Praying At Its Best

One of my favorite stories has to do with Bill Moriers, who's a former pastor, has been a political commentator and so forth, but served as a spiritual advisor of sorts in the Lyndon Johnson, President Lyndon Johnson's administration. He was called upon one time to lead in prayer at a family meal in the White House, and the bow to his head began praying quite silently, actually, it wasn't very loud, and right in the middle of the prayer, President Johnson interrupted him and said, Speak up, Bill, speak up. Bill Moriers just stopped, right, in mid-sentence, never raised his head, said, I was not addressing you, Mr. President. And certainly when we pray, we are not addressing anyone else, not seeking to impress anyone else, but we are speaking to God. I want to speak this evening on praying at its best. And that raises a question, what is good praying? What is the best kind of praying? Well one man's perspective on good prayer goes like this. It is not the arithmetic of our prayers. That is how many. It is not the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent. It is not the geometry of our prayers, how long. It is not the music of our prayers, how sweet. It is not the logic of our prayers, how argumentative. It is not the method of our prayers, how orderly, but how fervent, and how believing are our prayers. Well, that is one man's perspective. And I think all of us would probably realize that how long we pray and how, what kind of language we use and the use of theological terminology or the tone of our voice, none of that really is significant in prayer. But what is good praying? What is praying at its best? I want us to look this evening at Genesis chapter 18, a story about Abraham as we have been going through the life of Abraham on Sunday evenings. We come to Genesis 18, verse 16. We are going to look this evening at a prayer that Abraham prayed. Really it was a conversation with God. He was simply talking with God, but really in a sense that is what prayer is, just a conversation with God. And as Abraham talks with God, I think we can see some elements of successful prayer, some real keys to successful prayer. What it means to pray at its best. The first of those I would suggest in verses 16 through 21 of Genesis 18 is a faithful walk. I just want to remind you that three men had shown up at Abraham's tent in the first part of this chapter. One of those men turns out to be the Lord himself, the other two probably were angels. And Abraham talks with them, has a meal with them, and the Lord indicates that they are going to have a son within a year speaking to Abraham and Sarah. And then in verse 16, this is what happens. When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. So they are beginning to leave, they are going on towards Sodom, and Abraham walks a little ways with them to kind of see them off, walk to the edge of the fence or whatever, and see them along their way. And then something very unusual happens in verse 17. Then the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? That an interesting question. God is saying, kind of mulling over in his own mind. I think I want to share something with Abraham. And it does. It begins to talk with him and communicate with him. And the reason God decides, although there is never any indecision with God, but the reason God does carry on this conversation with Abraham is because of Abraham's faithful walk. God decides to commune with him and to share with him his plans because of Abraham's faithful walk with God, which raises a very interesting point. And that is that God's answer to our prayers may go back long before the time we begin praying to how we are living. If we expect to see God work and answer to prayer, it may have more to do with how we are living at the time we pray than the way we pray. Because God says, I'm going to share with Abraham what I'm planning to do. I'm going to enter into this two way communion with him based on something that I see in his lifestyle. And in the following verses, he describes Abraham's faithfulness in his walk with God in two different ways. First of all, Abraham is faithful in his relationship with God. In verse 18, following the questions, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? God says, Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation and all nations on earth will be blessed through him for I have chosen him. Let's stop right there for just a moment. Both of those comments about Abraham, one in verse 18 has to do with God's covenant with him. Abraham will become a great nation, powerful nation, all nations we blessed through him. That's a repetition of the Abrahamic covenant that God had made with him. God has entered into covenant with this man and then he says, I have chosen him. The Hebrew word literally means to know, but it's used in that way that the word is often used in the Old Testament to know in a very intimate way. What God is saying is I have entered into a very intimate relationship with Abraham. I have entered into a personal relationship with him. I have made a covenant with him. And while the emphasis of these comments is on God and his initiating a covenant with Abraham, Abraham is faithful in his walk with God in response to that covenant. And so the implication here is God is going to continue to share with Abraham and draw him into this two way communication, this time of prayer, if you will, because God says, I know Abraham. I have entered into an intimate relationship with him. I have chosen him for a particular purpose. I wonder about us this evening. Our lives pleasing to God is our relationship with him, our walk with him, something that pleases him. Are we living in a way that's faithful to him where God could say, I want to share with you, I've entered into covenant with you, I know you, I have a very close relationship with you, a very intimate relationship with you. And so I will continue to draw you into this prayer two way conversation with me. It's amazing to me that when God looks at us to see whether he will answer our prayers or not, it goes far beyond just what we're saying in our prayers and how we're praying or how often we pray, it goes back beyond that to how we're living. The Bible says in Psalm 66, if you'll look at these