Faith-Life Expresses Itself
in Fervent Faith-Filled Prayer

The following are the readings commonly used in our churches for Sunday, August 1, 2010.

God’s Word for This Week
God has given most people the wonderful gift of speech. Through words we communicate our thoughts, ideas and feelings. Without words it would be much harder to express ourselves, a frustrating prospect! Our thoughts, ideas and feelings need an outlet, and so does our faith-life! Faith looks for ways to express itself, and one way Christian faith does that is in fervent faith-filled prayer.

First Lesson (Genesis 18:20-32)
²⁰ Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous  ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.  ²³ Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?  ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
²⁶ The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,  ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

1. When Abraham found out that the Lord was planning destruction for Sodom and Gomorrah what did he do?
2. What does this story teach us about our life of Christian prayer?

Second Lesson (Colossians 2:6-15)
⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,  ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,  ¹⁰ and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.  ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,  ¹² having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  ¹⁴ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.  ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

3. What encouragements does the Apostle Paul give all Christians in verses 6-7?
4. Why can we so confidently put our trust in Christ for salvation and in our life of fervent prayer?

Gospel (Luke 11:1-13)
¹ One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
² He said to them, “When you pray, say: ”‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. ³ Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴ Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
⁵ Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,  ⁶ because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
⁷ “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’  ⁸ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
¹¹ “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

5. With his illustration in verses 5-8, what is Jesus teaching us about our life of prayer? How should we pray?
6. What encouragement is Jesus giving us about our life of prayer in verses 9-13? 

Answers:

1. He prayed to the Lord to spare the cities for the sake of righteous people who may be living there. Abraham was especially concerned about his nephew Lot, who would in fact be spared from destruction.
    
2. Abraham shows us how bold and fervent we can and should be in our faith-filled prayers to the Lord. Abraham was able to convince the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of only ten righteous people!
    
3. Paul encourages us to continue to live in Christ Jesus as we are rooted and built up in him, strengthened in our faith and overflowing with thankfulness. Our faith and thankfulness can be especially expressed in a life of fervent, faith-filled prayer.
    
4. Paul tells us that we can be so confident in Christ because he is the “fullness of the Deity” living in bodily form. In other words, when we put our faith in Jesus, we are putting our faith in the only true God. When we address Jesus in prayer, we are addressing the only true God. The fervent, faith-filled prayer of the Christian is powerful indeed!
    
5. Jesus is teaching us to be persistent in a life of fervent prayer. In the same way that the man in Jesus’ illustration continued to knock on his neighbor’s door until the neighbor got up to help him, so also we should continue to storm the throne of God’s mercy with our fervent faith-filled prayers. Thankfully, convincing our loving heavenly Father to help us in our need will be much easier than convincing our neighbor!
    
6. Jesus asserts that if most earthly fathers give their children good things (even though they are sinners), how much more will our perfectly loving heavenly Father take care of our every physical and spiritual need abundantly. God promises to work all things for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

_{Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.}

 
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