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Home , Salvation, Salvation history

LESSON 2

Prayer in Salvation History

BACKGROUND READING

When our heart responds to the invitation to Him through pride and . But is from the heart of God to enter into a ever faithful to His people and never stops relationship with Him, we have entered into thirsting for them. This drama culminates in a . As we saw in the last lesson, a the with the ultimate sacrifce covenant is a sacred and holy agreement of God’s own beloved Son on the Cross. All that God makes with His people. God fosters throughout this covenant drama, particular this relationship of with His people fgures exemplify the relationship between throughout Salvation History. By observing God and the , and serve as models for the development of prayer in the Old how we can develop our relationship with Testament fgures of and , God. we can see how this covenantal relationship of prayer reaches its fulfllment through the We Pray Because prayer of Christ. We Trust in God From the time of creation God called those Prayer Is a Covenant Drama whom He had created into a relationship The Catechism calls prayer a covenant drama. with Him, and He does this frst through the These are powerful words that arise from the Jewish people. Our singles out God’s history of God’s people and their interaction relationship with Abraham, the founding with Him. God thirsts for His people and calls father of the Jewish people, as the start them; men and women hear His call and they of the drama of prayer: “But it is above all respond in faith. God forges a relationship beginning with our father Abraham that with His people that is a covenant, a faithful prayer is revealed in the ” agreement between them. The drama is (CCC 2569). the story of this relationship as it unfolds God told Abram at the age of 75 to pack up in history. We can read the series of events all his things and to move away from his family in the Old Testament, where God pursues a and country. Notice that, as always, God is the people that constantly breaks its covenant one who takes the frst step. God called and

CHRISTIAN PRAYER, ESSAY APPENDIX 289 Abram responded in faith, doing as God asked: Abraham shows us that prayer requires faith “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him” in the living God, and when we respond in (Genesis 12:4). This call and response is the faith we become part of God’s great plan. act of prayer. To have an attentive heart that Abraham’s great trust in God’s promise, His follows the will of God is essential to prayer. covenant, shows us how God rewards those God established a covenant with Abram, who trust in Him and acknowledges that changing his name to Abraham. God promised everything that God gives us is a gift. For that He would make Abraham “the father of this reason Abraham is called the Father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5) so that our Faith. his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (cf. Genesis 15:5). This must have We Pray for Others stretched Abraham’s faith as he was an old The drama of prayer continues in the life of man and his wife beyond childbearing years. Moses, whom God chose to lead the Jewish Here we see part of the drama of prayer: people out of slavery in Egypt and to whom “the test of faith in the fdelity of God” (CCC God gave the Ten Commandments. Moses 2570). To have an intimate relationship with becomes for us the picture of the one who someone requires trust, and God desires that prays for God’s people. Again it is God who we have absolute trust in His promise, even frst calls: “From the midst of the burning bush if at frst it seems impossible or if it doesn’t he calls Moses” (CCC 2575). God calls Moses happen on our schedule. to be His messenger to bring liberation to His God kept His promise to Abraham by people. During this call, Moses learns how giving him a son, Isaac, as well as promised to pray. He debates, questions, and makes that through him Abraham’s descendants excuses, saying, “Who am I that I should go would be as numerous as the stars. God to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out went further to test Abraham’s faith: He of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). Moses enters into commanded Abraham to sacrifce his only a conversation with God: “The Lord used son to Him. We read in the Letter to the to speak to Moses face to face, as a person Hebrews in the New Testament that Abraham speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11). Of all the was prepared to sacrifce his son because of forms of prayer, Moses models most clearly his great faith in God: “[Abraham] considered for us the roles of mediator or intercessor. A that God was able to raise men even from mediator or intercessor is one who prays to the dead” (Hebrew 11:19). Abraham had faith God for others. The most striking example that God would keep this promise to give him is when Moses begs that God forgive the descendants through Isaac, even though now for worshipping the golden calf. it seemed impossible. We see in Scripture how Moses intercedes for his people, begging God, God stopped Abraham from sacrifcing his “Turn from your burning wrath; change your son, but God does not spare His own Son. mind about punishing your people” (Exodus Abraham becomes for us the picture of our 32:12). God hears his prayer and spares His heavenly Father, who will offer up His Son people through Moses’ intercession. Moses for all people to be saved (cf. Romans 8:32). is the forerunner of Jesus Christ, who with

290 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS His coming, becomes for all times “the one and had foretold His death to His disciples, mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy but they did not understand. They did not yet 2:5). know that “for God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), even raising the dead to life. Jesus Fulfills the Through Jesus, our are forgiven and Drama of Prayer only His Blood opened the gates of The drama of prayer is fully revealed for us. By His sacrifce, Jesus acts as the sole to us in Jesus. Jesus’ will is in complete mediator between the Father and humankind. conformity with His Father’s will. One of the Jesus initiates a relationship with us, and most poignant episodes in Jesus’ life that carries our to the Father, and so He exemplifes the drama of prayer—the dialogue says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who and surrender to the Father’s will—is in the chose you and appointed you to go and bear Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus prayed, fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass the Father in my name he may give you” (John from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will” 15:16). Only by imitating Jesus do we pray as (Matthew 26:39). God the Father allowed His we should. Jesus is the one who teaches us to only Son to die on the Cross for the salvation call God “Our Father,” which we will explore of mankind. So great is God’s for us that more deeply in a later lesson. Through Jesus, He makes the sacrifce He spared Abraham. we know that we can trust our Father in all God the Father did not desire His Son’s death, things, even if, at times, God’s promise seems but He knew that fallen humanity’s response impossible. This trust in God’s promise can to Jesus’ call to radical conversion of heart only be developed in a life of prayer, when we would be to put Him to death. Jesus knew this lift our hearts and our minds to God.

CHRISTIAN PRAYER, ESSAY APPENDIX 291