The Voiceless Prayer of God’s People
Lesson 9
Romans 8:26–27 and Psalm 123:2
We teach our children to pray as soon as they are able to do so. Later in life we are also able to pray silently , but we still put our prayers into words even though we do not speak them aloud. Yet, the Bible teaches that there is also another non-spoken form of prayer which we seldom consider. Although we do not consider this a form of prayer, we frequently engage in it. Often we are not able to put into words the deepest feelings of the heart. These feelings come as a prayer before God even though we have not put them into words.
The beautiful and well-known words of Romans 8:26–27 speak of this form of prayer. The writer says that we do not always know how to pray as we ought. We, at times, do not know what is the proper content of our prayers; nor do we know if our prayers will be well-pleasing to our God. What must a believer do under such conditions? Must he refrain from prayer? No, this would be contrary to his new nature as a Christian. There are deep feelings of the heart which he must express to his God. Paul had experienced something like this. He prayed, as was observed earlier, for the removal of the thorn in his flesh. However, he did not know if this was well-pleasing to his God. Nevertheless, he prayed for its removal. But, there are other times when we just don’t know how to put our needs into words. May our hearts then remain silent toward our God?
The Holy Spirit’s Help
We must realize that the situation described by the Apostle in these verses points up our infirmity. It is not an indication of wisdom or strength that we are not able to put into words the deepest needs of our souls. But, we must also realize that we can only pray according to the revelation which our God has given us of Himself. This revelation is not deficient, but it deals, not with our individual needs and desires, but only with the broad lines of God’s relation to us. Although there is much more teaching in these verses than we will deal with in this lesson, we must recognize that the Spirit of God is associated with the prayer-life of the believer. This fact concerns the most intimate spiritual life of every believer. The Spirit applies the work of Jesus Christ in connection with the prayer life of every believer.
Paul plainly indicates this. Even though we do not know how to pray as we ought, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us! This is a voiceless prayer. He prays for them with groanings which cannot be uttered! His prayer for the believer is a “groaning.” Paul has earlier spoken of the groanings of the entire inanimate and animate creation. We also groan within ourselves, says the Apostle, waiting for the redemption of our bodies. When something very important is seen ahead, he cannot express himself better than to say that it is a groaning. The deepest thoughts are thereby revealed. When the Spirit prays for us He does so with groanings which cannot be uttered. Of course they cannot be uttered! How would we ever be able to put into words the things which the Spirit of God does within us? These verses refer to the mysterious workings of the Spirit of God.
A Continuing Intercession
It must also be remembered that He continues this work of prayer within us . We are admonished to pray without ceasing. While we often refrain from praying , the Spirit continues His work within us. Our own prayer–life would wither if the Spirit were not constantly at work within us even in regard to such a practical activity as prayer. He helps His people. Thus the work of Jesus Christ is completed within the hearts of the people who have been chosen as His own.
From all of this it again becomes evident how great the blessing of Pentecost was for the church of Jesus Christ. When our Lord was about to ascend to heaven, His disciples were appalled at having to do without His physical presence. However, He told them that it would be profitable for them if He would go away, because then the Spirit would come to abide with them forever. This Spirit now dwells within them. He intercedes for them. The place of Immanuel, “God with us,” is now supplied by the Holy Spirit, as God in us! The Lord knew our needs far better than we ourselves do.
He who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit. Of course! The mind of the Spirit is the mind of God. The intercessions of the Spirit need not be articulated because God knows the mind of the Spirit. He knows it immediately. This is precisely what His people need. Prayers must be sent up to the throne of grace for them which are in tune with the will of God and are acceptable to Him.
According to God’s Will
He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Again we would say, of course! How could the Spirit pray for the saints in a way that would not be according to the Will of God? It had been said of Jesus Christ ages before His coming that He came to do the Will of God (Ps. 40:8). The same may also be said of the Spirit of God. He knows that Will of God to perfection because it is also His own will! The saints may therefore rest assured that the groanings of the Spirit are acceptable to God. They are completely in tune with His will. It will never be said of the Spirit’s groanings as Jesus said to the sons of Zebedee “Ye know not what ye ask” (Matt. 20:22). The Spirit knows what He is as king and what He asks is well–pleasing to God.
