Apart from Noah, the Bible records other cases where God remembered some people. Genesis 19:29 says that God remembered Abraham. In Genesis 30:22, it was Rachel’s turn to be remembered. Exodus 2:24 says that God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Does this suggest that God sometimes forgets? Taking our text at its face value will lead to a wrong conclusion. God who said that He keeps covenants to a thousand generations could not have forgotten Noah who was barely a few months in the ark. The Hebrew word from where we get the word ‘remember’ is ‘zaw-kar’. Its other uses include to ‘be mindful’ and to ‘think on’ someone or something. In this light, our text would mean that God became mindful of Noah. What followed is proof of God’s mindfulness of Noah and his family. The water receded continuously until Noah could return to normal life.
Every time we pray, it is like writing a memorial before the Lord. Someday, the book will be opened and we shall be rewarded.
Are there things that we can do to provoke God’s thoughtfulness in our favour? One of the scriptures cited earlier provides a clue. “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.” (Genesis 19:29 NKJV). For what exactly did God remember Abraham? It was for his intercession over Sodom. The NLT of Genesis 19:29 brings out the sense perfectly. “But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.” Every time we pray, it is like writing a memorial before the Lord. Someday, the book will be opened and we shall be rewarded.