verses on the screen, if I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. You see, whenever there is a walk with God that is far from him, that is not close to him, whenever we are cherishing sin in our hearts. In other words, we're not dealing with sin, we'd rather keep the sin because we love the sin. Whenever we are living that way, then God says, I will not listen to you, but with Abraham, God says, I want to draw you into this two way conversation. I want to share with you what I'm planning to do and a lot of that had to do with his faithfulness and his relationship with God, but he is also faithful in his relationship with his family. Notice verse 19, for I have chosen him so that there is purpose there, 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. God is saying, I have chosen him, I've entered into this close relationship with him. In order that, he may teach his children and warn his children and direct his household to keep the ways of the Lord. God is saying, I know Abraham is that kind of man, I know he has a good relationship with his family and I am going to share what my plans are for judgment on Sodom because I know, I know this is a man who will then use that information to warn his own family, to teach his children what it means to be close to the Lord and to walk with him and to live the kind of life that will never bring that kind of judgment on them. And you see, God was looking for that kind of a man. It was essential to have a man like that so that what God has planned and purposed for Abraham will be passed along to the next generation and to the next generation and down through as God purposes to bless him and his family. It just shows God is saying, I am going to show him what I'm going to do because I know that he will direct his family correctly. That shows to me the high value that God places on us directing our families, on training our children. I wonder men here tonight, are we like Abraham? Could God save us? I know him. I know that he will direct his family. I know that he will guard his children. I know that he will teach his children. Are we communicating to our children, biblical values for living? What it means to walk with God, what it means to live for him and to serve him? Do we take the time to do that? Are we spending the time training our children by example? Are we taking advantage of those teachable moments to express to them biblical truth? You see, Abraham was faithful in his relationship with God. He was faithful in his relationship with his family. Before we ever pray, we need to ask ourselves, how are we living? Are we faithful? Are we faithful to God? Are we faithful in our relationship with our families because God drawing us deeper into his confidence in prayer relates to how faithful our lives are in walking with him. So a faithful walk with God is a very important element of faithful praying and successful praying. The second element is concern for others. Look at verse 22. Excuse me, let's pick it up in verse 20. Then the Lord said, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. Now there's an interesting expression about God, isn't it? I'm going to go down and check things out. I'm going to see if what I've heard is true. And if it isn't, then I'll know. We kind of wonder when we read something like that. Does God know everything? Does he already know how things are going on that in Sodom? And obviously from the rest of scripture we know he does know. This is a language that Bible commentators will say is used to describe things from our perspective. God already knows what's happening in Sodom. He does not need any evidence to cooperate what he already knows. But from our perspective we need to be assured that God never acts without having all the facts. God knows everything. And so from our perspective, the statement is made. God says, I'm going to go check this out. We need to know that God never acts without having all the information. And so God lowers Himself to our level to say I'm going to go check this out to make sure before I act. But notice what happens next in verse 22. Abraham's response to this, the men turned away and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remains standing before the Lord. In other words, the two other of the three men went on towards Sodom, but the Lord stays and Abraham is talking with him. Verse 23, then Abraham approached him and said, will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people in it? See, after God lets Abraham know what He is doing, what His plans are, Abraham immediately shows concern for the people of Sodom. And it's not just concern for His family, for a lot, and lots family. It's concern for everybody. He doesn't want anyone to perish in Sodom. He's concerned about, Lord, the whole city, will you wipe off the whole city? Wipe out the whole city just for if there are 50 people there who are saved, who are righteous people. He wants the city to be spared. He is concerned not only for the believers in that city, but also for the lost in that city. And when I see that, when I see that kind of concern, I think about my own prayer life and I begin to evaluate how much of my prayer life is for myself or even my own family. And then how much of it extends beyond that? Do I really intercede for other people, particularly for the lost? Is there any concern for others? Is God's judgment so real that I spend time praying about people who are lost, neighbors and family members and friends, who I have every reason to believe, do not know Christ? Do we spend any time praying for them? Abraham was. He's praying out of concern for lost people here. His concern for others is very evident. It's a quality of praying at its best. But another quality arises in verse 25, and that is confidence in God. Verse 25. Notice this, far be it from you to do such a thing to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you will not the judge of all the earth do right. Now notice how boldly it's an amazing statement, how frankly Abraham addresses God. Far be it from you Lord to do such a thing. Far be it from you. Will you really wipe out the whole city? That's an amazingly frank and bold statement, and yet behind it all lies a confidence that God will do what is right. The end of the verse