s co-workers. (V.33). The Lord had no desire to share His secret with Lot because Lot had grieved Him by preferring to stay near Sodom and Gomorrah. If anyone of us, like Lot, prefers worldly pleasure and honor, the Lord will not come to us nor reveal to us His secrets. Let us take warning, lest the things of this world are more to us than the promises of God.

___By Vivek Anand