30 Jul Lifeline: How prayer works

Genesis 18:16-33

Genesis 18:27-33 – ²⁷ Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” ³¹ He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” ³² Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³ And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

How many shrewd hagglers do we have in this place? Let me make a confession. I am extremely terrible at haggling. If I want to buy an item at a street market and I ask the seller, “How much is it?” and the seller says $50, I say, “How about $40?” And the seller replies, “No, I can’t sell it for $40.” “Okay, how about $45?” “$50 is the best price already. But okay la. For you, I give it for $45. But don’t tell anyone, okay? I make no profit you know. This is a special price just for you.” And I walk away thinking that I got a good deal. But let me tell you about the best haggler I know, my mom. If the price of an item is $50, her opening price is not $40, not $30, it is $5. And she most likely walks away with the item for $10. I am not kidding. There was one time during Israel’s trip when some of the people were happy to buy a shirt for $10. They thought they had a good deal. Until my mom went to the same place and got 3 shirts for $10. True story. Sometimes when I listened to her haggling at a shop, I’m like, “Who is this lady? I’m not with her. I do not know her.” Why am I telling you this story? Because that’s how I felt when I first read our passage for today. In this story, Abraham is haggling with God. And this story puzzled me for many years. God is the God of heaven and earth. He owns everything and He is absolutely sovereign over every little thing. He knows the end from the beginning. If that is true, how can anyone haggle with God? How can anyone bargain with someone who already predetermined everything? Is that even possible? Can we do what Abraham did? That’s what I want to talk about tonight.

For the first two parts of this series, we looked at Jesus’ teaching on how to pray and the art of asking. Those two sermons give us the framework of prayer. And starting this week, we will take a look at some Old Testament stories of people who prayed. Our story for today is the first recorded conversation in which a human being goes before God with petitions. In other words, this is a prayer. This strange text about Abraham haggling with God teaches us about prayer and how prayer works. Let me give you the context first. So, what happened before it was that God took on a human form and visited Abraham and Sarah with two angels. They just had a meal together and God told Abraham, “By this time next year, your wife shall have a son.” And when Sarah heard it, she giggled. “Me? Having a son? I am 90 years old, and my husband is 99 years old. It ain’t going to happen. The machine stopped working already.” And God said, “Sarah, why did you laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord?” And Sarah was like, “I did not laugh.” But God said, “You did.” End of story. The point is, we can’t lie to God. He knows everything. And after this conversation with Abraham and Sarah, God and the two angels got up to leave and Abraham went with them. And our passage tells us about the conversation that Abraham has with God.

I have three points for my sermon: The invitation; The response; The conversation. And I will give you a few quick applications at the end.

The invitation

Genesis 18:16-21 – ¹⁶ Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. ¹⁷ The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” ²⁰ Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, ²¹ I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

This is remarkable. This text shows us the privileged position Abraham has in front of God. So, as God is about to leave, He says, “Hmmm… should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” And the text tells us that God is on His way to judge Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. Now, think about it. We never say out loud, “I don’t know if I should tell you about this” unless we want to. If you say to me, “I don’t know if I should tell you about this,” I am going to say, “About what? Tell me.” And then you are going to tell me about it. You don’t say out loud, “Should I tell you about this?” unless you have already decided to tell the other person about this. Right? So, why does God say it out loud? Because God is inviting Abraham to converse with Him. And Abraham’s prayer is a response to God’s words. In other words, it is God’s words that initiate Abraham’s prayer. This is what prayer is. Listen. Prayer does not start with us talking to God; it starts with God speaking to us through His word. It is less about our initiative and more about God’s invitation. Prayer does not begin with us; it begins with God.