How rich are the people of God! Their riches cannot be put into words, nor can they be compared to any other. Notice: Christ is at the right hand of God (as the Apostle says in this same chapter vs. 34), where He makes intercession for us. Here he tells us that the Spirit of God also dwells within the hearts of God’s people to make intercession for them. We have One Advocate above, Jesus Christ the righteous, and we have another Advocate within us, the Spirit of God. Neither One has ever lost a case! God’s people are perfectly safe. Both the second and the third persons of the Trinity are praying for them.
Our Assurance
The prayers which God’s people utter are of great importance. Therefore are they commanded to come before the throne of grace constantly with all their needs. But, there is more to it than this. Not only our own prayers but the prayers of the Spirit of God are instrumental in ensuring the spiritual prosperity of His people.
We may never overlook the tremendous importance of the Spirit’s voiceless prayers for the believer, but the question naturally arises: does the believer himself also engage in voiceless prayers at times? Are we still able to call it prayer if it is not expressed in words? The answer is: yes.
An Old Testament Example
We are given a very good example of the voiceless prayers of God’s people in Psalm 123:2. The Psalmist describes some of the difficulties at times encountered by the people of God and, particularly, some of the difficulties he has experienced. Some people are not in agreement with him at all in hi s service of God. He usually describes these as his enemies. They scoff at him. He, together with other believers, are held in contempt. Is this the way in which His people ought to be treated? Yet, what must the Psalmist do about it? Must he ask God for their destruction? He did this at times. He does not know why the Lord allows this to happen and he has to leave the problem in God’s hand.
However, to leave things in God’s hands does not mean that he is not deeply involved in the outcome and that he is not concerned about this state of affairs. He comes to his God in a different way. He recognizes the huge distance between himself and his God . He lifts his eyes to the One who sits in the heavens (vs. 1). That is all he does! He does not articulate a prayer—he only looks to his God. He says that this looking to God is like the oriental servant watching the hand of his master. He doesn’t ask for anything, he just watches for signs! Or his expectation may also be likened to the maid who watches the hand of her mistress. She is ready to do the bidding of her mis tress. She is also totally dependent on her mistress.
Patient Expectancy
The examples which the Psalmist uses make it c lear that there would be no place for articulation of requests in this situation. How would a servant or a maid dare to ask for any thing? The servant and the maid look for signs whether or not they will find favor in the sight of those before whom they stand. What will be the attitude of the one who has the power? There is so much at stake.
So, says the Psalmist, our eyes look unto Jehovah our God, until He have mercy upon us. Although the believer does not come to his God as a servant comes to an oriental despot, yet so our eyes look unto Jehovah! We may not lose sight of this element of patient expectancy in our prayer-life. We are standing before our God much as Nehemiah stood before his sovereign when he had received the bad news of his people who had returned to their homeland (Nehemiah 2). The believer, however, comes to a God Who is much more powerful than any oriental ruler and is yet merciful. When the Psalmist says that he will so look to his God until he have mercy upon us, he is telling us that God will have mercy! There is no doubt about it. It is only a matter of time. He does not know why God is allowing his “enemies” to scoff and hold him in contempt, but He will have mercy at His time.
The things which have been sketched briefly in this lesson form an important part of our prayers. God’s people are often brought to the stage where they are not able to utter a prayer. They can only Look to their God! At such times they must also have the assurance that the Spirit of God is pray ing for them with groanings which cannot be uttered! Much more goes on in the hearts and in the spiritual life of believers than they themselves realize.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Why don ‘t we know what to pray for or how to pray as we ought? 2. Do we do justice to the work of the Spirit? What happens when a church does not do justice to the work of the Spirit? 3. Do we celebrate Pentecost properly? What is its meaning? 4. When do God ‘s people come to the stage at which they cannot articulate their prayers? Does this happen too at the time of great physical weakness? 5 . Does the “looking” to the hand of our God .benefit us? Do you think we are often too “bold” in our prayers? What does it mean to “come with boldness to the throne of grace?” Does this have anything to do with our common idea of boldness? 6. Do the intercession of the Spirit and the intercession of Christ have any connection with our assurance of faith? Explain.
