“Abram named him Ishmael” (Genesis 16:15)
Has God ever spoken to you?  Hagar must have told Abram the story of God meeting her in the desert and all that He told her about the child she was going to have.  You know what women can be like.  Women go into great depth of detail recounting meetings like that!  You can hear Hagar telling Abe how broken she was…how afraid for her life she was…how confused she was…how thirsty she was in the desert…How lost she was…how miraculously God spoke to her and told her that she was going to have a son…to name him Ishmael!  Abraham must have believed Hagar as the Bible says, “Abram named him Ishmael”.
I’m sure Hagar would have known about the promise of God over Abram’s life to have a child and be the father of many nations.  I would assume that Abraham and Hagar thought this was how God was going to fulfill His promise and that is what infuriated Sara towards Hagar, causing her desert run away.   Abraham backed up what God told Hagar by naming their child Ishmael.  He validated the call of God on Hagar and on Ishmael by doing it.  Just as Darlene Zschech needs backup singers, we need people in our lives that by their words and actions, support and validate what God has spoken to us. 
Joseph and Elizabeth did this for Mary…Paul did this for Timothy…Todd has done this for me!  I have been blessed in my life to have so many people speak and put action behind their words to “back up” what God has spoken to me.  The next time someone shares with you what God has spoken to them, take the time to listen.  Affirm them and “back up” what God has set in motion!  In so, you’ll become part of the miracle! 
Prayer: 
Father…I thank-you for the people you put in my life to “Back Me Up”!  Help me to listen to them and not those who try to tear down and distract from what you are doing in me.  Help me to In Jesus name, Amen