Now why would God want Abraham to know what He would do to Sodom and Gomorrah? Two reasons are given. First, Abraham will become a great nation and through him, all the nations will be blessed. So, Abraham should know what is going to happen to one of these “nations,” to the peoples of Sodom and Gomorrah. Specifically, because they are going to experience the wrath of God’s justice, not the blessings that might come through Abraham. So, Abraham, the father of great nations, should know what is going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s the first reason. The second reason is Abraham is meant to pass on to his children and his household the lesson of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it is the same lesson we are teaching our kids in Sunday School today. “Kids, you don’t want to become like people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were so wicked that God had to send fire, hail, and brimstone to destroy them.” So, this will be a lesson of what can happen if people forsake God and pursue wickedness. This is a warning of God’s judgement on sin. “Do you want to know what God would do to a wicked city? Look at Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Now, when we think about Sodom and Gomorrah, our minds immediately think about sexual depravity. We even have a word for it, sodomy. These cities are indeed famous for their sexual sins, but it is not just that. The word ‘outcry’ in verse 20 is a Hebrew word that is used throughout the Bible to indicate the cries of the oppressed, the victims of cruelty, violence, and injustice. So, God says, “The outcry of the people who are being violated, who are crushed, who are the victims of injustice, violence, and cruelty is so great, that I must go down to see for myself if this means judgement.” It’s kind of weird if we think about it. God knows everything. God hears everything. He sees everything from His throne. He does not have a bad eyesight. Why does He need to go down Himself and investigate the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah? Unless He has a special reason to do that. And I am convinced He does. What God does is He is inviting Abraham to do something about it. That’s why God speaks out loud, “I don’t know if I should tell you about this or not…” It is an invitation for Abraham to have a discussion with God. Although God says, “These cities are so evil, and I am going to judge them,” God invites Abraham to step forward and intervene.

Let’s hit a pause button here. This story tells us that God is not ignorant of any wickedness. God knows and He invites Abraham to do something about it. In the same way, God is inviting us to do something about the wickedness we see all around us. I love the city of Sydney. But I also know that there is a lot of wickedness in this city. We might be unaware of most of them, but not one wrong has ever gone unnoticed by God. Not one sin has ever failed to cry out to God. He is aware of the social and moral corruption in the city. He hears the cry of a child being abused by a drunken father. He hears the cry of an old man beaten on the street. He hears the cry of a young girl being raped in an abandoned place. He hears the tears of an abandoned spouse. He hears the cry of people being unjustly accused and put into prison. And because God hears all and knows all, we can be sure that God will not remain idle. Judgement is coming. At this point, some people might say, “Judgement? What do you mean by that? That’s so primitive. I do not believe in a judging God. I believe in a loving God.” Here is the problem with that. We cannot have a loving God who is not a judging God. You understand this. When you love something, you hate the things that destroy it. When you love your spouse, you hate anyone that comes and threatens the relationship between you and your spouse. For example, when I was diagnosed with leukemia. My parents love me. And because they love me, they hate the cancer that threatens my body. So, what did they do? They were willing to use violent chemotherapy on my body to remove cancer from me. That’s why we can’t pit being loving and judging against each other. If we have a loving God who hears the cry of the oppressed and He won’t judge, then He is not loving; it means He does not care. A God who never judges is not loving. God’s love, like all true love, includes wrath; wrath towards the things that destroy what He loves. So, this is the problem. The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and God comes down to judge them. But at the same time, God is inviting Abraham to intervene. And in the same way, God is inviting us to intervene in the brokenness we see around us.

The response

Genesis 18:22-25 – ²² So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ 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? 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?”

Abraham’s response is remarkable. After he heard what God has in mind for Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham draws near to God. Robert Atler, a Jewish Hebrew expert, says that the word draws near is a technical term that means to approach the bench. It is a legal term. It means to come with a case. God is inviting Abraham to intervene on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah as their legal representative, and Abraham responded. This is prayer. And pay attention to two things Abraham does in his prayer. First, pay attention for whom Abraham is making his case. Abraham is interceding for a wicked city. Some might argue, “Yeah, he does it because his nephew, Lot and his family are in the city of Sodom. That’s why Abraham intercedes for Sodom.” Yes, Lot and his family are in the city of Sodom, but Abraham is interceding not just for Lot. If he is just interceding for Lot, he would have said, “God, I agree with you that the city of Sodom is wicked. But my nephew and his family are in the city. Would you please take them out first and then You can nuke the city.” Abraham’s prayer could have been a lot simpler if he simply asks God to spare Lot and his family. But that’s not what Abraham does. Abraham asks God to spare the whole wicked city. He cares for the people of Sodom. One preacher says that Abraham functioned as both a friend of God and a friend of men. He is using his friendship with God for the blessing of the wicked evil city. He does not come up to God only thinking of his own personal needs and wants. He is praying for the good of people around him, including the people who are evil. This begs a question. Is this how we pray? Are our prayers dominated by our personal needs and wants, or do we pray for our city and the people around us that we do not like? Do we pray for people who make fun of and mistreated us? Are we merciful toward them? If we can be honest, our prayer is oftentimes filled with our personal needs and wants. We do not pray like Abraham.

