Genesis 14:13-16 The Message
13-16 A fugitive came and reported to Abram the Hebrew. Abram was living at the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and Aner. They were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he lined up his servants, all of them born in his household—there were 318 of them—and chased after the captors all the way to Dan. Abram and his men split into small groups and attacked by night. They chased them as far as Hobah, just north of Damascus. They recovered all the plunder along with nephew Lot and his possessions, including the women and the people.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
On Those “Rare” Occasions When We Need a Friend
The Holy Spirit would drive one thing home to our hearts through Abram’s experiences in this passage.
We do not lead our Christian lives in isolated seclusion—we are each members of one another, the Body of Christ, and in circumstances of this nature, one Christian can often be the means of deliverance of a weaker brother or sister.
From our text, there was nothing Abram could do to deliver Lot from Sodom.
Sodom represented an inward choice in Lot’s heart to live in the materialistic, sensualized atmosphere of Sodom.
If a child of God chooses to be materialistic, sensual, commercial, and greedy for things of the world, not much can be done for him or her.
Only Lot could take himself out of Sodom.
But from this circumstance that threatened Lot’s very life and liberty, Abram’s heart and soul and his personal resources were amply sufficient through prayer.
Admitting To One Another Our Need For a Friend
James 5:16-18 The Message
16-18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.
James 5:16b tells us, The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
There is another translation of that verse which I have read that is excellent:
The earnest, hot-hearted prayer of a righteous man releases great power.
That is certainly the case in this incident.
The prayer offered in faith,
we are told in the same chapter of James, will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up
(James 5:15).
Many have been puzzled by this verse, but if we carefully read and study the context, we see clearly that the source of the affliction here is one which has arisen because a child of God has become involved, entangled in deliberate sin.
Such a one is to call upon the elders of the church together and confess his or her faults, and then the prayer of faith of the righteous will save the sick, and the Lord shall intercede, through the Holy Spirit and raise him or her up again.
It is indeed deep, wonderful experience, this power of prayer for someone else.
The history of the church is replete with instances of such deliverances through faithful prayer.
A wise and experienced ministry leader, speaking to a small group on the tough subject of intercessory prayer, addressed the matter of overwhelming sin that so grips the human heart as to enslave the life and frustrate all activity for God.
He gave some very wise words of advice.
Perhaps some younger Christian,
he said, may find themselves in such a circumstance, and the things they are doing is so shameful that they cannot bring himself to confess it publicly; then let him seek out some older man of God, someone he can trust, and asking the Holy Spirit into the fellowship, lay the whole matter before that person and ask him to pray concerning this.
It is wise counsel, indeed.
When Lot could not possibly help himself, Abram, separated in heart from the wildly sinful Sodom-like attitudes that rendered Lot so powerless, was able to lay hold of God and affect a great and mighty witness, testimony of deliverance.
Friendship with the Holy Spirit
As believers in God, we have been given the Holy Spirit as a Helper, Teacher, Friend, and seal for the promised inheritance of eternal life with God.
His presence, guidance, and wisdom in our lives are our greatest gifts while here on earth.
Through him we have access to direct connection with our heavenly Father.
Through him we receive spiritual gifts to empower us.
And through Him we are able to bear the incredible fruit of abundant life.
Open your heart and mind to all that the Holy Spirit would give you, show you, and lead you to in these days and this week and the weeks and months ahead.
Psalm 25:14 The Message
14 God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.
In friendship with the Holy Spirit we begin to experience a sense of wholeness and joy unattainable through any other relationship or aspect of life.
Rapid and wonderful transformation results when you discover the wealth of love that comes with continual, real friendship with the living God.
In friendship with God comes peace, security, honesty, healing, and freedom.
As you live your life in step with the Spirit, you experience what Adam and Eve experienced as they walked with God himself in the Garden of Eden.
You discover the vast reservoir of love, affection, and perfect help that’s available to you in the Holy Spirit.
Open your heart today to receive a fresh revelation of God’s desire for friendship with you through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
God longs for an eternal friendship with all of His Children.
And through the Holy Spirit we have a continual connection with God available to us.
The Spirit desires to do life with you.
He wants to guide you, speak to you, and love you.
He wants to satisfy your longing for relationship and can do so in greater ways than you can imagine.
John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
By God’s grace we have been filled with God himself.
We have dwelling with us the same Spirit who authored Scripture, raised Christ from the dead, empowered the disciples, and in the beginning, hovered over the waters at the creation of all things.
And Scripture says that He longs to help you!
Jesus calls Him the “Helper.”
How incredible is the grace of our God to offer us relationship with the Holy Spirit!
How great is his love that God would send his Son to the Cross at Calvary to die that we each might have abundant life for all of eternity, including right now!
So, how do we grow in friendship with the Holy Spirit?
How do we allow him to satisfy our desire for relationship?
Psalm 25:14 says, “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”
And Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Friendship with the Holy Spirit starts like any other true friendship.
We must respect, love, and make time for the Holy Spirit.
We must learn what He likes and dislikes.
And we must apologize when we do something that grieves Him.
The Holy Spirit has feelings like any other person.
But He is also full of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love.
Friendship with Him comes about by following his leadership, making time to ask him how he feels about things, and following his guidance away from a lifestyle of sin into the righteousness available to you through Christ Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is waiting right now to guide you into friendship with him.
He’s excited about the idea of pouring out His love and affections on you.
He longs to lead you away from the sins that hurt you and grieve him.
And He longs to guide us toward a life of walking with Him in relationship.
Spend time in fervent prayer being filled with the Holy Spirit afresh and making room to explore, discover the enlightening reality of His presence in our lives.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on God’s desire for friendship with you.
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15
“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to pour His love out on you.
Ask him to make the reality of his nearness known to you.
Be filled with desire to live your life in relationship with this real, tangible God who loves you.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit what he likes and doesn’t like.
Open your life and let him speak to you about whatever is causing you trouble.
Ask Holy Spirit how He feels about our relationships, situations, thoughts, and “eternal” perspectives we have – the Holy Spirit loves to speak to us, to help us.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17
Often we separate out what we think God cares about and what just seems to be normal, worldly parts of life.
But God wants to be involved in every part of our lives.
He wants to be there for us in everything we do.
He wants to fill us with grace and joy to do all the things set before us, from taking out the trash to washing dishes to leading thousands of people in prayer.
Are we able to aid and and assistance unto our brothers or sisters in Christ with helpful counsel from the Word of God and with fellowship and fervent prayers?
Have we engaged in faithful fervent prayer for those in sinful circumstances?
Invite, allow the Holy Spirit to come in and work in every area of your life and may we discover the wealth of knowledge, love your God has to share with us.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in us the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy Your consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 