will not the judge of all the earth do right. Abraham is confident that God is right and he will make no mistakes, that he will never do anything that is wrong. And with that confidence in mind, he prays, Lord, far be it from you to do this, but I understand will not the judge of all the earth do right. I believe that is the essence of what prayer or faith is in prayer. Faith, real faith in prayer is confidence that God will always do the right thing. Abraham is very bold in his request. God far be it from you to take this whole city. But I know that you'll do the right thing. Will not the judge of all the earth do right. When we pray and we trust God in prayer, what that means is that we trust that God will do what is right. You see a lot of people have this backwards. A lot of people think that faith in prayer is believing that what I am praying will be done. And that's where the name and claimant movement comes from, the health and wealth gospel. If I have enough faith, if I must rub enough faith, whatever I ask God, you'll do. It's all depending on how much faith I've got. And that's not what faith in prayer is all about. Faith in prayer is, do I have confidence that God will do right? No. I will frankly ask him. I will boldly ask him what is on my heart to ask. But behind all of that, I will believe that God will do the right thing. And if the right thing is not what I, and maybe my ignorance, I'm asking, I will trust him to do the right thing. That's what faith in prayer is. It's not faith in my prayers or faith in my faith. It's faith in God. And faith in God says, regardless of how he responds, I will trust him. I will know that he will do the right thing. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? That is not a question of doubt. It's a question of confidence. Lord, far be it from you to do this, but He leans back against that confidence. I know. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Yes, He will. I know He will. And I believe that's the only way to have peace in prayer is to have that kind of faith in God that you ask him boldly, but you then trust him to do what is right. If you skip down to verse 33, at the end of the passage, you find that when the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, He left and Abraham returned home. That interesting. And the prayer is done. Abraham does not rush off to Sodom to see if the prayer is going to be answered like he asked or not. He doesn't race to the hillside to look over and see what's going to happen. He doesn't even worry and fret about things. Abraham goes home. And the only way to go home after you've prayed something very boldly, the only way to just go home and lay your head on your pillow at night. They have peace in your heart is to have the confidence in God that says, shall not the judge of all the earth do right. The Bible tells us in Philippians chapter 4, very familiar verses. Philippians 4 verses 6 and 7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The only way to have that kind of peace is to bring our requests to Him in the confidence, knowing that He is God. So we pray, yes, we pray, but we pray in faith, believing, not questioning, not worrying, not fretting, but bringing our requests to Him with prayer and supplication. And thanksgiving, which is confidence in God, it's the only thing that will sometimes take you through the dark days, is knowing that God will do right. The judge of all the earth will do right. Confidence in God is an essential for praying at its best. A fourth essential is something that sounds a little contradictory. First, it is bold humility. Bold humility. Verse 27, or let's read verse 26, first, the Lord said, if I find 50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Now verse 27, then Abraham spoke up again, now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, and we'll stop there before we get to his actual request in verse 28. There's actually a beautiful balance here with Abraham's prayer between boldness and humility. That's why I call it bold humility. His boldness has described in the first part of verse 27, now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord. I have ventured to speak, and I have ventured to speak very frankly, very boldly, Abraham is saying, he boldly asked God what was on his heart. We don't have to be timid in prayer. Hebrews chapter 4, in verse 16, says, let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may have received mercy and find grace to help in our time of need, confidence, boldness, John Henry Jowett, a great preacher back in the late 1800s in England first, and then at a church in New York City for seven years in the 1900s and then back to Westminster Chapel in London. John Henry Jowett said this about prayer, the ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers. I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my supplication innumerable times. What have I asked for? I have asked for a cupful and the ocean remains. I have asked for a sunbeam and the sun abides. My best asking falls immeasurably short of my father's giving. It is beyond that we can ask. Bold praying. There's a sense in which I think God is offended by our meager requests, where we're asking for a cupful and the whole ocean remains, where we're asking for a sunbeam and the whole sun remains. And God wants to work. God wants to move and yet it is though we feel he doesn't want to work and he doesn't want to give and he doesn't want to move that somehow he's holding back. And so there must be a boldness in prayer, but that must be coupled with humility. Notice Abraham says, I've been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes and that's his humility. That kind of humility is what keeps boldness from turning into presumption. You see when boldness in prayer turns into presumption, then we feel like we deserve what we're asking. We feel like we, oh God owes us something and we get kind of a demanding attitude with every right to come to God for this and God should work and God should bless us and give us what we're asking. That kind of request is not honored and not blessed by God. Yes boldness, but with a recognition that we do not deserve and if God does answer our prayers on the basis of His grace, I would remind you that the verse we