Focused on Prayer

This morning we are Focused on Prayer.  What is more amazing than Abraham’s prayer is the way that God answered it.  God answered Abraham and he answers us graciously.  Why?  Why would God even listen to dust and ashes Abraham?  The same reason that he listens to you and me, it is for Jesus’ sake.  God looks at you and he doesn’t see a pile of gray ash, he doesn’t see us for the habitual sinners that we are, no, he sees his dear son or daughter for whom he died.  God sees you as the righteous, not because of the right things you do or don’t do, but because God has made you right by faith.  By believing that Jesus died for you, His righteousness is yours.  Whether your name is Abraham, Willie, or Pastor Fred go to God in prayer confidently because you are forgiven!

God loved to graciously say,  “Yes Abraham, for the sake of 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 and even 10 I will spare those two cities.”  Do you remember how the story ends?  Sodom and Gomorrah are not spared.  Their attempted sin against God’s angels is recorded for us in scripture.   You can imagine Abraham’s reaction as he watched the fire rain down from heaven on the valley below completely annihilating the area.  He thought he had lost his nephew Lot.  God read between the lines in Abraham’s prayer and answered him in a gracious way, even though it meant that the angels had to drag an unwilling Lot out of the city away from his friends.

How might he answer your prayer?  Have you ever asked for something over and over again?  But you think that God didn’t answer you?  Let’s go over the answers he could give to any one of your prayers.  It might be yes.  It might be no – this is often God’s best answer in love – we don’t always know what is best.  Or it might be wait – God wants to give us what we ask for, but now is not the right time.  Let’s go back to the little boy who so desperately wanted a dog.  God didn’t give the little boy a dog, because in one short month he was given a little brother.  He couldn’t have imagined a better answer to his prayer.

Want to hear more?  Watch this week’s message taken from Genesis 18, the second in our series Focused – Focused on Prayer.