Pray Like Abraham

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

In 1535, Martin Luther was asked by Peter, his barber, about prayer. So Luther wrote a little book explaining how he organizes his own prayers to God. For example, Luther directed his attention to the different petitions in the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. He also used the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed in a similar way to focus, shape, and give structure to his prayers.

Luther’s little booklet was translated by the current President of the LCMS, Matthew Harrison. If you are interested, it is titled A Simple Way to Pray and is available through Concordia Publishing House and will only set you back about $6. There are also other translations of it available through Amazon.

In our Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples about prayer. What we call the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father is the model Jesus provides. He then demonstrates by way of a parable how prayers are to be persistent, even forward, trusting that God is good and will graciously hear and answer.

The Bible is full of such examples of this kind of prayer. We find this with Moses in Exodus 32 and Deuteronomy 9 after the whole golden calf issue. We see it in Hannah as she prays for a child in 1 Sam 1. We certainly find this kind of prayer coming from King David all throughout the Psalms he wrote.

We also have a wonderful example of such persistent, shamelessly forward prayer in today’s Old Testament Reading where Abraham boldly and repeatedly dares to confront God’s sense of justice regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

So, let’s spend some time today thinking about prayer. That is something we are all familiar with, but I think it’s a topic that, just like with Luther’s barber, there are some questions or misunderstandings about.

Let’s get one thing straight off the jump though. Prayer isn’t, or it doesn’t have to be complicated. People sometimes get all kinds of wound up when they pray. They aren’t sure what to say, how it should be ordered, or if they are using the right words. If you want to witness this, just ask someone to pray in public. You will see just how uncomfortable we can be with prayer.

What you have to understand is that prayer is just a conversation with someone who is in the room. That someone is God, and that makes prayer a big deal, but it is still just a conversation. There isn’t an approved structure, there doesn’t have to be an pattern or anything fancy. It’s just a conversation. Now, just like any conversation you have with anyone else, it’s best to have a structure so things flow and nothing gets left out. Some kind of structure does make it easier, but it is not a requirement and it won’t make your prayer any more or less heard by God.

Remember, like I said a moment ago, prayer is a conversation. At the end of the day, that’s what prayer is. It’s not a religious performance. It’s not a formula or transaction. Prayer is relational. It’s a conversation with someone who is listening. It’s speaking to the God who created the heavens and the earth—and amazingly, the God who really wants to hear from you.

Now, we are going to look at all our readings for today. I’m even going pull in some from the Psalm of the day. To begin, let’s start with our Old Testament text from Genesis 18. I’d like to start there because Abraham demonstrates for us what bold and honest prayer looks like.

I. Abraham Prays Boldly (Genesis 18)

In my opinion, and it’s just my opinion, our reading from Genesis is one of the most remarkable prayer scenes in all of Scripture. We often don’t notice it that way, but the way Abraham talks with God is simply amazing.

God has just told Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah are under judgment. The people who lived in those cities had gone bad in big, big ways and the consequences of their rebellion was about to hit. Abraham, knowing his nephew, Lot, and his family lived there too, steps forward and does something astonishing—he talks with God. He prays.

But I want to look at how he prays.

He doesn’t say, “Thy will be done,” and walk away. He doesn’t shrug his shoulders and say, “Who am I to question God?” No—he speaks! He pleads! He asks questions! He negotiates!

Listen again to this we read earlier, verses 23 and 24, Abraham says this to God: “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?” Abraham knows God is righteous and just, but he also knows God is merciful, and he uses that as kind of a bargaining chip.

Remember the way Abraham frames all of this to God in verse 25: “Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

But Abraham doesn’t stop there. He keeps going. He negotiates. What if it is only five less and there are forty-five? What about forty? Thirty? Twenty? Ten?

It’s persistent and it’s bold for sure, but I want you to see that it’s also humble.

Abraham doesn’t think he’s the one in charge here. He knows he’s dust and ashes. He says exactly that. But he also knows something about God—that he is just, that he is merciful, and that he listens.

Abraham prays in this way, persistent and boldly, because he trusts the character of God.

And so can we. We can be just as bold and persistent as Abraham is here. Bring everything to God and keep doing it, but realize too, that just like Abraham knew he wasn’t the one in charge, neither are you.

Keep in mind and have faith that, even when it seems like things are out of control and we don’t get why things are the way they are, God has it covered and knows what he is doing.

II. God Hears the Lowly (Psalm 138)

I’ve said it before, and it’s true, we don’t often point out there is a Psalm that is provided for the day as part of our lectionary. Today, the Psalm is Psalm 138. That Psalm of David gives us the other side of that story. It shows us how God receives our prayers.

Since this wasn’t read as part of our readings today, I’m going to read the first 3 verses of this Psalm for you. Psalm 138 verses 1 through 3: “I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.”

