Tag: prayer

Focused Prayer

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(Genesis 18:20-32)

August is here, which means it’s time to ask: are you done with your Christmas wish list yet? Don’t you know there are only 130 days left until Christmas??? What are you waiting for? It’s time to get cracking on that Christmas list!

But before you do, have you ever taken the time to go through your past lists to determine the success rate? What percentage of the gifts that you asked for did you actually receive? Has it ever been 100%? I suppose that rate of success would be easy to hit if, like my dad throughout my whole childhood, you asked for total dad things every Christmas, like socks and oil change coupons, and nothing else. But most tend to put a little more thought into our lists and, the longer the list, the less likely we are to have all of our wishes granted. 

Prayer is not like your Christmas list in that regard. Prayer has a 100% success rate. No, that doesn’t mean you’ll always get everything you ask for, but it does mean that every prayer you’ve ever offered up to God has been answered. And, it’s been answered in one of two ways: God either gave you what you asked for, or he answered it with something better in mind. In which one of those ways did the Lord answer Abraham’s prayer in Genesis 18? And how can we apply this account to ourselves so that our own lives reflect more focused prayer?

Abraham had just finished up sparing no expense in hosting three strangers in his home. Actually, as it turned out, they weren’t really strangers. Rather, his three visitors were the Lord God himself and two accompanying angels! That impromptu dinner party culminated in the Lord’s promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would finally welcome their promised child within the year.  

Following that revelation, the guests were about to leave and be on their way. But before they did, the Lord made known what he was about to do. He explained that he had heard the lamenting over the degree of depravity that had become quite well-known in Sodom and Gomorrah. His intent was to pay a personal visit to see if it was truly as bad as it was made out to be.

You might understandably be wondering why God would need to pay a personal visit to confirm what he had heard. Is the Lord not omniscient? Doesn’t he know all things? Why a seemingly unnecessary trip to experience firsthand what he surely already knew?

To arrive at the answer to that question, let’s ask another. Why does the Lord bother to share his itinerary and plans with Abraham? Why does he not just leave to conduct his divine business elsewhere? He surely doesn’t need Abraham’s approval or permission. God’s plans for Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t require Abraham’s input or insights.

In his mercy, he was leaving the door open for Abraham to intervene. Yes, the Lord was well-aware of Sodom and Gomorrah’s reputation; but the Lord also had covenant plans to carry out through his servant, Abraham. This was a growth opportunity for him.

The Lord had reiterated his plans for Abraham in the preceding verses. “Then the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him’” (vs. 17-19). God didn’t need anything at all from Abraham. Purely by his grace he had chosen Abraham as the family line through which the Savior would come. On this occasion then, we see God giving Abraham the opportunity to do “what is right and just,” acting in a way that reflected well on his gracious God.

And Abraham revealed the kind of heart that God desires all of us to have: one that is filled with mercy and compassion for others. Upon hearing of God’s plans for Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham seized the opportunity to plead on their behalf. “Then Abraham approached [the Lord] and said: ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?’” (v.23-24).

Depending on your level of familiarity with the Bible, you may know that something else was certainly on Abraham’s heart at this point: he had family living in Sodom. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had chosen to live there, so Lot and his family were surely a part of Abraham’s concern. Nevertheless, note that Abraham’s request was not limited to the rescue of his own flesh and blood, but rather that God would also spare the whole city on their behalf. 

Do you think Abraham’s request would stand out just a bit in our cancel culture society today? For that matter, do you think Abraham’s request would stand out even in our own midst or that of any Christian congregation today? Are we as quick as he was to ask for mercy on behalf of “people like Sodom and Gomorrah?” Are we as interested in seeing God show patience and grace to the people of the world today who would undoubtedly rival Sodom’s wickedness?

Or are we more like Jonah than Abraham? Would we be responding to God’s stated plan to destroy Sodom with our highest approval rating, rallying behind him to “see those sinners get what they deserve?” After all, mercy and grace aren’t for people like that; it’s reserved for the good folks sitting in the pews on Sunday morning, right?

