A Mere Prayer can be a Sure Failure

 When I first read the prayer of Balaam,”Let me die the death of a righteous” (Numbers 23:10) it sounded divine in my ears. I wanted to say this prayer every day of my life! I vouch that all who believes in life after death would like to do this wonderful prayer!

Balaam was a diviner living in Pethor, a city in Mesopotamia (Deuteronomy 23:4). He possessed knowledge of Yahweh, the true God. He was the only Old Testament prophet who predicted the first and second coming of Jesus Christ (Numbers 24:14-19). He said "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of the sons of Sheth” (Numbers 24:17). This prophecy about the Messiah, as a king would have even led the wise men to come and see Jesus! He spoke great truths about God such as the one we find in Numbers 23:19, where he said, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” and in Numbers 23:23 he has also said, “There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'”

 Balaam prayed, prophesied, and did ministry of the Word-yet he was not a true worshipper of Yahweh. For the sake of money and status offered by the Moabite king he made the Israelites to sin (Numbers 22:7, 17). His wish to die the death of a righteous did not happen.  He died as one who practiced divination (Joshua 13:22).

The New Testament affirms in many places the unrighteous nature of Balaam. Peter describes him as one who loved the wages of wickedness and as a person who led the Israelites to wander away from God (2 Peter 2:15). Jude describes Balaam as a false teacher(Jude 1:11). In Revelation 2:14, Jesus himself says to the Pergamum church that he hates the teaching of Balaam. The teaching of Balaam in the words of Jesus was that he enticed the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

Balaam will join the company of prophets over the generations until today who prophesy in the name of Jesus, drive out demons, and perform miracles, yet live an unrighteous life! All that can be expected of such prophets would be, Jesus calling them as evil doers and giving them a plain talk that he never knew them (Matthew 7:22-23). The life of Balaam is an indicator of people who pray wonderfully, yet could be the ones who miserably fail on the judgment day! Such of these people love to pray and to do ministry in the name of God, but fail to live a righteous life.

In contrast to Balaam, Abel mentioned in the scriptures lived a righteous life. He has been acknowledged as righteous by Jesus himself (Matthew 23:35). Other New Testament writers like the anonymous author of Hebrews and Apostle John too assure Abel’s offering as a righteous deed. Abel still speaks long time after his gruesome death (his death was the first in the history of the world) because his brief life on earth was coloured with righteousness! (Hebrews 11:4, 1 John 3:12). Abel, to die righteous, lived righteous.

A tax-collector has been acclaimed by Jesus as a righteous person too after Jesus heard his one-line prayer. The Pharisee all through his prayer looked down upon the tax collector. But the latter looked down on his own self and prayed this simple prayer: 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' He realized his unworthiness and pleaded mercy to Jesus! Jesus was merciful in deed to forgive the tax collector and to declare him justified (Luke 18:9-14).

The Bible says that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24).

I would still like to pray the “Balaam” prayer,”Let me die the death of a righteous”. But, I would do this only after I do the tax collector’s prayer, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I will watch out for my life henceforth to live a righteous life like Abel with the grace of God. Because to die righteous, I also need to live righteous! Only then my prayer would be powerful and effective! (James 5:16) Otherwise my mere prayer would be a sure failure!