Gen 19:29, Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived. 
	We now come to one of those seemingly insignificant statements that are nestled in the midst of an historical event. As we read in this chapter, the details concerning the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are relayed along with the manner of Lot and his two daughters’ salvation from that destruction. These were the only survivors of the divine judgment hurled upon the evilness and the wickedness of these vile inhabitants. 
	However, in the very account of this scene of utter and absolute destruction, there is a quick interjection by the Holy Spirit concerning Abraham. …God remembered Abraham…  It is very easy to just skip through this statement in that Abraham is only seen as an observer of the destruction and then we have these few words as the account returns to Lot and his daughters. Other than this, there is not very much detail afforded to Abraham in this chapter. However, to just disregard the significance of this quick statement would be to miss a tremendous aspect of God’s heart toward us, as it was toward Abraham. The very depth of God’s consideration and heart toward humanity is declared in this truth that …God remembered Abraham… 
	The Amplified Bible gives us a better sense of what is involved in this seemingly insignificant report of verse 29. He [earnestly] remembered Abraham [imprinted and fixed him indelibly on His mind]… This is not a minor statement that was just slipped into this chapter. As a matter of fact, it has been argued that the entire account of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot’s salvation from destruction is centered on the fact that …God remembered Abraham… God so considered Abraham that He imprinted and fixed him indelibly on His mind. 
What is so exciting about this is that we eternally have the heart of God toward us expressed in this very same manner. The Almighty, Infinite, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent Creator of Heaven and Earth, of all things universal so regards and loves us that we are imprinted and fixed indelibly on His mind. He remembers us, you and me. 
This is of incredible consequence in terms of our relationship, our living and full relationship with God Almighty. We do not serve a God Who is generally concerned with the affairs of mankind. He is not just able to deal with governmental changes and patterns of ecological influence for the sake of the general welfare of humanity. No. He cares for and remembers you and me individually even though we are on this earth but a passing moment in the terms of eternity. God knows each one of His people by name. He works in both the deep and the seemingly insignificant aspects of our lives to make Himself known and to show forth His ceaseless Hand of guidance, protection, grace, mercy, love, and remembrance. 
Matthew Henry brings to light a great statement of encouragement for us as God’s people with consideration to the manner in which God remembers our prayers, especially concerning our family with powerful and personal attention. Quote, Here is God's favourable regard to Abraham... As before, when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac, so now, when he prayed for Sodom, he heard him for Lot. He remembered Abraham, and, for his sake, sent Lot out of the overthrow. Note, 1. God will certainly give an answer of peace to the prayer of faith, in his own way and time; though, for a while, it seem to be forgotten, yet, sooner or later, it will appear to be remembered. 2. The relations and friends of godly people fare the better for their interest in God and intercessions with him; it was out of respect to Abraham that Lot was rescued: perhaps this word encouraged Moses long afterwards to pray (Ex 32:13, Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever)... End Quote. (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, PC Study Bible Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All Rights reserved.)  
This should bring encouragement to those who have been praying for family members year after year. Some have been earnest requests for loved ones to come to know the Lord Jesus as Savior. Some have been for a deep, living relationship to develop. Some have been for reconciliation or for protection or for guidance or for healing. The truth is that at some point, in the economy of God’s divine providence, in full accordance to His will and His purpose, we and our ceaseless prayers will be remembered. Those loved ones will be shown the truth of the Hand of God in operation because we are remembered in the heart and mind of God. From before eternity began until its never ending, God will remember you and He will remember me and He will work in accordance to that remembrance.    
	The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia highlights the various aspects of God’s remembering in a manner that stresses its importance. It is enlightening in terms of the depth and the blessing which it entails. With your patience, I would like to spend the remainder of this morning reading it together and sharing the numerous passages of scripture which highlight the basic concepts involved. Then, next week, Lord willing, we will look at God’s remembering in a more personal and detailed manner. 
As we share this reading together, please take note of the emphasis that is placed upon the prayers of the people of God. It is very evident that prayer is the medium of calling to mind the realities of God in our lives as He answers them in His faithful lovingkindness and remembrance.  
