Christian Message Boards: THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER

This is topic THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER in forum Bible Topics & Study at Christian Message Boards.

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Posted by WildB (Member # 2917) on :

by Cornelius R. Stam

"He shall pray for thee" (Gen. 20:7).

Abimelech, king of Gerar, had taken Abraham’s wife as his own, but had done so innocently. Sarah was a beautiful woman and Abraham, fearful for his life, had said: "She is my sister," and Sarah had vouched for Abraham’s subterfuge, telling Abimelech: "He is my brother."

But to save the errant couple from the consequences of their own sin God appeared to Abimelech, warning him that if he valued his life he would immediately return Sarah to her husband -- "and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live."

What is this? Will God hear the prayers of guilty Abraham for innocent Abimelech? Yes, for Abimelech was a pagan who served other gods, while Abraham, with all his failure and sin, was God’s own child.

Abraham’s prayer would, of course, be a confession of his sin and a plea that it might not be laid to the charge of innocent Abimelech -- innocent of this particular sin -- but nevertheless it was Abraham, not Abimelech, who had access to God.

Many unsaved people point to the failures of God’s children and say: "I would not be guilty of that." Nevertheless, such "good" people are lost, while poor sinners who have trusted Christ for salvation are "accepted in the Beloved."

"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. 4:16).

Posted by Eden (Member # 5728) on :

It sure is a privilege to be able to pray to Someone like Jesus and to Someone like YHWH the God of Israel. What a privilege and advantage it is to be able to ask for help and counsel from Those Two, as relayed from me to Them by the Holy Spirit of Israel. It is wonderful and a great privilege. "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you."

with love, Eden