Prayer and the Gospel
December 7, 2009 | 0 Comments
Last night I preached on what I call the "humbly bold prayer" of Abraham in Genesis 18: 16 - 33, which was a petition to the Lord to spare the inhabitants of Sodom and Gommorah from judgment.
Why was this a humbly bold prayer? It was humble in that Abraham knew that he was speaking to a holy, righteous God that not only had every right to cast judgment up those cities, but apart of from God's grace Abraham knew that he deserved the same judgment as well.
But it was this grace that served as fuel for a bold prayer, too. Abraham was God's friend (II Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8) and he knew the same grace that saved him could save the citizens of those cities as well.
Are your prayers humbly bold? Do your prayers reflect the fact that you are speaking not only to a holy righteous God, but also to One who, by His grace, calls you His child (Romans 8: 16, 17), Who delights over you with singing (Zephaniah 3: 17), and calls you a friend (John 15:15)?
To help us understand the necessity of this balance in our prayers a little more, I have posted a link to the article "Prayer and the Gospel" by Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. May God bless you.
