Notable Prayers from the Bible

“ (16)  And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. (17) And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; (18)  Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (19)  For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (20)  And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; (21)  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. (22)  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. (23)  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? (24)  Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? (25)  That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (26)  And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. (27) And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: (28)  Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. (29)  And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. (30)  And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. (31)  And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. (32)  And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. (33)  And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place” – Genesis 18:16-33.

INTRODUCTION

Abraham’s prayer for Sodom – really for Lot and his family – is an amazing revelation of the faith of one man in the justice of Almighty God and the incredible boldness of a mere human before the Creator of the Universe. Abraham seems to stand before God alone yet wields significant influence over God’s actions.

Setting the Stage

Years before Abraham had emigrated to Canaan along with his nephew Lot, but as the uncle he retained a strong obligation to protect his nephew, a member of his extended family. Lot had settled in Sodom, a sinful city in the fertile valley near the Dead Sea. Once, when the kings of Mesopotamia plundered Sodom and carried off Lot and other residents as slaves, Abraham, and his trained servants attacked the Mesopotamian army by night, rescued Lot, and returned him to his home. Genesis 14:8-16

But now Lot is threatened by another overpowering force – God himself. And Abraham finds himself interceding for Sodom where Lot and his family resided.

Here is where our story begins.

The Sins of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20-21)

“Then the LORD said, ‘And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,  21  I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know” - Genesis 18:20-21 (NKJV).

“Outcry against” or “cry of” (KJV) is the Hebrew noun za’ārā, “cry, out- cry.” The basic meaning of this root is “to cry for help in time of distress.” A similar outcry of the oppressed for justice is heard throughout the Old Testament.

1. “And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground” - Genesis 4:10.
2. “And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. (24)  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” - Exodus 2:23-24.
3. “For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard” – Psalm 22:24.
4. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” – Psalm 34:6.
5. “ (4) For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” – James 5:4 (NLT).

The verb rendered “crieth” in verse 10 is the same word used elsewhere to speak of the pleas of those who have met injustice. An example of the usage is recorded in Exodus 22:22-24, “ 22  Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; 24  And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.”

Earlier God had told Abraham that “ 13  … Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14  And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15  And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” – Genesis 15:13-16.

These verses demonstrate God’s love, mercy, and above all His longsuffering and patience with sinful man. Rather than immediately wiping out the Amorites, God chose to wait for over four hundred years to bring judgment upon them. They were given ample time to turn from their wickedness, turn to God, and be forgiven. The Amorites had a chance to repent and be saved, just as the Assyrians in Nineveh did during the time of Jonah. The Amorites’ sin had not escaped God’s notice. He was keeping track of the measure of their sins, and, during Abraham’s time, it was not yet full.

God wasn’t ready to punish the Amorites at this time. But now, the sins of Sodom have indeed reached the point where a righteous God must punish them. Throughout the ages, God has shown mercy to people who have sinned.

1. “ (6) And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, (7)  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” - Exodus 34:6-7.
2. “ (22)  It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. (23)  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” - Lamentations 3:22-23.
3. “ (2)  And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil” - Jonah 4:2.
4. “ (4)  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” – Romans 2:4
5. “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” – 1 Timothy 1:16.

God doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the wicked. “ (23)  Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” – Ezekiel 18:23.

The Psalmist David wrote, “ (3)  If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? (4)  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” - Psalm 130:3-4. God is very merciful and willing to give us a chance to repent. However, there comes a day when sins must be judged since, “ (21)  … the wicked shall not be unpunished…” – Proverbs 11:21. Sodom and Gomorrah’s days were numbered, and the time of their judgment had come.

Will Not the Judge of All the Earth Do Right? – Gen. 18:22-25

Abraham was under no illusions because he knew how bad Sodom was, “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly” – Genesis13:13. He knew that when the Lord’s angels observe the sins of the city, He will be obligated by all that is right and holy to destroy it. However, Abraham feels an obligation to intercede for his own family and any other righteous citizen of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Here we see a bold and audacious appeal from Abraham to Jehovah. “ (22)  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. (23)  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? (24)  Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? (25)  That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” -Genesis 18:22-25 (KJV).

Abraham’s name for God – “The Judge of All the Earth” – is another indication of Abraham’s monotheism and a very high view of God’s righteousness. He knew that Jehovah was the righteous and holy God who could be trusted to do what was right.

God has just spoken about Abraham’s destiny to raise his family in “doing what is right and just” (Genesis18:19). Now Abraham demands righteousness of God: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” - Genesis 18:25. How can God destroy a city that has 50 righteous residents? He asks. It would be wrong “to kill the righteous with the wicked,” Abraham contends. If God expects justice from Abraham, surely, He must be just, Abraham argues. In Psalm 19:9 we see the  following, “ (9)  The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”

Abraham’s motive in this appeal is to save his nephew Lot, and his family along with any other righteous person from destruction along with Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the second time Abraham has risked himself to rescue Lot. Now he comes before the Lord himself with incredible nerve.

Was God upset with Abraham’s boldness? No. God may have set up Abraham for this very act of intercession by revealing to Abraham his intentions for Sodom. “ (17)  And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; (18)  Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” – Genesis 18:17-18.

We observed a similar moment in our previous lesson:

An Invitation to Intercession

The real question here is how does God want us to pray? Look carefully at verse 10:

“Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation” – Exodus 32:10.

