Praying For

Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. Genesis 20:7

Abraham's crisis of faith will be for another time. Today, this is the Lord speaking to Abimelech, king of Gerar, who was an innocent party affected by that fib from God's prophet. The Lord made it clear that Abimelech's life was on the line for this sin. The first words in Abimelech's dream are, "Indeed you are a dead man..." Gulp! But the sin did not belong to Abimelech, how fair is that? Certainly it got his attention. Read the remainder of this story in Genesis 20 and marvel at how the Lord addresses this injustice. Note how the Lord prevented a righteous king from sinning. And the power of praying for someone to the Lord. In this dream, the Lord introduces Abraham as a prophet. And the Lord Himself prophecies that Abraham will pray for this innocent man and the Lord will relent from this destruction. And then comes the, but-if-you-don't... Obedience is always the best answer to the word from the Lord.

And in verse 17, we read that Abraham did pray for Abimelech. Restoration follows, and what a great thing our Lord Jesus did in praying for us and restoring us to the Father!

Bucky