21st November 2025

A few years ago when Merry and I were walking through a street market in Bangladesh, I screwed up my courage to attempt to haggle over the price of oranges. The sum asked of me, though undoubtedly higher than anything asked of a local, was very cheap by European standards, but I thought I should show willing and haggle. The stallholder, along with his mates standing around, just laughed at me. I slunk off, both embarrassed and defeated, and I’ve not attempted it again to this day. (The buying and selling of cars is also a complete nightmare to me!)

As I now understand it, haggling is about arriving at a price acceptable to both buyer and seller, which means it’s fundamentally about relationship, not just value for money. A favourite Biblical passage is found towards the end of Genesis 18, where Abraham dares to haggle with God over the fate of Sodom, getting him to agree not to destroy the city for its wickedness if a number of righteous souls can be found living there, ‘knocking him down’ from asking for fifty to a more manageable ten! It’s a beautiful encounter between a man who knows his God, and a God who knows his man.

When it comes to our encounters with God, especially in difficult times, we may also try to extract a bargain: ‘if you’ll just do this for me, I promise I’ll do that for you!’ Our prayer might not always get quite what we want, but there’s no doubting God’s constant, unwavering love towards us. That relationship is rock solid because it is forged in Jesus, and no haggling is needed.

Ken Stewart