Bible Prayers

Background:
After Adam and Eve, after Cain and Abel, after the third generation of humankind began calling on the name of the Lord, many, many centuries passed. Heavenly beings did whatever they wanted, creating chaos and, quite possibly, mythological creatures (Genesis 6:1-4.) Human beings did whatever they wanted, and their relationships with God and one another deteriorated (Genesis 6:5.) The whole universe had gotten into an unbearable, terrible mess!

Within this scene of deterioration and depravity, Noah stood out like a bright light of righteousness. God noticed, of course, and came to Noah with a plan and a promise. As Genesis 7-8 recorded, God used a flood to wipe out everything and start over with Noah, his family, and every animal on earth.

After the floodwaters had dried, Noah built an altar and offered a sacrifice to God (Genesis 8:20.) If he prayed to God or praised and thanked God for protecting and saving him and his family, the Bible did not say. Instead Genesis 9 …

Background: In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had communion and fellowship with God similar to conversational prayer. Since they had everything they could possibly need and more, they did not ask for anything, but when they disobeyed God, everything changed. Even then, however, the Bible does not mention their asking God for forgiveness, maybe because they did not!

Regardless, the couple left the Garden as God commanded, and, outside of Eden, they eventually had a family. The Bible does not say what Adam and Eve told their children about God as they were growing up, but for some reason, both sons thought they needed to give God a gift, perhaps to get back into the Garden or into God’s good graces.

At any rate, Cain offered some of the produce from his garden, while Abel gave the very best of his flock. God accepted Abel’s gift, but not Cain’s off-hand offering, which infuriated the man so much that he killed his younger brother. God then confronted Cain, who responded with the res…