[I’ve take most thoughts in this sermon from John White’s book People in Prayer.]
Last week we look at one of God’s promise when a person prays:
• Heb 11:6 “...anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
• God gives us a promise, that if we seek Him earnestly, we shall be rewarded. And we look at King Uzziah of Judah.
Today we are going to look at another promise –
• Ps 145:18 “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
• We’re going to look at an encounter Abraham had.
Unlike many of us, Abraham had no problem making contact with heaven.
• He never needed to try. Throughout his long life it was God who made contact with him.
• We are not always told exactly how God did so. Often we read, “The Lord said to Abraham…” with no explanation whether God spoke in an audible voice or in the stillness of Abraham’s heart.
• One time God spoke in a vision (Gen 15:11); on another occasion he “appeared” to Abraham (Gen 17:1).
It is worthy to note that each time communion between the two is mentioned, God is the One who takes the initiative.
• God came to Abraham. God spoke and Abraham responded. How nice.
We may feel that our prayer lives will be much simpler if this is true for us.
• We feel sometimes, in prayer, that God is the passive One, usually quiet and almost indifferent, while we are crying out passionately over on this side.
• But this wasn’t really the picture we see, especially in the OT.
We see God taking the initiative to speak - to Abraham, to Moses, to the prophets – like Elijah, while running for his life; like Samuel in his sleep.
1. In prayer, we engage an active God, who is eager to respond.
• Jesus said (John 16:13-15): "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."
John White says, “God is always speaking. To hear His voice is not usually a mystical experience. It consists merely of a willingness to pay heed to the God who lays a claim on our lives.”
• We just need to take note and listen.
• The word ‘hear’ in the Bible does not usually refer to an auditory experience.
• More often it means “to pay heed.” To take notice. To pay attention.
• What did I say? Did you obey?
Abraham then, was not unique. God approaches all of us in the same way.
• He speaks through countless means. You do not need special tools or medium to hear Him.
• In the past I use to say, we have to “tune in to the right frequency”, and as if there is only ONE right frequency and you have to find it. You find it, you will hear God.
• I realized that was not a good way to illustrate. Not accurate. Because the Bible shows us a God who wants to speak to us. He will speak at OUR FREQUENCY.
• He came looking for Abraham. He eventually became a man. Took on human form and spoke the human language.
Abraham had no knowledge of God from Scriptures – he had none.
• He had never read a chapter of the Bible. No instruction on how he can talk to God. God came near and spoke to Him.
• Understand this – God is not passive and indifferent. He is actively involved in your life, and constantly speaking (through the Holy Spirit, as Christ said.)
What is important is for us to have this RECOGNITION that God speaks, and it is our responsibility to take heed and respond.
• God does that sometimes through dramatic experiences, a near-death experience and you know that God saved you.
• At other times, it may be a totally unemotional thing – like reading a line out of a page in Our Daily Bread.
In the OT, God spoke through the burning bush (Moses), in a still small voice (Elijah), through visions and dreams (Daniel), through angels appearing as men (Abraham, Joshua when he saw the commander of the army of the Lord). God can even speak through a donkey (to Balaam).
2. In prayer, don’t limit the way God responds to you.
• Sometimes, He speaks and we laugh at the message – not literally, but in our hearts.
• We shut Him out by our unbelief, with our preconceived impossibilities.
Abraham saw three men, probably dressed like tribesmen, coming to his camp at noon day.
• He received them with hospitality, not expecting anything divine in the encounter.
• The men asked, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
• And then one of the three, identified as ‘stranger’ said, “About this time next year I will be sure to come back to you, and Sarah will have a son.”
You can imagine Abraham’s heart beating away, when these total strangers revealed God’s promise to the cry of his heart.
• For all his life he had longed for a son and had believed God for one. And now it came.
• He probably did not expect it to come from three strangers who looked like tribesmen.
Don’t be too surprised by the way God speaks.
• A gentle reminder from your parents may be the very word God wants you to hear.
