Teach Us to Obey (Genesis 2:16–17)

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
– Genesis 2:16–17

This is God’s clear command to Adam in Genesis 2:16–17: not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day he eats from that tree, he will surely die. There is so much we could talk about here—what this command means and how it plays out in Genesis 3—but the big picture I want you to see and feel as we pray according to this passage is this: God commands Adam for Adam’s good.

Genesis 2:16–17 reminds us to trust God, not ourselves.

God is telling Adam how to experience life through his Word—through obedience to his Word. In giving this command, God is warning Adam about death. If he disobeys, he will surely die, which God does not desire. God desires Adam to experience life. And God is gracious, merciful, and loving enough to give Adam his Word—to tell him the way to life and to show him how to avoid death.

The same is true in your life and my life today when it comes to God’s Word. Sometimes we think the commands of God are restrictive, that living according to God’s Word keeps us from what we desire, from what we think will bring us good. But the reality is—and we see this crystal clear as we look back at Genesis 2 and 3—that Adam experienced death not because God’s command was bad, but because Adam did not believe God. He trusted himself instead of trusting God. He doubted that God’s command was good for him, and the result was death.

As we look back and see this so clearly in Adam’s life, may it help us look ahead and see it clearly in our own lives. The way to good, the way to life, is obedience to the gracious, merciful, and loving Word of God.

Genesis 2:16–17 challenges us to live in obedience to God’s Word.

So God, we praise you for your Word in Genesis—for its power, its grace, its mercy, and its love. We thank you for not leaving us in the dark about how to experience life. We thank you for giving us instructions, commands, and promises that lead us to life to the full.

God, we pray that you would deliver us from trusting in ourselves. Help us not to trust in ourselves. I pray this over my life today, and over every person listening right now. Help us to trust your Word—your goodness and your love revealed through it. Help us to obey your Word today, we pray.

God, help us not to disobey your Word. If we begin to walk in disobedience, we pray that you would pull us back. Holy Spirit, convict us of sin so that we might walk in obedience to your Word and experience the fullness of life you have made possible for us.

A Prayer for the Somali People

And God, as we pray for people around the world who do not have your Word—who do not have it in their language, who have never heard the gospel, the good news of your love in Jesus—we pray for the spread of your Word.

God, we pray specifically for the Somali people. So many have never heard your Word or the good news of Jesus’ love. They are not experiencing life—eternal life—because they do not know your truth. God, we pray for the spread of the gospel among Somali people: here in the United States, in metro Washington, DC, in other cities, and throughout Somalia itself.

We ask that your Word would spread, that people would know your goodness, your grace, and your mercy. God, we praise you for your Word. Help us to live according to it, trusting that it is good, and proclaiming it as good news to the world around us—today, right where we live, and to the ends of the earth, among people who have never heard it.

We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.