Already that says quite a bit about our prayer lives, doesn’t it? When is the last time you prayed for God to show mercy to the wicked and change their hearts? When is the last time you prayed for the conversion of an unbelieving acquaintance of yours by name, especially the ones who brazenly live godless lives? When is the last time that your prayers didn’t revolve at all around you?

These questions lead us all to the same conclusion: there is room for us to grow in our prayer lives. That is probably the first step in becoming more focused in prayer – acknowledging that we often aren’t. And we ought to then go a step further and also acknowledge that God really doesn’t need to waste another second of eternity bending his ear to hear anything that we ask of him or say to him.

But God is merciful. Jesus’ perfect prayer life satisfied the Father. Our often pitiful prayer lives have been forgiven at the cross, along with our reluctance or flat-out refusal to make growing in our faith our greatest priority. God has taken the worst of us and nailed it to the cross, removing it from us and paying for it through his own Son’s sacrifice. That means there is never a bad signal between believers and God.

We have all experienced the phone conversation with a bad signal – where the person on one end or the other has a spotty signal. A few words cut out here and there. The person on one end informs the person on the other that they’re cutting out. So they attempt to get to where a better signal is. But it doesn’t get better and patience wears thin. Finally, either the call is dropped or the decision is made to hang up and try later when the signal is better.

Jesus’ work on our behalf ensures that prayer to God will never be like that. We won’t cut out or get cut off. He won’t have trouble hearing what we’re saying on his end. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit promises to clear up whatever is muddled on our end so that by the time it reaches the Father’s ears, our prayers and requests are perfectly pleasing to him (cf. Romans 8:26-27).

Do you get what that means? It means God isn’t waiting for you to step up your prayer life in order for your relationship status with him to improve; in Christ, he’s already done all that is necessary to put you on the best terms possible with him. Your status before God has been established by Jesus’ perfection, not your prayers; by his sacrifice, not your supplications.

So let our prayer lives reflect that. Let our prayers reflect a renewed focus. Let them imitate the qualities that Abraham demonstrated in his dialogue with the Lord: Persist, Repent, Ask, and Yield (PRAY).

Persist

Too often our prayer life resembles the Hail Mary. We throw up a prayer at the last minute and hope a miracle results. Hail Mary’s work… occasionally. But the more passes a quarterback throws, the more chances there are for receptions. The more persistently you ask of God, the more opportunities you give him to answer. Abraham peppered the Lord with one request after another as he adjusted his prayer. Don’t hesitate to do the same. After all, He won’t answer the prayer you haven’t asked. Think of the infinite means God has at his disposal to grant your every request. As James writes, you don’t have because you don’t ask (James 4:2). Infrequent prayers mean infrequent requests. Be boldly persistent – which also means to keep praying for the same thing until there is a result, or PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens).

Repent

Do not confuse a bold persistence with arrogance, however. Abraham remained humble. He displayed a repentant heart even as he persisted in his request of the Lord, confessing, “though I am nothing but dust and ashes” (v.27). Abraham knew full well who the Lord was – that he was able to destroy not only Sodom and Gomorrah but any unholy human in his presence! And that was what he was. His tone and attitude in the midst of his prayer reflected the self-awareness of his own unworthiness. Our prayers should reflect the same repentant spirits.

Ask

This one seems unnecessary – of course we ask! It’s a prayer, after all, right? But bear with me. Sometimes in our prayers, we end up rambling without really saying much, not even focusing on what exactly we’re asking God to do. We jump right into the prayer and haven’t given enough thought to what we’re asking of God. But it’s a no-brainer, you reason. The person is sick, so we ask God to make them well.

But is that it? Is that the only ask we’d have of God in that situation? Can you think of anything else to ask for when a person is sick? Here are a few suggestions: ask for God to be glorified through the sickness. Ask for God to provide strength and perseverance to the sick person. Ask God to stretch the faith of the sick person. Ask for God to use the sickness to impact others. Ask God to work in your own heart the willing faith to accept the outcome of the sickness. Yes, ask – but think through exactly what you’re asking the Lord to do in prayer.

