As much as we are instructed to pray, it is important for us
to understand how we should not prayer and what we should not pray for. I will
be using Father Abraham as a case study in the article.
The Lord God appeared to Abraham and told him his plan to
destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Then Abraham started to intercede on behalf of
Sodom and Gomorrah because of his nephew Lot who was living in that country
In Genesis 18:17 – 33,
Abraham started to negotiated with the Lord about the destiny of Sodom
and Gomorrah.
Here is drama between Abraham and God (my own version)
Abraham: Lord, if you found 50 righteous souls in Sodom,
will YOU destroy the city
GOD: I will not destroy
Abraham: Lord, Don’t be angry with me, make the request I am
about to make
GOD: Abraham, go ahead I am not angry
Abraham: Lord if you found 45 righteous souls in Sodom, will
YOU destroy the city
GOD: I will not destroy
Abraham: If you found 20 righteous souls in Sodom, will You
destroy the city
GOD: No I will not destroy
Abraham: Don’t be angry with me, I still want to make
another request. That will be the last one request about this issue
God: I am not angry, go ahead and make your request
Abraham; Lord God, if you found 10 righteous souls in Sodom,
will You destroy the city
GOD: Abraham, I will not destroy the city
Abraham in his heart thought that Lot would have converted
his household to worship the Lord including his servants but scriptures make us
understand that possibly it was only Lot that was righteous in the city of
Sodom (2peter2:7-8). Lot did not spread his righteousness to his family ( his
wife looked back, his daughters slept with him, that doesn’t portray that his
family knew the ways of the Lord). It behooves us not to keep our righteousness
to ourselves, but we must share it and spread it
Let us move back to Abraham
Abraham did not negotiate well with the Lord over the
destiny of Sodom and Gomorrah. My reasons as outlined
1.From the Statement of Jesus Jesus in Matthew 11:23 make us understand the sins of
Sodom and Gomorrah were not upto the sins of Capernaum of his time .Yet
Capernaum is still existing today. If Abraham had possibly asked God to wrought
a special sign or miracle in the city of Sodom, that city would have still be
existing up till today.
” Mat 11:23 And thou, Capernaum,
which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty
works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have
remained until this day.”
Abraham was not praying to God, it was like Abraham was
playing God. If you meet 50, 45 20, 10
righteous people in sodom , will you destroy it, Lord?
That is not prayer, Abraham was doing probability with God..
In Prayer you are going to be definite and specific. If it fish you want, you
will say it is fish I want.(Matthe7:7-11)
Abraham wasn’t definite, He was playing merry go round.
Let us be specific, definite and detailed when requesting
from God.
2.Abraham did not fully understand how God perceived him:
God saw Abraham as a Friend (James2:23, Isaiah41:8)
Isa 41:8 But thou, Israel, art
my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
Many of us are shallow, when dealing with God, because we
lack perception of how God perceives us . We are God’s friends. Jesus said to
His disciples “I called you friends” (John 15:15)..
We should let that sink deep into our heart, we should carry
ourselves that way that we are the Friend of the Almighty God. If Abraham
understood that He is a friend of God, he should have just said My Friend, I
don’t want YOU. to destroy Sodom. Our perception of ourselves and God matters a
lot in prayer. That is why Jesus when teaching about prayer first deal with perception (Matthew6:9)
Our Father in Heaven
We should see God has our Father, We see ourselves as his
Children (that is perception in practice)
3. Abraham was negotiating
out of fear: Gen 18;30, 32 Revealed to us that Abraham was not praying in
faith, but out of fear. He was thinking that God will be angry with him for
making his request. When we come to God, we come in faith, we ask in Faith, not
in fear or doubt. Hebrew 4:16. We come in boldness and full assurance of faith
in our heart
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and
our bodies washed with pure water.
4. Abraham
lack knowledge of God’s will: Abraham did not understand God’s will. In
Jeremiah 5: 1,
Jer 5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of
Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye
can find a man, if there be any that
executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
The Lord said if he can find A MAN who is
righteous, he will pardon the sin of Israel.
If Abraham had knew this verse of scripture, that
a Single man is enough to preserve the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. He would
have negotiated well over the destiny of Sodom and Gomorrah for atleast his
nephew Lot was a righteous man living in the city of Sodom.
It also important for us to arm ourselves with
knowledge of God’s word when we are praying or interceding
Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge,
Hos 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and
the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Isa 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the
stability of thy times, and strength of
salvation: the fear of the LORD is his
treasure.
Friends, for us to be successful in our prayer
life we need knowledge of God’s word. It is vital.