Lesson 10
Abraham’s Prayer for Sodom
Genesis 18:16–33
The Bible contains the prayers of individuals which were offered under various circumstances. David uttered a prayer in almost every Psalm he wrote. When we think of the prayers of our Lord and the prayers of Solomon and of Daniel, we realize that we are dealing with some of the best examples of prayer one would ever be able to find. While we need “a theology” of prayer, we must also learn from the examples of prayer which have been included in the Sacred Writings. No one year of study will ever be able to do justice to the whole field of prayer revealed to us in Scripture, but we seek to explain some of the prayers which have come to us.
Friend of God and Father of Believers
Abraham has an important place in the sacred history. He is called a “friend” of God. To him God makes Himself known as to no other man in his time. He exhibited a faith which has seldom been equalled and is included in the catalog of “heroes of faith” in Hebrews 11. He is even called the “father of believers.”
He received the promise of a numerous seed and of a large land when he had no children and was living as a stranger in this land of promise. God had promised him! Therefore it is sure to happen! Although he is a hundred years old and his wife only ten years younger, God’s word must stand!
It is, therefore, not surprising that Abraham was a man of prayer. He lived in close communion with his God and had constant fellowship with Him. In the verses previous to those we study in this lesson, God engages in a soliloquy. He is counseling with Himself. Should He withhold from Abraham the news of what He is doing in his community? Abraham will become great and a channel of blessing to the world and will instruct his family after him so that they may walk in the way of Jehovah. If he is to do this properly, he must also know the reason for the destruction which is about to lake place. His children must do righteousness and justice. Abraham must be able to point them to the righteousness and justice of God. God will not hide the things which are about to happen from Abraham.
The setting for the prayer of Abraham is very strange. Moses is here speaking anthropomorphically, !hat is, he is speaking of God in a very human way. He is going “to go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” The account leaves the impression that He must investigate to see whether the state of Sodom and the neighboring cities is as bad as has been reported! He is going to go down to Sodom so that He may be in possession of all the facts. Yet, only the two angels go down to Sodom and the Lord is still with Abraham. He is now, so to speak, taking Abraham into His council because he is His friend and he will have to teach the future generations. That which he will have to teach the coming generations is a warning. God is indeed merciful, but His justice will never be sacrificed.
The Intercessor
The fact that the Lord takes Abraham into His confidence is an indication that He now elicits the prayer from Abraham. Abraham, as a child of God, is to pray for Sodom! Who is there in Sodom to pray for deliverance? He is to be the intercessor.
Abraham prays for Sodom—not only for the few righteous people who may be found in Sodom, but for the city! Jonah found something very similar in his lifetime when he was commissioned to the great city of Nineveh. He failed to pray for the city, for he could not understand that God would be gracious to a city like that. He stumbled at the grace ofGod! Abraham is not of the same mind as a Jonah. He prays for the thousands of people who are not able to discern between their right hand and their left (Jonah 4:11). This idea lies at the root of all mission fervency. Thousands of people are about to perish and should this not affect the true child of God? Abraham knows about the wickedness of Sodom and the other cities in the neighborhood. Their wickedness is indescribable. It is shown only a little later when the angels come to the house of Lot. Yet, Lord, is their not still place for mercy? This man, Abraham, whom the Sodomites may not even know, is the greatest friend they have. Lot is not interceding for them! He does not even seem to be aware of the impending doom.
But, how can a believer really pray for such a wicked city as Sodom? Is its wickedness not proof enough that it ought to be destroyed? Of course, but notice the way in which Abraham prays, that is, the structure of his prayer. He is the one who is standing in the breach between God and these godless cities. If God destroys the wicked, no one may question this action. They have deserved this destruction by their godless actions. But, says Abraham, wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? This is the ground on which he pleads. Surely, the righteous, that is, those who are not guilty of the same sins as the other inhabitants ofthese cities, should not have to pay for the unrighteousness ofthe wicked. Shall not the Judge ofall the earth do right? Abraham knows that it would not be right to cause the righteous to suffer the same fate as the wicked.
Abraham shows a certain boldness when he approaches God in this way . Is it conceivable that God might have had in mind to let the same judgment fall on both the righteous and the wicked? If so, Abraham would seek to dissuade Him! That be far from Thee! It should not even have to be said. Surely, God’s righteousness would not allow this.