Quote, God remembers or is asked in prayer to remember His covenant (Gen 9:15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh; Ex 2:24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.; Ps 105:8 He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations;Ps 106:45 And He remembered His covenant for their sake, And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness; Ezek 16:60 "Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you; Luke 1:72 To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant) or His promise (Ps 105:42 For He remembered His holy word With Abraham His servant). The covenant closely relates to "the fundamental bond of mutual remembrance that unites God and man" … In prayer Jeremiah calls upon God to remember and not to break the covenant (Jer 14:21 Do not despise us, for Thine own name's sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory; Remember and do not annul Thy covenant with us)…
God remembers individuals: He remembered Noah (Gen 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.) and Abraham (Gen 19:29  Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived) by making His covenant with them. He remembered Rachel (Gen 30:22+23 Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. So she conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach.") and Hanna in their barrenness by giving them a child.
God remembers sin and iniquity (Hos 7:2 And they do not consider in their hearts That I remember all their wickedness. Now their deeds are all around them; They are before My face; Hos 8:13 As for My sacrificial gifts, They sacrifice the flesh and eat it, But the Lord has taken no delight in them. Now He will remember their iniquity, And punish them for their sins; They will return to Egypt; Hos 9:9 They have gone deep in depravity As in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity, He will punish their sins), but He also remembers His mercy and truth (Ps 98:3  He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God).
Since to remember is to act, prayers often ask God to remember…thus remembering is not merely a recalling of the past but is also a call to action… When God remembered Samson, his strength returned (Judg 16:28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said, "O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes). Hanna prayed that God would remember her (1 Sam 1:11 And she made a vow and said, "O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy maidservant and remember me, and not forget Thy maidservant, but wilt give Thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord  all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head), and He did when she conceived a son (1 Sam 1:19 Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her). 
In 2 Chron 6:42  (O Lord  God, do not turn away the face of Thine anointed; remember Thy lovingkindness to Thy servant David) Solomon asked God to remember His steadfast love. Nehemiah prayed that God would remember His word to Moses that He would gather His scattered people (Neh 1:8+9 Remember the word which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell). Job prayed for God to remember him (Job 14:13 "Oh that Thou wouldst hide me in Sheol, That Thou wouldst conceal me until Thy wrath returns to Thee, That Thou wouldst set a limit for me and remember me!…). God is asked to remember how the petitioner is scorned (Ps 89:50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Thy servants; How I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples) and persecuted by enemies (Ps 74:2,18,+22 Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast purchased of old, Which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance; And this Mount Zion, where Thou hast dwelt… Remember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled; And a foolish people has spurned Thy name… Do arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches Thee all day long). 
Some prayers remind God that human life is short (Ps 89:47 Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity Thou hast created all the sons of men!) and human beings are frail (Job 10:9 'Remember now, that Thou hast made me as clay; And wouldst Thou turn me into dust again?; Ps 78:39 Thus He remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passes and does not return.).
Jer 14:10 (Thus says the Lord to this people, "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account) says that God will remember (i.e., punish) the sins of the people. In other passages the petitioner asks God not to remember the sins of the petitioner (Ps 25:7  Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Thy lovingkindness remember Thou me, For Thy goodness' sake, O Lord; Ps 79:8 Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us; Let Thy compassion come quickly to meet us; For we are brought very low; Hab 3:2 Lord, I have heard the report about Thee and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy), since not to remember sins is to forgive them (Jer 31:34 … "And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more…)… Thus for God to "remember" may be positive (to remember His covenant is to show His stead-fast love) or negative (to remember sins is to punish them). End Quote. (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised edition, Copyright © 1979 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.)
	As is evident, there is very much involved in the fact that God remembers. This is in no wise to say that God forgets, as we do in our human frailty of mind and memory. God does not remember our sins when we are covered in the righteousness and the holiness of Jesus Christ. This falls under the domain of choosing to see us in Christ rather than in our selves. God is not man. God is not limited by the mental resources and the physical confines of our brains. His thoughts are not our thoughts nor are our ways His ways. He far transcends and supersedes anything of which we could even conceive. 
	Having stated this, we are to rejoice in the fact that God does remember us. He knows us. He works for our best interest in coming into line with His will and His plan and His purpose in Jesus Christ.
Yes, we do pray for God to remember His lovingkindness toward us, but that prayer is not so much in order to stir Him to remembrance, but to cause us to remember Who God is. When we pray as all these recorded prayers that we have just read for God to remember, it makes us believe upon Him in a very personal and very real manner. We talk with Him and we sojourn with Him and we commune with Him. We know that He will remember us when it is the time for Him to do all that He chooses to do in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. We can count on His faithfulness and His sovereignty to remember us just as He remembered Abraham and all those so recorded in His Word. So be it!
Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived. Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is 1 Peter 1:3-5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Amen.