我们来看另一粒撒在创世记中神圣启示的种子，就是代祷的种子。圣经中第一次清楚的题到代祷是在创世记十八章，在那里我们看见，亚伯拉罕是第一个代祷的人。没有代祷，神的经纶就无法成就。今天基督作我们君尊神圣的大祭司，祂超特的职事就是代祷的职事。罗马八章三十四节和希伯来七章二十五节都告诉我们，基督在为我们代求。
照着神的启示
代祷的第一个基本原则是必须照着神的启示（创十八17，20-21）。这就是说，正确的代祷不是我们发起的，乃是神在祂的启示中发起的。亚伯拉罕并不是一天早晨醒来，挂念到罗得，于是跪下来向那在天上宝座上的一位，为罗得代祷。
当时亚伯拉罕坐在他的帐棚门口纳凉，神以平常人的形态来临。神临到亚伯拉罕的目的是甚么？乃是因为祂在寻找代祷的人。神在天上的宝座上，已经定意要对邪恶的所多玛城执行审判。但神绝不会忘记，祂的一个子民罗得在那城里。神怎么办呢？祂必须找到一个人为罗得代祷。所以，神临到亚伯拉罕，目的是要找到一个代祷的人。没有代祷的人为神的子民代祷，神就不能作甚么。
神有祂神圣的原则，其中一个乃是：若没有代祷，祂就不能拯救任何人。每一个基督徒得救，都是因着代祷而成就的。神不是留在祂天上的宝座上等候这样的代祷。祂乃是以平常人的形态下来访问亚伯拉罕，使亚伯拉罕容易和祂谈话，并为罗得代祷。在本章里，神访问亚伯拉罕的目的乃是使他接受负担，照着神的愿望为罗得代祷。
神说，“所多玛和蛾摩拉的罪恶甚重，声闻于我。我现在要下去，察看他们所行的，果然尽像那达到我耳中的声音一样么？若是不然，我也必知道。”（创十八20-21）。神只字不题罗得，但祂说到所多玛，心意乃是为着罗得。这两个朋友谈罗得，但都不题罗得的名字。亚伯拉罕知道神关切罗得，他就为罗得代祷，但他也不题罗得的名字。然而，神知道亚伯拉罕的心意，正如亚伯拉罕知道神的心意一样。
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A Glorious Intercession (1) – Gen. 18:20-21
Let us look at another seed of the divine revelation sown in the book of Genesis, that is, the seed of intercession. The first time intercession is mentioned clearly in the Bible is in Genesis 18, where we see that Abraham was the first intercessor. Without intercession, God’s economy cannot be accomplished. Today, Christ is our kingly and divine High Priest, and His super-excellent ministry is a ministry of intercession. Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 both tell us that Christ is interceding for us.
According to God’s Revelation
The first basic principle of intercession is that it must be according to God’s revelation (Gen. 18:17, 20-21). This means that proper intercession is not initiated by us, but by God in His revelation. Abraham did not wake up one morning, thinking about Lot, and then kneel down to pray for Lot to the One on the throne in heaven.
At that time, Abraham was sitting at the tent door cooling himself, and God came in the form of a mortal man. What was God’s purpose in coming to Abraham? It was because He was seeking an intercessor. God on the throne in heaven had already determined to execute judgment on the wicked city of Sodom. But God would never forget that Lot, one of His people, was in that city. What could God do? He had to find a person to intercede for Lot. Therefore, God came to Abraham with the purpose of finding an intercessor. Without an intercessor to intercede for God’s people, God cannot do anything.
God has His divine principles, and one of them is this: if there is no intercession, He cannot save anyone. Every Christian’s salvation was accomplished through intercession. God did not stay on His throne in heaven waiting for such intercession. Rather, He came down in the form of a mortal man to visit Abraham, making it easy for Abraham to talk with Him and intercede for Lot. In this chapter, the purpose of God’s visit to Abraham was to cause him to receive a burden to intercede for Lot according to God’s desire.
God said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” (Gen. 18:20-21). God did not mention a word about Lot, but when He spoke of Sodom, His intention was for Lot. These two friends talked about Lot, but neither mentioned Lot’s name. Abraham knew that God was concerned for Lot, so he interceded for Lot, yet he also did not mention Lot’s name. However, God knew Abraham’s heart, just as Abraham knew God’s heart.