Good Morning
All,
Genesis
18:32; “Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but
this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I
will not destroy it.”
“If
you change your mind, I’m the first in line; honey I’m still free; take a
chance on me.” Alright, I admit it, I
know songs by ABBA; not a proud moment but a moment anyway. We like the idea of change. We like it when others change for us. “Change the channel, please, my show is on
now.” “Let’s change seats so I can see
better.” “Instead of going out for
supper, let’s cook a pizza.” We like it
when people change their mind, alter their actions or plans to fit our desires,
but what about God? Can we change his
mind?
Our text is part of the story of Abraham
praying to God that he spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham starts out by asking God if he would
spare the city if there were 50 righteous people, then 45, then 40 all the way
down to 10. At each request, God tells
him that he will not destroy the city if there were that many righteous. In the end, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Yet how do we match the idea that God is
perfect and immutable (changeless) and then he changes his mind? If God does not change, why pray? Why ask God for something if it is already
decided?
The most important part about prayer is
that while it does not change God; it completely changes you. In our story, Abraham knew, without a doubt,
that these two cities did not even have 10 righteous people in them. When you and I pray, God uses prayer to change
us. For most of us, praying helps us to
identify our fears and worries. Once we
identify what we are afraid of or what we are worrying about; it tends to “shrink
the problem.” The devil loves it when we
live in nebulous fear, when we are just afraid.
Yet, if we put a name to that fear, such as, I am afraid of losing my
job, God, through the Spirit, will send you comfort. It might be in the form of helping you
realize that there are other jobs or opportunities for you. It might be from other friends or family
members. God works in many ways, but he
works.
The most important part of prayer is that
we come to God and lay our fears, our worries and our burdens at his feet. Then we trust God to keep his promise to
provide for us. If we do this right from
the start, we will begin to have comfort right from the start. If we trust from the start, then even if our
prayers are not answered in the fashion that we thought was best, we know that
God will make all things work for good for those whom are called according to
his purpose. So we pray and God heals us;
in his way and in his time, but he does heal us.
Father,
we come before your throne of mercy seeking your blessings upon the families of
the land. Many families are under
attack. We pray for reconciliation; we
pray for peace within our own lives, within the lives of those whom we love,
and within the lives of all those who are hurting. Send your Spirit of peace to your
people. In the precious name of Jesus,
our risen Savior, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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