see on the screen right now follows two verses that tell us why we can come boldly to the throne of grace. Verse 14 says, therefore since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens Jesus the Son of God let us hold firmly to the faith we profess for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who's been tempted in every way just as we are yet was without sin. The only reason we can come boldly to the throne of grace is because of Jesus, not because of you, not because of me, not because of who we are, not because of who we think we are what we have done. The only reason we can come boldly to the throne of grace is because of Jesus. And so that keeps us with a proper sense of humility. Remember who we are, remember who He is, remember that God gives us access because of Christ and not because of ourselves. Bold humility is one of the keys to successful praying. And then look with, if you will please, at verse 28, persistence is a key to successful praying, persistence, verse 28. What if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people? If I find forty-five there, he said, I will not destroy it. Once again he spoke to him, what if only forty are found there? He said, for the sake of forty I will not do it. And he said, may the Lord not be angry, but let me speak, what if only thirty can be found there? He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham said, now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there? He said, for the sake of twenty I will not destroy it. Then he said, may the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there? He answered for the sake of ten. I will not destroy it. I don't think that's mere haggling. I don't think that is dickering on the part of Abraham trying to get God down a little bit more. God is very serious about his judgment and Abraham is very serious about his requests. Abraham does not understand and know all of the situation in Sodom. He doesn't know how many righteous people are there, but he doesn't want any to perish. And he knows that God is the kind of God who does not want anyone to perish. He knows that God will do what is right, but he's exploring out of his great concern. Lord, would you destroy it for fifty? Well, what about forty five, forty thirty, twenty ten? Would you destroy it if there are ten righteous people? I think what we have here is not haggling with God. I think what we have is a beautiful example of persistence in prayer. Abraham keeps on. He does not give up. It is important that we understand and learn that kind of persistence in prayer. And then Abraham gives us one other, by his own example, key to successful praying. And that is specific requests. Isn't it interesting that Abraham did not say, Lord, just bless this situation. Lord just work in this situation. No, he was praying, Lord, fifty, forty five, forty, thirty, twenty ten, specifically Lord. Specific numbers for a specific city with a specific request not to judge that city. I think many of us would never know if our prayers were answered because we pray so vaguely. There's nothing specific about our prayers. We just ask God, Lord, just work things, just bless, just have your will, and there's something good about that for sure. But we need to be specific when we pray. We need to ask God specifically, Lord, I'm asking you this, specifically, for this situation that you would work in this way. All the time having that confidence shall not the judge of all the earth do right. Knowing that if God does not see fit the answer in the way that we ask, it will be okay because God does all things right. Hudson Taylor was in China for twenty years when he came home from China with his health broken in 1874. And as he lay in his bed partially paralyzed because of his, just the weakness of his body, he began to pray for eighteen people to accompany him back to China. Eighteen, specifically. Two years later, God raised him up in an 1876, he went back with eighteen people. A few years later, five years later, eighteen eighty one, he came back to the states. And by this time the China inland mission was growing and God was moving in the hearts of people to go. And on this trip Hudson Taylor asked God for seventy new missionaries and he went back to the field with seventy people with him. Eighteen eighty six, he came back to England to report on his ministry again. This time he asked God for one hundred new people to go with him and he went back with one hundred people with him. Now I'm not telling you that story to suggest that just because you ask in specific terms God is obligated to answer exactly what you do. But if Hudson Taylor had just come back and said, Lord if it's your will raise up some more workers, how would you have really known the level to which God took him seriously and answered that prayer? God answered specifically a specific prayer. I believe Abraham's prayer was successful I believe he was praying at his best and it illustrates prayer at its best. But you might say his prayer was not answered. God did not spare the city. It was destroyed. That's true. But lot and his family were delivered. And do you know that that was because of Abraham's prayer? If you'll skip ahead just a little bit to Genesis chapter 19, verse 29. 1929 says so when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and he brought a lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where lot had lived. Why did he bring a lot out to his family? Because he remembered Abraham. He remembered Abraham. It was Abraham's prayer that was answered in the deliverance of lot and his two daughters. Our standard of success in prayer is often how many do I get to go my way? That's count them up. How many do I get to go my way? And that's our standard for success. But maybe the standard for success needs to be from God's perspective. Are we praying out of a faithful walk with God? Are we praying in concern for others? Are we praying with confidence that the judge of all the earth will do right? Are we praying with a boldness that is tempered with humility that recognizes we have no right on our own to be in the presence of God? Do we pray persistently not giving up and do we pray with specific requests? I think if we pray like Abraham, we could say that is praying at its best.