Prayer Pt.2
Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 4:25-26
Ok, so we left off on Tuesday with a question. Why did these early inhabitants of the earth begin to call on the name of the Lord in Genesis 4?
Well, let’s think about it. What’s happened so far:
Genesis 4 doesn’t give much detail. But I think the sense is that the world is already getting ugly. Cain was a bad guy. Lamech seems to boast in even greater evil. What would those who still remember the God of Adam & Eve be thinking/feeling? Lord… where is this promised offspring? Where is your restoration?
And so what do they do? They call on the name of the Lord. They call on His name because God’s name is His integrity. His faithfulness. To call on His name is to call on His faithfulness to His promises.
I want to suggest to you that this is a better definition of what prayer is. Prayer has a foundation in the big picture of what God is doing in the world. It is not first about your relationship with God or the benefits of spiritual disciplines. It’s not not about those things. But it is first about faith, hope and love.
Faith - that God is faithful to His promises. Hope in the promise of salvation from the fall and the restoration of the very good. And love of God and others that desires their good.
It’s calling on the name of the Lord to do what He has promised in the true offspring, Jesus Christ who came to save sinners and to make all things new in the Kingdom of God.
Next week let’s consider how this new definition of prayer changes how we pray.
For Today:
Pray:
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 4:25-26
Ok, so we left off on Tuesday with a question. Why did these early inhabitants of the earth begin to call on the name of the Lord in Genesis 4?
Well, let’s think about it. What’s happened so far:
- Genesis 1 → God creates all things good.
- Genesis 3 → The fall
- Genesis 3 → God promises restoration through ‘the offspring of the woman’.
- Genesis 4 → The murder of Abel by Cain and an unknown young man by Lamech.
Genesis 4 doesn’t give much detail. But I think the sense is that the world is already getting ugly. Cain was a bad guy. Lamech seems to boast in even greater evil. What would those who still remember the God of Adam & Eve be thinking/feeling? Lord… where is this promised offspring? Where is your restoration?
And so what do they do? They call on the name of the Lord. They call on His name because God’s name is His integrity. His faithfulness. To call on His name is to call on His faithfulness to His promises.
I want to suggest to you that this is a better definition of what prayer is. Prayer has a foundation in the big picture of what God is doing in the world. It is not first about your relationship with God or the benefits of spiritual disciplines. It’s not not about those things. But it is first about faith, hope and love.
Faith - that God is faithful to His promises. Hope in the promise of salvation from the fall and the restoration of the very good. And love of God and others that desires their good.
It’s calling on the name of the Lord to do what He has promised in the true offspring, Jesus Christ who came to save sinners and to make all things new in the Kingdom of God.
Next week let’s consider how this new definition of prayer changes how we pray.
For Today:
- How would you have defined prayer?
- Does the definition above change how you think about prayer?
- What could you pray for today that reflects the purpose of prayer?
Pray:
- Praise the Father for His promises to save and restore.
- Give thanks for Jesus Christ who saves sinners and is making all things new.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others call on the name of the Lord for salvation and restoration.
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