Notice what David writes, “On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” Later on, in verse 6, he says God “regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.”

In other words, God hears his people who call out to him. He’s not impressed by self-righteousness or religious showmanship. What David calls “the haughty”, but he is near to the humble. To those he listens, he strengthens, and he answers.

This is the same God Abraham spoke to. The same God who invites you to pray with your whole heart. With thanksgiving. With honesty. With trust.

Not because you’ve earned the right. But because he is the kind of God who listens.

III. Rooted in Christ, Not Ritual (Colossians 2)

But let’s be clear about something: the reason we can approach God so freely today—the reason we can pray to our Heavenly Father as sons and daughters—is because of Jesus.

Even though this sermon is about prayer, our Epistle reading from Colossians isn’t really about prayer. It does however talk about why we can come to God so freely.

Paul says in verse 6 of our reading, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him… rooted and built up in him.”

He goes on and warns us not to be taken captive by empty philosophies or human traditions. Why do you think he does that? Since you all really can’t respond, I’ll tell you what I think. I think it’s because Paul knows those things can make us feel busy—but they don’t bring us any closer to God.

In fact, Paul is warning us that these things are a distraction and pull us away.

That is how this relates to prayer. These philosophies and human traditions distract us, but what does bring us close is Jesus. That’s Paul’s point here, keep Christ in the forefront and don’t let anyone else put something in the way of that.

Paul says that in Christ, “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” And you have been filled in him.

Through his death and resurrection, your sins were nailed to the cross. You were buried with him in baptism. And now you’re alive in him.

That means when you pray, you don’t have to impress God. You don’t have to use special language or prove your sincerity. You come in Jesus’ name—by grace, through faith—and know that you are heard.

Remember that Abraham knew he was dust and ashes. Your prayer isn’t powerful because you are. It’s powerful because Christ is.

IV. Jesus Teaches Us to Ask (Luke 11)

Which brings us to our Gospel reading.

The disciples say, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And Jesus responds with what we call the Lord’s Prayer.

Now, to get this out of the way up front, let’s consider why this version is different than what Matthew records. Well, the simple answer is this, what Luke is recording is at a different time in Jesus’ ministry. Matthew gives us the Lord’s Prayer in what to us is chapter 6. It’s part of the Sermon on the Mount. This version from Luke is just later in Jesus’ ministry. My guess is Jesus was asked a lot about prayer. He also likely taught about it a lot more often than we have recorded for us in the gospels. These are just two instances recorded for us.

What makes the Lord’s Prayer, in either Matthew or Luke, important for us today? There are several things we could point out. It’s short. It’s simple. It centers on God’s name, his kingdom, and his will. It asks for daily bread, for forgiveness, for deliverance. Its exactly what we have been talking about. It’s not fancy or full of big words. Its just a conversation.

After this short prayer, Jesus does something else that is important for us to consider this morning. Something we have already touched on, but this time it’s coming from our Lord’s mouth. He tells a story: a man knocking on a friend’s door at midnight, asking for help. And he gets it—not because of friendship, but because of persistence.

The guy has gone to bed, but his friend knocks on his door. He tells him to go away, he tells him I’m in bed, quit bugging me. But he keeps knocking. Jesus then says: “yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.”

Impudent isn’t a word we use a lot today. Well, I don’t, maybe you do, but in case you are wondering about that word, Webster defines impudent as: “marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard of others” It lists as a synonym: insolent.

Sounds a lot like Abraham’s prayer to me. Abraham’s prayer was impudent. It was bold, and a little bit cocky.

Jesus goes on and says, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened.”

And then he says something truly comforting: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

In other words—if we, broken, fallen, sinful parents, still want to bless our kids, how much more does our perfect, Heavenly Father want to bless us?

You can pray boldly, not because you’re good at praying, but because your Heavenly Father is good at listening and really good at giving.

Conclusion: Pray Like Abraham

So, what does it mean to pray like Abraham?

In short, I think it means being bold—not because you’re brave, but because you know God’s character.

It means being persistent—not because God is reluctant, but because he’s patient.

It means being confident—not in yourself, but in Christ.

Abraham stood before the Lord and spoke honestly. David sang to the Lord with all his heart. Paul reminds us we’re rooted in Christ. And Jesus opens the door wide and says, “Ask.”

So ask.

Ask for your family. Ask for our church. Ask for our budget here at Zion. Ask for our nation. Ask for the lost. Ask for the sick. Ask for your enemies. Heck, if you run out of things to ask for, Pastor K and I would love for you to pray for us. We could use that right PK?

But we aren’t praying to manipulate God—but we pray because God listens.

Because Jesus has opened the way for us.

Because your Father in heaven delights to give.

So brothers and sisters, pray boldly, pray confidently, pray like Abraham.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.