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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

We Pray Wednesday: People of Prayer in the Bible: Abraham




We read in the Bible about people who had great prayer relationships and wish that we could have the type of relationship that they had with God.  To me, Abraham is one of these people.  As we read the life of Abraham, there are several things to notice about his walk with God.  There are steps we can follow that can allow us to have a better prayer relationship with God.
1.  He prayed everywhere he went.
After God called Abraham out of his home town to that land of Canaan, we find that everywhere he stopped, he built an altar to call upon the name of the Lord.  He even taught his family the importance of calling on the name of the Lord.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing."  This does not give a time or place; it simply says to pray.  We, as children of God, should not be worried of what others will think if we pray to God.  There are many situations that I look back on in my life and realize that had I prayed, things would have probably turned out differently.  We should ask God for help in every situation, no matter where we find ourselves.
2.  He followed his way instead of seeking God's direction during a trial.
When a famine arose in the land of Canaan, he went down to Egypt, a Bible picture of the world.  We do not find him seeking God's direction in this time of trial and testing; we find him doing what many of us will do: following our own way.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."  We too often trust our way and what we think is best, instead of asking God to direct our steps.  Because Abraham followed his own way, he almost lost his wife and his life.  He also left with a maid named Hagar that caused problems later on in his family.  When trials and troubles come into our life, this is the time to seek God's face in prayer, not to blame him for the trial and difficulty in our life.
3.  He prayed for the mercy of God for his family.
Abraham's nephew Lot lived in the wicked city of Sodom and Gomorrah.   When God came and told Abraham that he would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham prayed for it to be spared.  Abraham knew that there was no other way to spare the city then to intercede for his family.  How often do we find family members in need of our prayers to God for them?  Do we plead to God to have mercy on them?  Do we ask for God's will in their life?  Too often we try to "fix them" instead of praying, pleading, and interceding for them to God.
4.  He prayed for God to heal.
In his travels, Abraham went to the country of Gerar where Abimelech the king took Sarah as a wife.  God warned Abimelech and said "Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live."   Abimelech wakes up and calls Abraham and asks Abraham to pray for him and his family.  The Bible says, " So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants."  As a people that pray, there are many that we should ask God to heal.  Notice the man had wronged Abraham, yet he still prayed for him and his family to be healed.  Do you ask God to heal those that are ill or diseased even if they have wronged you? 
            There are many people in God’s Word that we can emulate our prayer lives after.  We should realize that they had many of the same difficulties that we have in our lives and still communed and fellowshipped with God.  We should be people who read God’s Word and talk to Him daily.  In doing so, we can be people of prayer like those that we read about in the Bible.

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