Second, pay attention to the way Abraham presents his case. Abraham does not say, “God, don’t you feel sorry for these people? I think you should be merciful and let them off. They don’t know any better. Why don’t You be the grown-up and let them off?” Abraham does not say that. Abraham is a good lawyer. A good lawyer does not say to the judge, “Judge, my client is guilty of breaking the law. I know that. But don’t you think it’s a stupid law? I think it is a stupid law. Should we change the law instead?” A good lawyer does not do that. A good lawyer starts with a law. Do you know what Abraham does? He appeals to God based on God’s character. He says, “God, you are a just God. You are a righteous God. You have every right to destroy the wicked. But a just God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. You will not do that. You can’t do that because of who You are. Far be it from You. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” Did you hear Abraham’s argument? Abraham knows who God is and he is zealous for God’s honour. He has no doubt that God cannot and will not do wrong. God is always fair in His judgement. God won’t be clouded by what the netizens say on social media. So, Abraham’s starting point is God and God’s character, but then he moves on.

He asks this profound question, “Will you destroy the city and not spare the city for the 50 righteous people who are in it?” In other words, this is what Abraham is asking. “Will God not forgive the unrighteous many for the sake of the righteous few?” This is astounding. This is very different from our culture today. Today, we live in a cancel culture. It means it is very easy for people to write other people off. We may not have personally done anything wrong, but if we are connected to the wrong people, then we too should be shamed, cut off, and punished. For example, let’s say that your dad is a corruptor, and he is put in prison because of it. His corruption has nothing to do with you. But cancel culture says that because your dad is a corruptor, then you are not qualified to run for government office. We live in a world that loves to take down as many people as possible for the sins of the few. But Abraham is asking the opposite. Note, Abraham is not asking God to neglect His justice. He knows God is the God of justice. He knows the Supreme Judge of all the earth must do what is right. But what Abraham is asking is if it is possible for God to forgive the sins of many people with the righteousness of few people. Is it possible for God to value the righteousness of the few so much that it covers the unrighteousness of many? Can God forgive the whole city for the sake of a few righteous people in the city? Let me put it in the simplest form for our context. We know God is righteous. We know God is just. We know God must punish every wrongdoing. But the question is, is our record all we have to go on? Is our record the ultimate determining point of our destiny? Or is it possible that the righteousness of someone else could cover us and save us? Is it possible for someone else’s record to be imputed to us? Is it possible for the righteous God to count the righteousness of the deserving to the undeserving? Is that possible? This is Abraham’s prayer and what a remarkable prayer it is.

The conversation

Genesis 18:26-33 – ²⁶ And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” ²⁷ Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” ³¹ He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” ³² Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³ And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

What a conversation. I don’t know about you, but to me, this conversation feels like watching people haggling for a price in a street market. Abraham offers a price and God says yes. But every time God says yes, Abraham says, “That’s not enough. I want more.” It’s like me selling my car for $25K. You come to me and say, “Hey, I am your church member. Would you take $10K for it?” And I say, “Since you are a member of my church, I’ll gladly sell my car to you for $10K.” By the way, this is just an illustration. Do not come up to me and ask me if you can buy my car for $10K. Then you follow up and say, “Well since you seem very kind and generous to your church members, how about $5K?” I say, “Sure, $5k sounds great to me.” “What about $1K?” “Yes, I’ll sell my car for $1K to you.” Then you say, “Why don’t you pay for the car’s registration and third-party insurance, and I’ll take your car for free?” This is what’s happening in the story. But this story is not simply a story of bargaining with God.

I want us to look at how Abraham converses with God. First, notice Abraham’s humility. In his conversation with God, Abraham never loses sight of the gulf between him and God. When Abraham asks if God can spare Sodom for the sake of 50 righteous people in the city, God says, “Yes, I will spare the city of Sodom for the sake of the 50 righteous people in the city.” This is ground-breaking. Abraham just learned an amazing deep theological truth. And it is this: the righteousness of someone else could save an unrighteous person. This is unheard of. It is almost like Abraham discovered a path through a seemingly impregnable mountain, the mountain of God’s justice. Because the truth is if God the Supreme judge of all the earth does what is just, there is no hope for humanity. All of us are sinners. God’s justice demands all of us to be punished for our sins. One of the most common questions I received is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It is a fair question and I can understand why this is a struggle for many people. But the Bible never asks this question. Instead, the Bible asks, “Why do good things happen to anyone? Why do good things happen to bad people?” Because let’s face it. If God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, they do not get worse than they deserved. They get exactly what they deserved. They are wicked evil cities.

