The journey of pleading

The journey so far

prayer for dummies (and a reference for the rest of us) in which I taught on the Lord’s prayer and how to use it as a framework for our own praying – thank-you for the people who sent in their own – some on display in the Welcome Centre -please send more to encourage us in our praying
the journey of awe – of seeing the Lord for who he really is, an awesome, loving, majestic God. We noticed that prayer takes off when we are aware of who we’re praying to

Today – the journey of pleading

This may sound an odd term to use of praying but walking the journey of pleading open up new realms in our walk with the Lord.

We use the idea of ‘pleading’ in different ways

In law

One of the oldest stories known to the common law lies buried in the terms “pleading” The plaintiff complains of ill-treatment at the defendant’s hands and pleads for relief.

Indeed, in medieval English courts, plaintiffs were required to plead their case by giving a detailed oral statement called “narratio” in Latin, translated as “tale” in English. “This is my story, please act on it!” – he’s pleading because he wants justice.

In crises

I came across this headline an a paper

Disturbing Video Surfaces Claiming to Show Husband Pleading with His Suicidal Wife to Get off 8th Story Ledge as She Plunges to Her Death

This man was utterly desperate and pleads with is wife not to take her own life. It’s a truly disturbing video. He’s pleading – and with an intensity that couldn’t be replicated by an actor.

in the family

How many of us parents have heard our 11 your-old pleading “Oh dad – why can’t I go and watch that 15 movie – pleee-ase!”.

There’s a common thread here – When I plead with someone or about something, I know I’m in a place of powerlessness

I can’t influence the outcome, I can only appeal to someone else, I can only implore, entreat, ask, beseech or petition the person.

the plaintiff in the law suit can’t influence its outcome – that is in the hands of the judge or the jury
The desperate husband can’t compel his wife not to jump because if he gets any closer she will leap to her death.
The 11 year-old can only give persuasion their best shot, the decision remains with Dad!

It’s just the same in prayer.

There are occasions when we need to plead with the Lord from a place of powerlessness.

I know I’m talking to some people who have been there and done it when I say that we plead with the Lord over all manner of things

you may really want that new job – and you plead with the Lord
you may really desire that person as a husband or wife and you plead with the Lord
You may be a couple desperate to have a baby and you plead with the Lord about it (That’s where Hannah was in the OT)
you may be in constant pain and you plead with the Lord to take it away (that’s where Paul was)
you may have had a life-limiting diagnosis and you plead with the Lord for more time with your loved ones on this earth.

Abraham was a pleading man in our reading (Genesis 18:16-33)

He was a remarkable man. Abraham responded to the call of God to leave his home and the security of his native upbringing and headed out to a place that God was going to give him

he walked by faith – and this was attributed to him as righteousness
he believed God for things that were humanly speaking impossible
he returned to faith in the Lord after backsliding

We may ask, ‘is there a secret to Abraham’s remarkable life?’

Yes, and while we could spot all sort of traits in Abraham that contributed to him being such a man of God there is one that stands out – his communication with god – his praying
Abraham was a man of prayer in all its variety of aspects.

He illustrates many important aspects of prayer

The priesthood of all believers

i.e. any believer may approach God personally

Back Story

Abraham had a visitation from three men >>>
as the story unfolds, one of these three men is identified with the Lord himself. >>>

So Abraham finds himself communicating directly with the Lord.

The priesthood of all believers assures us that

there is no need for intermediaries when we come to the Lord in prayer
that means prayer is a privilege that we should not take lightly
Hymn – “You are coming to a King – large petitions with you bring – Abraham was doing just that – large petition

The power on intercessory prayer

praying for others makes a difference

whereas we can’t change the hearts of other people, God can. And he sometimes uses our pleading with him in prayer as the stimulus for him to act.

Our prayers change God’s heart

Back story >>>

God was ready to obliterate Sodom and Gomorrah – but it was Abraham’s pleading that caused God to change His plans.

That people matter to God

God does not take morbid delight in the death of a sinner

He longs that everyone comes to repentance and faith.
This is true “intercessory, pr pleading, prayer” – i.e. Going to God to plead on behalf of others.

Abraham learned some important things about God

The Lord shares his secrets with pleaders

Psychologists say that “secrets are there to be told”

>>> (furtively) “have you heard the latest on so-and-so?

The Bible tells us that God has secrets that are no divulged to us

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

This story starts with an extraordinary account of God’s self-talk.

Gen 18:17… the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? (talking to himself!) 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just,

I found these verses a great encouragement this week. Why?

Do you talk to yourself?
my children used to delight in reminding me that it’s the first sign of madness! Now that task has fallen to Rosi

Here, to my delight, I found and example of God talking to himself! If it’s OK for the Lord it’s OK for me too!

It’s extraordinary because of what we see the Lord doing here – thinking as a man thinks

Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Yet here is God as if walking around, talking to himself “Shall I tell Abraham or not – shall I or shan’t I?” – he seems genuinely undecided

In v 21 God says to himself “I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

Now you may say to me “wait a minute – doesn’t God know everything? Isn’t he omniscient? Why, then does he need to make a trip to find out about Sodom and Gomorrah? Surely he already knows?

This is not a denial of God’s infinite knowledge but it’s God acting in such a way that we can understand him. It’s a way of him showing that he’s not going to be acting out of ignorance or hearsay – or just blindly reacting to a complaint!
We call this anthropomorphism – it’s God acting like man in order that man can understand God.
And through it we get to understand what he is doing and why he acts the way he does.

Why should God bother to take Abraham into his confidence?

he seems to feel some measure of obligation to Abraham. Abraham is a man of faith, dignity and courage

Principle: there are some times in the Christian life when the Lord divulges what he is thinking of doing.

Psalms: “The Lord reveals his plans to those whose heart is clean towards him” (?ref)

Abraham was one such man.

For some reason the Lord couldn’t reveal all this to Lot – even though he was in the place of judgement

I can’t help thinking that it was because to Abraham clean walk before the Lord that God opened his heart to his praying patriarch.

Abraham was a man of faith so God could whisper in his ear

The Lord hears the cry of pleaders

20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous

21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

People who were innocent victims of extortion or corruption or violence.

even today the name of Sodom lives on
sexual deviation of intercourse with animals is called Sodomy.

God heard the affliction of the victims and took notice of it

But how many righteous people were there in Sodom? We know it’s only a handful because we’ve read the end of the story. So where does this great outcry come from? It comes from the people who feel that injustice is surrounding them. It comes from the people who are victims of extortion or corruption or violence. The outcry that God heard must therefore have come from a wide variety of peopl, not just from one – namely Lot.

It’s very significant that God hears the cries of people who may not themselves be God-followers – people who say “if there’s a God somewhere then I’m pleading with him to do something! Indeed, we put ourselves in a place of extraordinary arrogance if we claim that it’s only Christians that God ever listens to.

(In fact if we claim that it’s only ever Christians that God listens to them nobody could ever become a Christian. After all, how did you become a Christian? You were outside of Christ, you pleaded with the Lord and he answered you and forgave you and brought you into the kingdom.)

So these people pleaded with God and in his grace he heard their cry.

God used this difficult moment in Abraham’s life to extend and develop his faith.

There are many occasions when the Lord ordains difficulty to be used as part of the process of refining his people.

e.g. Esther’s class at school – reading scheme – coloured stickers.
When she’s finding one level easy, she’s put on to the next level.
does the teacher do that just to make life hard? – just to be nasty? – No!
she does it to stretch Esther – so her reading can grow / develop to maturity.

That’s what the Lord is doing here with Abraham.

Abraham is facing a difficulty

He thinks God is inconsistent – gone mad!
he is questioning God’s own integrity

Here’s an important principle: It is not the fate of Sodom that is the issue in Abraham’s prayer but the character of God”

struggling within Abraham are painfully conflicting emotions

23. Then Abraham approached [the Lord] and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

“Lord there’s something I don’t understand about you here >>> !

The Lord takes notice of the pleader

Here is the language of the eastern street market

in west we are asked a price and we all pay it
in the east it is the custom to haggle

Can you just imagine how long it would take to shop in Sainsbury’s if we all shopped the eastern way?!

<haggle over tin of beans – “but computer says” – then haggle over a second tin of beans>

Yet here is Abraham whittling God down

50?

Then we can almost hear Abraham thinking “I wonder how effective Lot will have been in winning other people as God-followers in Sodom. 50 is a high target. I wonder if I can get a reduction?

22 The men turned away and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 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?’

45 >>>

40 >>>

30 >>>

20 >>>

10 >>>

You cannot have a relationship with God without, at some time, standing where Abraham stood

a burden on your heart “Lord I’m in a desperate situation – I can see what is about to happen – Lord it is imperative that you intervene”

Jesus told a story to illustrate this

Luke 18

widow – unjust Judge

parable of contrast
lesson – God will act speedily and decisively. – as He did with Sodom
When did you last pray like that?
prevailing with God
It is this kind of praying that move the hand that moves the world.

Who is it you’re pleading over?

>>>

Pray