PRAYER: Part 4, Something About Praying

S:

A: Tonight we are going to listen to a true story which tells about a rich man, and Lazarus, a poor man. Now, my brothers, listen carefully.

H: Once there was a rich man who used to wear beautiful clothes made of silk, and he was very happy because of his riches. A poor man called Lazarus, who had many sores on his body, slept in front of the rich man's house. The poor man wanted to get the remnants of the rich man's food. There were dogs that came and licked the poor man's wounds. One day the poor man died. Angels came and took him into the bosom of Abraham. The rich man died also, and was buried. While he was in Hades (hell) he lifted up his eyes, being in great torture, and he saw in a far place, Abraham and Lazarus. And he cried and said, "O my father Abraham: Have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to me, that he may dip in water the tip of his finger, and make cold my tongue, for I am tortured in this fire." But Abraham said to him, "Son, remember that you got your good things while you were living, whereas Lazarus got bad things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented. There is a large pit which is made between us and you, so that they who want to pass from us cannot, and they who want to pass to us from that place cannot." Then the rich man said to Abraham, "I pray you, therefore, that you might send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers, and I want him to inform them, lest they also come into this place of torment." But Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them." Then the rich man said, "Yes, father Abraham. But if one went in the form of the dead, they will repent." But Abraham said to him, "If they don't hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead."

Y: Who told you that story, teacher?

H: You can read this true story, Yusuf, from the Gospel of Christ. Many things about the underworld and hell are learned from that story.

Y: That is true, teacher. It is learned from that story that there is a hell. Many people deny the existence of hell, but the Lord Jesus told us that it did exist. He also told us that if a person dies, he will go to heaven or to hell.

H: There are many people in the world, who say, "When I die, I will be buried in the ground two metres deep. There is no life after death." But also they will know differently when they die.

Y: The Lord Jesus Christ said, "The rich man died and was buried and he woke up at the same time and found himself in hell." When the man woke up, he did not deny the existence of hell. He knew that it existed because he woke up in it.

H: Yes, Yusuf, and when he woke up in hell, he still had his eyes, he could see with his eyes. Everyone that goes to hell has his own eyes.

Y: And he had another thing, teacher. He had his voice. He shouted, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me." And we can learn from that, that the people who go to hell have their voices.

H: Those who go to hell have thirst. The rich man who went to hell begged Abraham to give him water. He said, "My father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to me that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this fire." Those who go to hell have fingers and tongues, thirst and torment.

Y: Teacher, I think that hell is a very hot place, because the Scripture has the words of the rich man who says, "I am tormented in this fire."

H: Yes, that is right, Yusuf. Hell is a place with flames and it is very hot. It is a place where one is tormented in every way, all the time. It is eternal. If one enters the place of hell, he cannot get himself out. He will be there forever.

Y: But teacher, another thing is learned from the true story told by Jesus Christ.

H: What is that, Yusuf? Tell me.

Y: This is what is learned from that story, teacher. Everybody that goes to hell has a memory. When the rich man died and went to hell, he remembered everything that he did while he was living. He remembered how he comforted himself and how he was bad to Lazarus. He also remembered his five brothers.

H: Everyone that goes to hell can still remember things.

Y: Do you say, teacher, that everyone who goes to hell remembers everything he did on the earth while he was living?

H: Yes, Yusuf, that is right. He will remember his sin. And in front of his eyes, his sins will appear to him. He will see everything he stole, and the lies he told, and his fornications, the murder he committed, and every sin that he did. He will remember. He will remember every bad thing he did.

Y: But teacher, when a man goes to hell, can he not forget the sin that he did on the earth while he was still living? Can he stop remembering his sin?

H: No, he can't stop his sin from appearing to him. Even the sin he forgot while he was living will come to his mind when he goes to hell and he will never forget. Just like the picture in the cinema, his sins will be in his mind and in his heart forever. If he turns to the right, he will see his sins. If he turns to the left, he will see his sins, or if he looks up or down, he will see his sins, or backward or forward. He will still see his soul and the sins that he did. It is like that in the underworld. He will see his soul doing sin, and he will remember it very well. He will see great torment. He would love to perish his memory, but he won't be able to.

Y: Do you say, teacher, that he will have the memory of his sins all the time in eternity? And do you also say teacher, that everyone that goes to hell will remember his sins forever?

H: Yes, Yusuf, his memory will cause him everlasting pain. Like Cain, who killed his brother, he will feel much pain and he will shout, "My punishment is too great for me."

Y: I don't want to go to Hell. Because it is a very bad place. But teacher, I am not sure that I will go to heaven or not. How can I be sure about that?

H: I will tell you how one can be sure about going to heaven. The Scripture of God says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." The Lord Jesus Christ said, "I came to seek and to save the world." The Scripture of God says, "Christ died for our sins. And He is the redemption for our sins, not only for ours but also for all the sins of the world." Also the Scripture of God says, "God sent Jesus to be the expiation for our sin"; "Whoever accepts Jesus Christ and believes Him to be the atonement for sin, He gives them the order to be the children of God..." Today you can be God's child. You can get the blood of Jesus Christ.

Y: My brothers, did you understand that you can get the forgiveness for your sin? Are you listening to this, my brothers? God wants to forgive your sin today. He is waiting to wash your heart by the blood of Jesus Christ. God wants to give you a clean heart now. God is ready to put the Holy Spirit in your heart. And when the Spirit of God gets into your heart, you will get the power to defeat Satan. When you get the forgiveness, you will be sure about you going to heaven. You must believe on the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now you must trust the Lord Jesus Christ to be the one who died for our sin. Do you hear that you can be one who is sure about going to heaven? Thank God!

S:

A: My brothers, every night you can listen to the VOICE OF THE NEW LIFE. The news that you hear from it is the true news of the Gospel. You can listen to the VOICE OF THE NEW LIFE and find out how you can get the forgiveness of your sin. If you want the Scripture of God sent to you, write us a letter. Then we will send one to you as a gift. Our address is PO Box 127, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

H: This is teacher Hassan saying to you, "Goodbye".

Y: And this is Yusuf, your brother, saying to you, "Goodnight, and may God bless you and give you forgiveness."

S: