So believers have the awesome privilege of prayer. God is listening. And that kind of begs the question, "How do you talk to an Almighty God?" 

Well, here I want to take us to Genesis chapter 18 because I think that Abraham has something that he can teach us. So, just for the setting, Abraham is walking with those three visitors who came and told him and Sarah that they were going to have a baby in their old age. And God says to himself, "Should I let Abraham in on my plans on what I'm going to do?" And he decides to. And he tells Abraham that he's going to go and see if Sodom and Gomorrah are as wicked as he's heard. And if they are, he's going to destroy them. And just like God wants us to respond to his Word with prayer, so Abraham responds to God. And the way he starts makes me a little bit uncomfortable. Let me see how you feel. He says,"Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25).

Yikes! "Far be it from you . . ." Would you pray that to God? That, that's bold, right? And you know what? God actually loves it. He loves it when we're bold in prayer, when we hold him to his promises, when we remind him of who he is. And yet, bold does not mean disrespectful. 

Abraham goes on to pray. He says, In other words, he remembers that God is God and he is not. And that's something we need to remember too. And so Abraham has been bold and yet humble. And then he goes on and shows that he's also persistent. So he starts by saying, "What if there are 50 righteous people in the city?" And God says, "Okay, if there are 50 righteous people in the city I won't destroy it." And then Abraham, it's almost like a little kid going to his parent again, and again, and again. He says, "What if they're 45? What if they're 40? What if they're 30? What if there are 20? What if they're 10?" And God doesn't get annoyed. Instead, he loves it and he answers every single time. He lets himself be overcome by Abraham's prayers. 

And there's one more thing I want us to learn from how Abraham prays. Who is Abraham praying for? I think most people would say that he's praying for Lot and his family, his relatives. They're included but that's not all he's praying for. Abraham is actually praying for the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He's praying for his enemies. When's the last time you prayed for your enemy? Just a practical piece of advice, it is really hard to be angry at someone that you're praying for. But more than that, when we see Jesus praying for his enemies, for us, on the cross, "Father forgive them . . ." it's going to help us to have bold prayers, humble prayers, persistent prayers, and yes, even prayers for our enemies. 

Let's pray. Father, forgive me for my shallow prayer life some days. Help me to pray boldly, humbly, persistently, and for my enemies, knowing that you love to hear and answer the prayers of your children. In Jesus' precious name, amen. 

You know what? Relationships can be tough. Whether it's a marriage relationship, or with friends, or with co-workers. But the Bible has a ton to say about relationships. And that's why Pastor Jeremy wrote, "Walking Together: Focused on Jesus." We would love to send you a copy as a thank you for your donation. Just click the link and have a great day.