• A talk with the spouse may be the very comfort God knows you need.
• A friend’s call may just be the very thing you longed for in your heart.
God will reach out to you and answer the cry of your heart.
• Believe it. Be willing to receive God’s Word when you hear it, whether it comes from the pastor over the pulpit, from your parents, bro/sis or friends.
• Don’t laugh at what God is saying, even through people whom you do not expect God to speak from.
You see, behind the tent came Sarah’s mocking laughter.
• ‘The stranger’ - now referred to as ‘the Lord’ – rebuked Sarah and she quickly denied it. She got a stern reply: “No, but you did laugh.”
• Can you imagine this happening? Man laughing at what God says.
• Don’t laugh - in your heart - at what God says to you. That’s unbelief.
• And don’t deny your unbelief. Admit it and ask God to help us trust Him more.
3. In prayer, God converse with you as His friend.
The next part is one of the most amazing passages in the Scriptures:
• We overhear a divine monologue – [read Gen 18:16-19]
• God thinking through, talking to Himself. He is depicted as walking and thinking as a man walks and thinks.
We know, of course, that God’s thought processes are beyond human comprehension.
• The God who, in the same instant upholds galaxies by His power, who numbers the hairs on your own head and watches every sparrow fall, does not “think” in the limited sense that we ourselves do.
Yet it is as if His whole attention is for the moment absorbed with Abraham.
• “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” he asked himself.
• Why should God bother to talk to Abraham about it?
• Does He feel a sense of obligation toward Abraham? Why?
If you think about it for a moment you will realize the stupendous implication of the encounter – the Lord of the universe, the Creator of life and everything we see, the Judge who is all-just and all-wise, is taking the trouble to explain His actions to man – yet not talking with condescension or arrogance – but in terms that man can understand.
God is going to judge Sodom for her sin.
• And He wants Abraham to understand His reason for doing so.
• It is difficult to conceive such an idea sometimes – we are creatures He made. We are sinners He redeemed. Yet we are called to be His friends.
• That’s what Jesus said (to His disciples): “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what His master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15).
• God wants us to know what He is doing and to share in the joy of doing that work.
God does not want us to be YES man. We are not robots. We are His friends.
• That makes prayer time really nice, right?
And so, if you are His friend, you are to know His plans and His thoughts.
• Prayer therefore is talking to God about things He is concerned about.
• It is a board meeting, where we talk about things of importance, about lives and matters of eternal consequences.
You can see at once how this raises the whole level of prayer.
• Prayer is not intended to be centered in my petty needs and woes.
• No doubt, God is concerned about our needs. But there are many other more important matters in His agenda.
• Abraham responded by pleading for the souls of Sodom.
If you have a relationship with God like Abraham, you would, at one time or another, find yourself praying like he did.
• It’s not a bargaining – Abraham has nothing to offer in trade with God.
• He was just desperate to understand, and pleading for mercy.
Why did Abraham stop at ten? We may never know.
• One thing is certain – he was reassured.
• As each response came back at him, “For the sake of 40 I will not do it… I will not do it, if I find 30 there… For the sake of 10 I will not destroy it…”
• The image of God was changing in Abraham’s eyes – God was not the monster quick to destroy, but the merciful Father quick to spare lives.
• If you have 1000 people in that city, even with only 10 righteous (and 990 sinful, evil people who deserved punishment), God will spare them.
Abraham was satisfied. The world is in good hands, whether or not Sodom is consumed.
• All will be done well and right, with such a God.
You see, this prayer changed him.
• Abraham came to know God more than he did before.
• This board meeting ended with Abraham having a deeper trust in his God.
• We see that later on in Abraham’s life - he was prepared to offer his only son Isaac when the Lord tells him so, without raising a single question!
SUMMARY
1. In prayer, we engage an active God, who is eager to respond.
2. In prayer, don’t limit the way God responds to you.
3. In prayer, God converse with you as His friend.