So, Abraham is encouraged by God’s answer. And he continues, “God, I know I am but dust and ashes, but let me dare myself to ask you again.” Abraham acknowledges that he is but dust and ashes before God. And as the conversation continues, Abraham keeps saying, “God, please don’t get mad at me. Please don’t be angry…” Can you see Abraham’s humility? Abraham does not treat God like a genie in the lamp who exists to fulfil his wishes. He understands he is talking to the Supreme Judge of all the earth, the Maker of heaven and earth. He understands his position. He does not have any right to command God on what to do. This is important. When we pray, we must remember whom we are talking to. We are talking to the sovereign God of the universe. We must not be too casual. One of my pet peeves is when I hear people pray to God in public, “Dear Daddy in heaven, how are you today…” Do you have that person in your life? Or maybe you are that person. Yes, God is our Father who loves His children. But never lose sight that He is also the Almighty God.

Second, notice Abraham’s boldness. As we already mentioned, Abraham is haggling with God. Abraham does not play safe at all. We do not know how many people there are in the city of Sodom. But Abraham begins with 50 righteous people in the city. And God says, “Yes, I will save Sodom for the sake of 50.” Abraham says, “What about 45?” God says, “Yes, I will save Sodom for the sake of 45.” Then Abraham says “What about 40? What about 30? 20? 10?” And God keeps saying, “Yes.” Abraham is persistent. He asks God six times and each time he is asking for more. Can you see how Abraham’s boldness grows as he keeps asking and God keeps saying yes? He starts with 5 less than the original number and it increases to 10. Can you see what happened? Abraham does not pray for safe things from God, things easy for us to do. Abraham knows he has no right to ask what he asks, but he risks his life asking God anyway. Because Abraham knows God’s heart. He knows that God would show mercy if there were anyone who deserve it. Such is the heart of God. Abraham’s prayer is bold. So, get this. On one hand, Abraham is far more scared of the majesty of God, and that is why his prayer is humble. On the other hand, Abraham is much more confident of God’s desire to bless, and that is why his prayer is bold.

But here is the question that we must ask the text. Why stop at 10? I mean, Abraham is doing so well. From 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10… Why stop there? It is like an unfinished symphony. It’s like playing Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti… Ti… Ti… We would be like, “Enough with the Ti, give me the final Do.” Right? Abraham, why stop at 10? Why don’t you take one more step? Why don’t you ask God, “God, will you spare the city of Sodom for one righteous person? Will the righteousness of one be able to cover the unrighteousness of many? Is that possible?” And we expect God to say, “Yes, Abraham. I will save the city for the sake of one righteous person.” But Abraham never asks the question and God never gives the answer. Then God judges the city, and the city is destroyed. So, why Abraham never asks the question? Here’s why. Abraham knows intuitively that there is not one truly righteous person in the city. There is not a single righteous person on the face of the earth, not even Abraham.

So, let’s put it together. Abraham has discovered a profound theological lesson: the righteousness of someone else could save an unrighteous person. Abraham discovered a path through the mountain of God’s justice. The problem is Abraham can’t walk that path. No one can. Only a truly righteous person can walk that path. In other words, God is saying, “Yes, I will save the unrighteousness of many for the sake of the righteousness of one. As long as it is the right one.” But there is no right one and Abraham goes home. But many centuries later, someone who can walk that path came to us. His name is Jesus Christ. Abraham discovered the profound theological lesson, but Jesus executed the profound theological lesson. Just like Abraham, Jesus prayed for his enemies. As they were killing him on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them. For they do not know what they do.” If Abraham risked his life for his enemies, Jesus gave his life for his enemies. Abraham prayed, “God, please don’t get mad at me.” But Jesus took God’s anger that we deserved so God is no longer mad at us. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could not, he lived the perfect righteous life, he walked the path through the mountain of God’s justice, and he paid the penalty of sins. And because of Jesus, now we can finish the symphony. We can ask God, “God, will you save the unrighteous many for the sake of one righteous?” And God’s answer is, “Yes if it is Jesus.” And the good news of the gospel is it is Jesus. And when we believe in Jesus, our sins are paid at the cross of Jesus and Jesus’ righteousness becomes ours. We are spared for the sake of Jesus.

