Abraham's prayer

What an amazing example of prayer we receive from Abraham!  When I ask other people to tell me their first impression of his prayer most people point out the fact that Abraham’s prayer is very bold. Listen to verse 25: 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?”

The second response I receive about Abraham’s prayer is that as bold and persistent as Abraham is, he is also very humble.  And those three characteristics make this the type of prayer our Lord wants from all of us. While what Abraham said may seem to us to be crossing the line, he was only relying on God’s promises about himself. Our God teaches us that he is forgiving, just, and merciful. He tells us that he loves his children and wants no part with the ways of the wicked. This is who our God is and he can’t change. Abraham didn’t say anything that wasn’t true or anything that went against the nature of our God.

Abraham was also aware that he was speaking to the Creator of heaven and earth, and if God didn’t want to hear Abraham he didn’t have to listen. Abraham remembered that he was just dust and ashes, and if the Lord wanted to sweep away Lot and his family with Sodom and Gomorrah who was Abraham to tell him otherwise?

How often do we pray like this? Sometimes we feel like what we want isn’t that important. Yet our Lord tells us to pray to him about everything. There is nothing too big or too small to bring to our Lord in prayer because he wants to hear from us.

We can pray to our Father in prayer with boldness and confidence when we remember our Savior Jesus. When we pray in the name of Jesus we are reminded that it is only because of Jesus who made us God’s children that we can pray in the first place. But knowing that Jesus made us children of God reminds us that our prayers are heard and answered according to God’s will.

May Abraham’s inspired petitions encourage us and the people we serve to follow in his footsteps whenever we pray.

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