The Power of Prayer
Genesis 18:20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26 Then the LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
The Power of Prayer
Prayer is something that many start doing at a young age. I know that I started almost as soon as I could talk, and being raised as a pastor’s kid, my parents prayed with me as soon as I understood. As a little kid, our prayers were simple, but as we grow into adults, we tend to get more complex. Often we start to have specifics that we continually go to God for in prayer. Prayer is a powerful tool that God gives to us.
In our reading for today, we see a very stark moment of bold prayer. Now, Abraham here is directly in front of the Lord, but it is still a prayer that he is offering in this conversation with the Lord. Abraham is praying on behalf of his nephew who lives in the cities that the Lord is planning to destroy. Therefore, Abraham is bold in his prayer, and he goes to the Lord with fervor. He does so because he knows the Lord is listening and also a gracious God.
Thanks to Abraham’s boldness, we are able to learn to be bold like him. However, we often lose sight of what the purpose of our prayers are. I know I have often fallen into the trap of praying only for my wants and desires. Never remembering to not only thank the Lord, but to remember to hold the Lord in the honor that he deserves. For I am a sinful man, just as is every human on this earth. We are sinful and even something as genuine as prayer can be twisted into a way that does harm.
Thankfully our heavenly father is a gracious God, as we see illustrated in this story. Abraham knew of the promise of the Savior, and we now are able to read about the actual events of the life of Christ and how we are his saved children. Through the redeeming acts of Jesus, we have saving faith, and as is mentioned in 1 Timothy 2:5, Jesus acts as our mediator.
Since we have this saving faith, we have the privilege to go to God in prayer, praying in the name of our mediator, Jesus. Now, as I mentioned earlier we can misuse it. However, I am not saying that we cannot go to God and ask him to help us get what we desire, or what we want. In fact, the Lord encourages us to come and lay everything at his feet. So, let us go to God continually in prayer. Be bold as you pray for family, friends, for strangers. Be bold as you pray for the Lord to continue to be in your life. It is important to pray continually as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:16-18. So go to the Lord in prayer, because it is powerful.
Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, continue to remind us of your love for us. How you sent your only son to pay for all our sins. Give us the courage to come to you in prayer. Remind us that prayer is a powerful tool in which we can directly come to you. For we have everything through your son, Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Amen.