Dear Christian friends:

During these evening Lenten services we have preached about "The Prayers of Lent." Some were prayers of Jesus and some were prayers of men in the Lenten history.

Tonight we attend to a prayer of God. Always, if we think about man asking God, not God asking man. But here in our text we see a very strange and wonderful prayer:


What does He ask? That all men everywhere be friends with God. By nature we are not. Many today are unbelievers. Two-thirds of the world are still unbelievers.

Many who have received baptism and confirmation have not yet surrendered to God and accepted His peace. We who do believe still have our old nature which fights against God and His wish. Every time we Christians sin we show enmity against God.

So, also we Christians daily need to surrender and become friends with God. But what does that mean? It means confessing our sins honestly. It means believing in Jesus Christ who is crucified and suffers on the cross for our sins as we remember so strongly again this Good Friday.

It means to stop fighting His will; change and obey. We should have a change of mind and heart if we want to be friends again with God. "Be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20) means exactly that.

Why can He ask it? Because, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself" (verse 19) God Himself paid for our sins in Jesus' terrible suffering and death on the cross, forsaken by God. "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) Because Jesus paid God has forgiven all our sins. So He can offer us His hand of friendship and peace. We don't go to God and ask Him, He comes and asks us and pays the damages.

Yet by ourselves we can't believe it and reach out to shake His hand. We are dead in trespasses and sins. We still doubt and fear. So God has established holy preaching. (verse 20) He sends His ambassadors through them and He prays for us to stop doubting and to come and shake hands and be friends again. His Holy Spirit takes our hands and joins it to God's hand.

This is God's Good Friday prayer to you. Accept God's peace, shake and be friends again. If we refuse His kind hand of friendship He may withdraw it and not offer it again to us.

So today if you will hear His voice don't harden your heart. Now is the right time. Tomorrow may be too late.

Amen.