It’s almost as if the LORD is inviting Moses to intercede for the nation, as if He were to say, “If you do not let me alone (i.e., intercede), then I will destroy them....” Excerpt from Lesson 2: “Moses Intercedes for Israel” (Page 6)

Boldness Mixed with Humility - Gen. 18:26-32

Throughout the next few verses, Abraham boldly bargains God down from 50 to 10 righteous people that would prevent God from destroying Sodom.

(26)  And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. (27)  And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: (28)  Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. (29)  And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. (30)  And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. (31)  And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. (32)  And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake” – Genesis 18:22-32.

Throughout this bold prayer, Abraham asks for the Lord’s indulgence, repeatedly acknowledging his humble place before Almighty God:

1. “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the LORD, though I am nothing but dust and ashes.” (Genesis 18:27)
2.  “May the LORD not be angry, but let me speak” (Genesis 18:30)
3. “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the LORD” (Genesis 18:31)
4.  “May the LORD not be angry, but let me speak just once more” (Genesis 18:32)

Look at the beauty of this interaction between Abraham and God Almighty. Abraham in humility knew his place, and yet in boldness, he interceded taking the opportunity that God had given him to enter His presence. This is praying with two factors in mind: (1) the joy of having God as our Father and (2) maintaining the realization of God’s awesomeness.

Why does God entertain this Bargaining with Abraham?

Why does God entertain Abraham? God could have said, “What I will do, that I will do!” Certainly, God is the Judge of All the Earth and He would have been justified in destroying that wicked city and all who chose to live in it. Or he could have said, “Abraham, frankly there aren’t even ten just people in Sodom. Don’t waste your breath.” Be he didn’t.

Instead, he engages in dialog with Abraham to see how far Abraham’s faith would take him. It seems that God is delighted that his servant Abraham believes in Him enough and understands Him enough to ask this. Genesis 15:6 explains, “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Here is a man who trusts God enough to pray this kind of prayer.

Notice, however, about this intercessory prayer, that Abraham is not offering to do something in return for God’s favor, he is not trying to buy God’s response. Instead, he is appealing again and again to God’s own gracious and righteous character. This is the kind of bargaining that doesn’t demean God by cheapening His response into a transaction but exalts God by magnifying His righteousness, by insisting that His great righteousness re-quires Him to spare the city for even ten righteous persons.

What Stop at 10?

(26)  And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. (27)  And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: (28)  Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. (29)  And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. (30)  And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. (31)  And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. (32)  And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake”  And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place” – Genesis 18:22-33.

Abraham’s intercessory request was clear:

1.  If there are 50 righteous souls in Sodom, will you still destroy it?
2. If there are 45 righteous souls in Sodom, will you still destroy it?
3. If there are 40 righteous souls in Sodom, will you still destroy it?
4. If there are 30 righteous souls in Sodom, will you still destroy it?
5. If there are 20 righteous souls in Sodom, will you still destroy it?
6. If there are 10 righteous souls in Sodom, will you still destroy it?

The Lord’s response to each was that if He found the stated amount, He would not destroy the city. Some may wonder why it is that Abraham stopped at 10 righteous souls. Why didn’t he go lower? Perhaps, he assumed that for the size of the city and the fact that his nephew and his family lived there then there must be at least 10 righteous there. 

What some readers have done is believe that after each number Abraham had raised in his conversation with God, he was told no there are not that number of righteous souls there.

Let’s take another look at the Lord’s response to Abraham again:

1. “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes” – verse 26.
2. “If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it” – verse 28.
3. “I will not do it for forty’s sake” - verse 29.
4.  “I will not do it, if I find thirty there” - verse 30.
5.  “I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake” - verse 31.
6.  “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake” - verse 32.

Nothing within the text gives that impression. God only says if He finds there the stated amount, He will not destroy the city. In verse 33 we read, “And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.” When Abraham returned home, he would have been in the wait-and-see zone.

Persistence in Prayer

Abraham’s persistence pleases God also. Jesus gave us two parables that teach persistence in prayer – the parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-13) and the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8). In both parables, the lesson is the same.

“ (8)  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. (9)  “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  (10)  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” – Luke 11:8-10 (NKJV).

(1) Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,  (2)  saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  (3)  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying,  ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’  (4)  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,  (5)  yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ (6)  Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.  (7)  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? ( 8)  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” - Luke 18:1-8 (NKJV).

An older generation of saints used to call this kind of persistence “praying through,” praying until assurance of an answer comes. If we want answers to our prayers, we too must learn to “pray through” and not quit before the assurance of answered prayer comes. After all, we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “Pray without ceasing.” This must be the attitude of each of us. We must pray until something happens!

The Audacity of Prayer

In our last lesson with Moses, we examined the audacious assumption that underlies prayer – that we can influence God to change His mind. Of course, God will never act against His character and word. But God can work out His will and purpose in many ways.

Notice how God answers. While there are not ten righteous people in Sodom, God answers the intent of Abraham’s prayer – to save his nephew. The angels were under strict orders from God that they were not to destroy Sodom until Lot was safe. When Lot requested permission to only flee as far as Zoar, the angel granted his petition: “ (21)  And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. (22)  Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar” - Genesis 19:21-22.

Abraham prays and God grants the intent of his request, even though he does not grant the literal request itself.

Lessons from Abraham’s Intercession

1. Boldness or confidence before God is necessary. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” - Hebrews 4:16.
2. Humility. Abraham remains respectful of God and cognizant of his inferiority while he petitions boldly.
3. God’s character and word are the basis of the appeal. You can see this in some of the great prayers of intercession in the Bible.
4. Persistence in prayer continues until the answer is received.