Yield

Be all of these things in prayer, and then yield to however the Lord chooses to answer your prayer. That shows that you trust that his answer is the best possible one. God may not answer your prayer the way that you asked him to, because just maaaaaaybe he had a little more insider information than you did.

So did God answer Abraham’s prayer? Abraham asked God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of ten people. God agreed. But… God didn’t. Why? Because God couldn’t! He couldn’t find ten believers in the whole city! So he destroyed it. He allowed his response to make it very clear that he does not tolerate sin and that it must be punished (which is exactly what he did for us in punishing Jesus!).

But he also showed mercy and grace, rescuing Lot and his family from the destruction. So he answered Abraham’s prayer in a way that was even better than what Abraham had asked. To have relented against Sodom and Gomorrah could have given the impression that God is actually quite OK with sin, quite tolerant of it, and that it’s not really a big deal to him, as so many in the world today presume. But to destroy all of it would be to miss the opportunity to show that he is also a God of deliverance, of rescue and redemption. Even in the midst of destruction, God desires to deliver. 

It’s OK if you don’t have your Christmas list done yet. In fact, you’re better off giving more attention to your prayer life instead. It will make a much bigger difference. Focused prayer will bless others, grow you, and glorify God.

Bounce Back to Prayer

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(Ephesians 3:14-21)

When we bounce back to the Word, to our baptism, and to witness, we hear and are reminded of who God is and what he has done for us, and we pass that on to others. We see the value he attaches to us in his willingness to sacrifice his Son. And all of these things are enough to give us a window into God’s heart to see his true colors and how deeply loved we are. And if we had just that and nothing more, it would be magnificently more than we’d ever need or deserve! But God outdoes himself. He isn’t content simply to reveal his own heart to us; he wants to know what’s on our hearts as well. If it’s too trite to say that Christianity isn’t a religion – it’s a relationship, then maybe we can at least agree that it’s a religion that is all about our relationship with God. He craves a connection with us that surpasses the status of mere acquaintance or association. So he invites us to pray. He delights in hearing our prayers. Let us then bounce back to prayer.

How do you feel about prayer? Does the general thought of prayer comfort you? Is it a treasured blessing? Likely you will agree that it is. But if I ask more specifically about your particular prayer life maybe your feelings change a bit. When I ask that question, be honest – does the thought of your prayer life make you tense up just a little, as if I just added one more item to your checklist that you already feel guilty for not accomplishing enough? Does the topic of prayer drum up more feelings of guilt than grace? I ask because when the topic of prayer comes up with Christians, it frequently seems to be followed by a sense of apology or regret over our prayer lives.  

If so, then we have some work to do. Let’s start by asking ourselves a question: what would your prayer life have to look like in order for prayer not to be a source of guilt? Is it a matter of quantity? If you prayed more, would you feel less guilty? OK, then – how much would you have to pray for you to not feel guilty? Several times a day? Throughout the day? Several hours a day? If it isn’t a matter of quantity or frequency of prayer, then is it quality that has you feeling guilty? Do you feel like your prayers don’t have much substance to them, that they’re not “churchy” or “religious” enough (whatever that means!)?  

You really need to think through the answer to this question, because if you don’t, prayer and guilt will always go hand-in-hand. But here’s the real reason: if you view prayer as a performance by which to please God, you’ll always feel guilty – and frankly, you should! Because if our relationship with God is based on pleasing him with our performance, then we will always fall woefully short. We will never measure up in any way, including our prayers. 

So again – and stop me if it sounds like I’m a broken record here – bounce back to the Word and to your baptism. God does not base his relationship with you or his interest in you on your performance; he bases it on Jesus’ performance. And his was perfect. Yours never will be, so stop pretending your connection with God is based on something he needs from you. He already has what he needs in his perfect Son; he needs nothing from you – including your prayers. 

But he does want them. Do you see the difference between needing and wanting? If he has what he needs in Christ’s perfection, then he doesn’t need your prayers. But he wants them. He wants to bend his ear to you. He wants to be your go-to. He wants to show you how good and gracious he is. He wants to demonstrate his superiority to anything else that might make a play for first place in your heart. He wants to satisfy you in ways the world never can. 