And not only that, look at Hebrews 7:25 – Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. This is one of my favourite verses in the Bible. It tells us that Jesus’ work is not only something that happened in the past, but it is also something that he does right now at this very second. At this very second, Jesus is interceding for you and me in front of God. He is praying for us day by day, second by second. Listen. The cross of Jesus purchased the forgiveness of our sins. The intercession of Jesus applies that forgiveness moment-by-moment. In Jesus, we are continuously forgiven. Right now, Jesus is not idle. Jesus is presenting our cases before God as our mediator. Why is this important? Because even though we have put our faith in Jesus, we continue to mess up. Don’t we? None of us is free from sin. And often time we feel like it is only a matter of time before God finally have enough of us. It is only a matter of time before He is tired of us and removes our names from the family registry. But Jesus constantly argues our cases before God. So, Jesus does not forgive us through his work on the cross and then hope we make it the rest of the way on our own, but he continues to intercede on our behalf as we continue to fail. And listen, Jesus never loses his case.

I have watched enough legal drama to know that if you are put on trial, you are only as good as your lawyer. If you are innocent but you have a bad lawyer to represent you, you will lose your case. But if you are guilty but you have a really good lawyer, there is a high chance that you might win your case. A good lawyer knows how to win and manipulate the outcome at whatever cost. But Jesus is not playing tricks. Jesus intercedes on our behalf with an infallible case. He says to God the Supreme Judge, “Father, shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? Your justice demands payment for every sin. But I have paid for it all. I have died. Now Father, spare them. Have mercy on them. Love them. Not despite Your justice, but because of Your justice. Because it would be unjust for You to receive two payments for the same sin, and I’ve paid for it. Now, spare them and love them because of what I’ve done.” That’s an infallible case. God hates sin but He is just, and He cannot demand two payments for the same sin. And now because of Jesus, we are declared righteous before God, and we are continuously forgiven moment by moment. We are always welcomed into God’s presence because Jesus always lives to intercede for us. This is the gospel.

Let me give you three quick applications and I am done. First, we can have a vibrant prayer life. If we understand the gospel, then we know we can have an intimate personal relationship with God. Think about it. The Bible tells us that we are so wicked that Jesus has to die for us. It means that we are awful sinners. It humbles us. But the Bible also tells us that we are so loved that Jesus is glad to die for us. It means that we are dearly loved. It emboldens us. We are loved-sinners. If we just believe that we are sinners, we won’t draw near to God. We hide from God. We are afraid of God. But if we just believe that we are loved but we do not know what Jesus has done for us at the cross, it is superficial. That love does not melt our hearts. It does not electrify us. It means nothing. But if we understand the gospel, if we see how awful sinners we are and how much God has loved us in Christ, that captivates us. It makes us want to draw near to God. It gives us a vibrant prayer life. The gospel gives us the relationship with God that Abraham had.

Second, we can have compassion for the people around us. When we get the gospel, we know we are no better than other people. We can’t think we are superior. We are sinners saved by grace. And the same grace that saved us is also able to save people around us. And I am convinced that God has placed us in our family, in our community, in our university, in our workplace, so that we could be Abraham for them. God wants us to ask Him for His blessing and mercy for the place where He put us. We are not where we are by accident; we are where we are by God’s design. I love the way David Platt puts it. “Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every unsaved person this side of hell.” Those of us who have been saved by the gospel are to be carriers of the gospel to those who have never heard the gospel. When is the last time we pray for unsaved people around us to come to know Jesus?

Third, we can ask God for big things. Look at Abraham. He kept coming back saying, “God, I want more. I know You said 50, but I want 45. I know You said 45, but I want 40…” Abraham did not give up and continued to ask God shamelessly, persistently, and trustfully. But some of you might say, “But Abraham did not get what he asked for. God still destroyed Sodom. So, Abraham’s prayer is not answered.” Yes and no. Yes, Sodom was destroyed, but Lot and his family did get out. Do you know why? Because God remembered Abraham. Abraham’s prayer works. Listen. We never know what we are going to get when we ask. But one thing is for sure. We will never get anything if we do not ask. So, ask God for big things. Go bold. And like Abraham, appeal to God based on who God is. It shows that we are loved-sinners. It shows we know that God has all the power and the authority, but we also know that He has all the love in the universe. God loves it when we ask big things because it shows we understand who God is and who we are because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice. So, ask. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What struck you the most from this sermon?
2. What does it mean that prayer begins with God instead of us? Give some applications of this truth.
3. The gospel gives us both humility and boldness to pray to God. Which one are you lacking more and why?
4. How does the gospel give us compassion for the people around us?
5. How does the gospel embolden us to pray big prayers?