The Power of Prophetic Prayer

Streams in the Desert

(Genesis 20:1-18, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, December 28, 2014)

[20:1] From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. [2] And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. [3] But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” [4] Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? [5] Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” [6] Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. [7] Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

Abraham and Sarah were on the move on a journey that would lead to Messiah and heaven. The Lord protected Abraham, His prophetic servant, and was determined to bless him greatly. The word “prophet” is first used in the Bible in this life-wrenching passage. What is the Lord starting here? See 2 Peter 1:21 and the yearning of Moses that the prophetic experience would one day be the common life of a community of faith (Numbers 11:29), a desire that begins to be fulfilled in the Acts 2 preaching of Peter from Joel 2:28-32. This could never be without Jesus as our Prophet. “The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 10:10) He leads us on.

[8] So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. [9] Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” [10] And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” [11] Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ [12] Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. [13] And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”The Lord's blessing through the “Spirit of prophecy” is bigger than the fears that so easily captivate us. God was leading Abraham and Sarah through a dangerous and difficult world. The journey for the Lord and His church takes us through a world of fear, even fear we have in us.

[14] Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. [15] And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” [16] To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” [17] Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. [18] For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

The Lord God of Israel will bring blessings through the prayers of His church. What will the Lord do through us in the year ahead if He chooses to fill us with His Spirit?

Put the Word to Work: The Lord will bless those whom He will bless. He uses the Word that He speaks through His prophets to bear fruit now and for eternity. Though His purposes might seem to fail, He will surely bless us as we serve Him, and He will answer our prayers. More than any blessing that we might receive in this life, the Lord has secured for His people the eternal blessings of heaven.

Memory Verse from the Songs of Ascents—Psalm 126:4 – Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb!

Gospel Reading—Matthew 17:1-13 – The Transfiguration