Is Abraham here pleading for God’s mercy as opposed to His righteousness? It almost seems so. But God will not have one of His attributes played off against another. He will be righteous and He will be merciful. No one will ever be able to accuse Him of unfairness. Although we can never get the two, mercy and love , to agree, He can! He spoke of it already in Psalm 85 and showed it in His Son’s coming. There mercy and justice meet. Abraham is living many years before that event. He would love to have been able to see the day of the Son of Man (John 9:56; Heb. 11:13).
For A Godly Minority?
Suppose there are fifty righteous people in these cities. That is not very many. In fact, it would be such a miniscule percentage that it would hardly count. But, if there were so many, would God destroy the place, that is, the cities, if there are so many righteous? The answer is: No! God doesn’t require many righteous to spare the whole place! Ye are the salt of the earth. It doesn’t take much salt to preserve the whole lump. The wickedness of these cities has become proverbial, but, let us not fail to see the mercy which our God is still willing to extend to such places for the sake of a few righteous. The believers keep this world standing! This is not recognized by the world, but it is the clear teaching of the word of God. Notice that he is praying for the existence of these cities and not only for those few righteous who may still be living there.
As we follow the rest of the prayer ofAbraham for Sodom we are indeed allowed to look into the heart of this true child of God. Does he have second thoughts? He has prayed for these cities if there are but fifty righteous people in them. Does he know fifty righteous people there? No, and therefore, the prayer takes on the particular structure of which we spoke in the beginning. He really fears to speak further. Behold, he says, I have taken upon me, who am but dust and ashes, to speak to Adonai, the Almighty Ruler! How dare he come with his petitions before this great God? That is the beauty of the teaching of Holy Writ: those who know themselves to be but dust and ashes may come into the presence of the God of heaven and earth!
Should there not be fifty righteous in these wicked cities, will Abraham’s prayer have been for nought? How many righteous does it take to save the cities of the plain? He drops his figure by only five and asks whether God will save the cities if there are forty-five righteous people in them. The answer again is positive. The Lord will not destroy these cities if there are only forty-five righteous. He continues to drop the figure another five: for forty? No, the cities will remain standing even if there are only forty righteous. One can see that Abraham is groping—Lord, what if there are only thirty? If there are only twenty? Now let not the Lord be angry, but he will speak once more. Suppose there are only ten righteous people to be found in all the cities of the plain. The Lord assures him that if there are only ten righteous people there, the cities will be saved.
But, there were not even ten righteous people there! Consequently, the cities were destroyed utterly. There really was no preservative found in all these cities. There was Lot! His wife? She couldn’t consent to leave it all behind. Their two daughters? They had been so infected with the prevailing sins of Sodom that they deliberately chose the way of incest to keep their names alive. In the final analysis there was only one righteous man in all these cities and we are indebted to the New Testament for the teaching that Lot was a “righteous” man (II Peter 2:7).
Why didn’t Abraham lower the figure once more? Certainly he didn’t know fifty righteous people in Sodom but neither did he know ten. Yet, to lower the figure even below ten would have degraded his plea. It would also have been indicative of the fact that he was praying only for his relatives. No, this man of God is the intercessor for many more than his own blood relatives.
Was Abraham’s prayer in vain? No, he obtained more than he could have hoped for. There were not even ten righteous in these cities and therefore they were completely destroyed. Yet, the righteous who were found in it were led out so that they would not persist in the destruction of these cities. This was because of Abraham’s prayer (Genesis 19:29).
Questions for Discussion:
1. Must we pray for the “world”? (Cf. John 17:9.) 2. What type of prayer life is necessary to fulfill the mission imperative? Do we pray enough for those still in heathendom? How must we pray for them? 3. Is it profitable for us to know, for our prayer life, that the Judge of all the earth will do right? 4. Is the justice of God a comfort for God’s people? Is it usually considered to be comforting? 5. How can a merciful and loving God destroy thousands of people as He did in the destruction of Sodom and surrounding cities? 6. What was the difference between the Sodom of Abraham’s day and the Nineveh of Jonah’s day?