Prayer of the Righteous

Focal Verse: "So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived." Genesis 19:29

My son is now at the stage where he wants to talk but only can enunciate a handful of words. As much as I can't wait for his vocabulary to increase, I've been warned that once he starts to talk, he won't stop. I've been warned of the barrage of incessant questions a curious toddler throws at a defenseless parent.

In Genesis 18, Abraham's conversation with God bears a resemblance to the conversation of a curious toddler. God tells Abraham he is going to go see if the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is as bad as the outcry against it. Abraham, knowing his close relative Lot is living in Sodom, starts questioning God, "What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" God answers that he will not. Not content with that answer, Abraham goes on to ask God the same questions over and over. "What if there are 45 righteous people?... 40 righteous people?... 30 righteous people?... 20 righteous people?... 10 righteous people?" With each question, God gives the same answer, ending with "For the sake of 10 righteous people, I will not destroy it."

Humor me for a side note here. We know that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah the very next day, and looking at Abraham's conversation with God, we know that God promised he wouldn't destroy the cities if he found 10 righteous people. The very fact that the cities were destroyed tells us that there were not 10 righteous people in the city. I find it interesting that God showed no signs of impatience with Abraham and his repeated questioning. He knew Abraham's heart was pure, and he was only asking because he was worried about his dear nephew Lot and his family. In the last verse of chapter 18, it says, "When the Lord has finished speaking with Abraham...." I just wonder if Abraham wasn't finished with his questioning. Looking forward, we see the the only ones spared were Lot, his wife (for a short time), and his two daughters. My count is 4. Unless Abraham was thinking of Lot's other daughters and sons-in-law (which we don't know the number), perhaps he was going to keep going from 10 to 8 to 6 to 4 to 2 to 1, in his questioning. But after 10 righteous people, God ended the conversation. God knew he had to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and he also knew Abraham's heart.

We can look at Abraham's prayer like this. He wanted to convince God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He knew Lot and his family had built homes there. He was concerned for their safety. He didn't want them to lose their homes and their way of life. We can assume Abraham thought of Lot as a righteous man by this prayer. (Also, looking forward to chapter 19, the angels were greeted by Lot at the city gate. Not a small detail, the men sitting at the city gate in that time were elders in the city and sometimes judges. Even though the city was wicked, for some reason - we hope because of his righteousness - he was held in high regard.)

God went to great lengths to save Lot and his family, even though I tend to think that the righteousness Lot had when he was in Abraham's company had probably been marred by living in the sinful city of Sodom. Not unlike us, he was easily influenced by the wealth and promise that Sodom offered. You know his heart wasn't completely devoted to God even at the moment God was trying to save him. Although he tried to convince his sons-in-law to escape with him, when they wouldn't and the angels said, "It's time!", Lot hesitated. He had to be pulled away from the city by the angels. And when they told him to go to the hills, he argued with them, asking to go to a small town. Lot wasn't reacting righteously at the most critical moment.

That takes us back to why God spared Lot. Clearly he didn't want to go. His heart was divided by what he knew he should do and what he wanted to do. I believe Abraham's simple child-like prayer is the key to Lot's survival. Read Genesis 19:29 again: "So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. (emphasis mine)"

It did not say, "So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Lot's righteousness and brought Lot and his family out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived."

Even though it took some background to get to this point, I believe it is well worth it. The words of James thousands of years later rings true to Abraham's prayer: "The prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16)

How many times do we say we're going to pray for someone but the prayer never makes its way from our minds to our God? How many times do we want to pray for someone but don't even bother because we don't think it will make a difference anyway? I have to admit I'm guilty of both.

Yet we look at Abraham's simple, child-like prayer, and we see that God honored it. He didn't do exactly what Abraham asked. Abraham wanted the cities to be spared, but God had a different plan. He had to destroy the cities, but he saved the ones that were on Abraham's heart, even though the Bible doesn't show any evidence that Lot's name was even mentioned in this prayer.

I'm hoping that by remembering Abraham's humble prayer, I can have the faith to approach the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," with the people I need to pray for. I can also have the peace of mind that although God may not answer my prayer in the way I had in mind, he will honor the prayer of his child.

I'll conclude with a verse from 1 Samuel 12:23a: "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you."