Do you sense that Paul was very much aware of God’s desire and ability to do so? He knows full well what he’s tapping into when he taps into God’s power through prayer. “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power…” and “to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:16, 20). God is not living below the poverty line. He’s nowhere near middle class, even. The means God has at his disposal to answer prayer are beyond what we could ever comprehend. He is able to answer prayers in such monumental ways that our limited minds aren’t even able to think to ask! So the issue will never be one of our asking too much of God, but rather never asking enough of him. 

Elon Musk was recently crowned the wealthiest man on the planet. Suppose he wanted to showcase how wealthy he was by stating that he was going to pick one lucky person and grant that one person whatever he asked, no matter how much it cost. When the moment of truth comes and that individual reveals his request, he asks for – drumroll, please… a Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich. Now I don’t care how good a chicken sandwich is – when the richest man on the planet invites you to ask for anything you want and you ask him for a sandwich, not only is there something wrong with you, but the other – the bigger issue – is that you’ve just insulted his wealth and generosity. What a slap in the face to the world’s richest man to be robbed of the opportunity to display his wealth and generosity!

So then, tell me again why we ask so little of the God who owns the deed to everything on the planet, the planet itself, along with the entire universe? Why do we rob him of the opportunity to display that wealth and generosity? What do we really think of him if he invites us to come in his name and ask him for anything and we either ask infrequently, sporadically, or for so little? How we insult him with our infrequent, small-minded requests in our prayers! Forgive us, Lord, for thinking so little of you!

To help us put it into perspective, suppose I told you that when you get home today, Amazon is having a 24-hour window for you to order anything you want, as much as you want, for absolutely nothing. While I would like to think all of you would at least stick around for the whole service, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if some of you immediately pulled out your phone and started ordering. There’s not a single one of us who would not spend the better part of the next 24 hours ordering everything under the sun – if not for you, then to meet the needs of other people.

Of course that’s too good to be true. But you know what isn’t? Taking those requests to God, “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (v.20). Amazon has limitations – believe it or not there are still plenty of things you can’t buy on Amazon. Yet there is nothing God cannot provide, and his window of provision isn’t limited to 24 hours.

Neither is his window of provision limited to physical things. There are just some things that only God can provide. Try searching Amazon for consolation when a loved one dies. You won’t find it. Neither will you find any deals of the day on forgiveness for your past wrongs. You won’t find contentment with the click of a button. The peace to let go of when others have wronged you will never show up in the search bar. Yet God can grant all of this and so much more… if we ask him. 

You know what I find amazing about reading any of Paul’s letters when he touches on prayer? Physical requests are the last thing on his mind, and yet if anyone could have used prayers for physical things, surely it was Paul! Hi concerns are not based on the physical stuff, but the spiritual. No “pray that I get out jail” or “pray that I don’t get beaten again” or “pray that I don’t suffer” or “pray that I have enough clothing and food” Even though these were all constant struggles for Paul, his letters don’t waste any words asking his listeners to pray for his physical health or well-being, but always on the gospel and spiritual things. He doesn’t ask God to remove his suffering, but rather thanks God for using it to spread the gospel!

And before us in his letter to the Ephesians he does the same. The whole prayer here is for the spiritual growth and vibrant faith of the Ephesians! He prays for them to be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit so that Jesus might take up permanent residence in their hearts. He prays that the roots of Jesus’ love would be anchored in their hearts to grasp how all-encompassing his love for them really is – a love that goes beyond just head knowledge. He prays that that might happen so that they might be filled to the brim with God. 

What if your prayer life reflected this approach for a week? a month? the rest of the year? For many of us, it’d be a big shift in the way we pray. Less of the physical – jobs, relationships, health, finances – and more of the spiritual – depth of faith, Christ-like love for others, peace that really does defy understanding – but can absolutely be experienced, patience in an impatient world, compassion and contentment, joy in my identity in Christ, self-control that can say no to physical temptations, overwhelming gratitude, a forgiving heart, Godly wisdom, etc. Yes, let us bounce back to prayer the way Paul did – with a kingdom focus – and experience first-hand how much easier we find it to be OK even when life isn’t.