jump to navigation

Hagar’s Prayer November 3, 2009

Posted by Tim A. in Bible Prayer, Genesis, Praying, Theology.
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
1 comment so far

Hagar, a servant girl which Abraham and Sarah had evidently picked up when they were in Egypt; has been chosen by them both to become the mother of the heir for the promises of God.  This was by no means by God’s direction, but by a serious lack of trust in God’s promise.  This has now brought even more conflict within the family.

The following verses are the words of Hagar’s prayer, and our LORD’s answer; actually the LORD’s appearance and speaking to her first:

“7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. 10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”  Genesis 16:7-13 (KJV)

“Angel of the LORD” is most likely a pre-incarnate manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the second person of the Triune God.  Any word He speaks would be the words of God.

In this revelation to Hagar His first words to her is to return to Sarai, and submit to her.  He gives her promise of continued blessing in the family of Ishmael the son she  will bear.

We learn from this prayer that the LORD heard the prayer of Hagar, her affliction; and she is awed by the fact the LORD has chosen to reveal Himself to her.  Every time you and I pray we should be awed by the fact that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us, speak to us, and give us the privilege and right by new birth (John 1:12) of speaking to Him.

We may not see Him in a physical form as did Hagar, but one day we will see Him face to face, and we will be looking into the face of Jesus.

-Tim A. Blankenship

First Prayer??? November 2, 2009

Posted by Tim A. in Bible Prayer, Praying.
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
add a comment

I was searching the Scriptures to find the first prayer of the Bible and this is the one I have found.  There are many others where we are told, the “LORD said” to Adam, Noah, or Abram, but there is only the response of “building an altar on Abram’s part, with no verbal response recorded that I found.

Notice the interchange between the LORD and Abram in Genesis 15-

“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.   7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.   12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.   17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”  Genesis 15:1-21 (KJV)

God first came to Abram with a promise, and a “fear not”, then Abram prays concerning an heir, a son; and whether he should appoint his servant as his heir.  God once again promises Abram an heir to receive the land, and all the promises.

When we have a need or a problem; in the way of a question or complaint even; God will hear it, and supply our need, even if it is confirming the original promise.

If this is the first prayer of Scripture why?  Most of what we have read was of God speaking to His servants, many of them listening.  Adam listened after he sinned.  Noah listened when he built the ark, gathered the lumber, and the animals and preached to the people, and Abram listened, but unless I was missing it this is the first prayer where there is a word spoken in request to God.

Why?  If this be so, then we can learn from this for the same reason we have one mouth and two ears.  We should do twice as much listening as we do speaking.  Especially listening to God our LORD.

-Tim A. Blankenship

If you find another request from before this one please let me know.  Write it in the comments section.  Thanks.

God’s Glory Magnified January 2, 2008

Posted by Tim A. in Bible Prayer, Praise.
Tags: ,
1 comment so far

“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.   When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:  All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;  The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.  O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

Psalms 8:1-9 (KJV)

As we pray let us always pray with the glory of the LORD in our hearts and minds.

Let Us Own This Prayer September 22, 2007

Posted by Tim A. in Bible Prayer, Praying.
Tags: ,
add a comment

Daniel’s Prayer of Confession

“Ah, Lord—the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments —  we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.  We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.

Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where You have dispersed them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward You.  Lord, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.  Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against Him  and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following His instructions that He set before us through His servants the prophets.

All Israel has broken Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You. The promised curse written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against Him.  He has carried out His words that He spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing on us so great a disaster that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven.  Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not appeased the Lord our God by turning from our injustice and paying attention to Your truth.  So the Lord kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all He has done. But we have not obeyed Him.

Now, Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made Your name [renowned] as it is this day, we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.  Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, may Your anger and wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the injustices of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.

 Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of Your servant. Show Your favor to Your desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake.  Listen, my God, and hear. Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city called by Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You based on our righteous acts, but based on Your abundant compassion.  Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for Your own sake, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Daniel 9:4-19 (HCSB)

Prayer for Wisdom May 14, 2007

Posted by Tim A. in Bible Prayer, Wisdom.
add a comment

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?” And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity. You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today. “Lord my God, You have now made Your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.  Your servant is among Your people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted.  So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this.  So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to understand justice,  I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.  In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no man in any kingdom will be your equal during your entire life.  If you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”” 1 Kings 3:5-14 (HCSB).

Let us all pray for wisdom as did Solomon, then apply that wisdom to our everyday life until the day of our departure to our eternal Homeland.

For A Heart Like Ezra’s February 1, 2007

Posted by Tim A. in Bible Prayer.
add a comment

For the day in which we live we do need to have a heart for God and His holiness, just as Ezra the scribe. We do live in needy times. Needy for God’s grace, mercy and love. Needy of true repentance. Let’s learn from Ezra’s prayer…

My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than [our] heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens. Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our fathers until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame, as it is today. But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the Lord our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us new life and light to our eyes. Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
Now, our God, what can we say in light of this? For we have abandoned the commandments You gave through Your servants the prophets, saying: “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices. So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave [it] as an inheritance to your sons forever.” After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt—though You, our God, have punished [us] less than our sins [deserve] and have allowed us to survive — should we break Your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t You become [so] angry with us that You would destroy us, leaving no survivors? Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we survive as a remnant today. Here we are before You with our guilt, though no one can stand in Your presence because of this.

Ezra 9:6-15 (HCSB)