Abraham’s persistence and God’s character

Read Genesis 18:22-33

I think that after reading this passage, a lot of people may be confused by the fact that God seems to change His mind about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah or that humans (Abraham) seem to be able to negotiate with God. I think that both of these are also pitfalls on our journey to see the true point of this story. To be perfectly honest, I am also not going to address it because I do not feel capable of doing so. I need to look more into God’s Word and ask my elders in the faith (Ben, Jon, Jenn, Henry, Norregaards, my parents, etc) what these things truly mean. But two things that I DO want to emphasize—Abraham’s persistence and God’s character—because I believe that these two things are the biggest things that we can draw from this short passage.
But a tangent before we start: I just want to point out that “Abraham still stood before the LORD” as he talked to God. When I really think about that scene, it sounds ridiculously intimate. I mean, a dude standing before the LORD…holy smokes, now there’s a thought. While we could go into a great theological debate about whether Abraham was physically standing before the LORD or not, I think the main point is the intimacy that was present between Him and God—so much so that Abraham was having what seems to be a spoken conversation with God. Just something that we can all strive towards: a deeper intimacy with God.

But going off of that point (so it wasn’t that much of a tangent, really), I think that Abraham’s persistence in appealing to the LORD is commendable and admirable. Initially, Abraham appeals to God’s justice, asking if God will still destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if there are 50 righteous people in the city. Yet, his worry for and heart for those who may die unnecessarily (namely, Lot) caused him to continually appeal to God; and eventually, Abraham reduces the number of righteous to 10 to avert the destruction of the city. I think that this persistence is extraordinary and that we should all learn this sort of persistence in our conversations (prayer) with God. Yet, I think it’s also important to note that Abraham’s persistence all came out of humility—he knew that he was unworthy of even speaking to God, let alone appealing to Him in such a fashion. He repeatedly asks God not to be angry and reaffirms his complete dependence on God. That is, I believe, another attitude that we can learn from Abraham: one of humility and complete submission.

Secondly, I think it’s super awesome that God, with all of His power (He could do anything He wanted), is JUST. He is the only completely just king there was, is, and ever will be. And I think it’s super sweet just thinking about that: God will never punish anyone for something they didn’t do. We will never be accused falsely. Just a thought. Marinate on that a little: God is just.

Now to bring it all together…Abraham sets a tremendous example of prayer for us in this passage. So how can you learn from his example of humility and persistence in prayer? What tangible things can you do today that reflect that humility and persistence in your prayer life? And God’s response to his humble and persistent prayer is just, right, and all out of compassion for his created beings. So if we pray God’s will, what do we have to fear? If we do so, there is no way that God will not be just to listen and come through mightily, showing his power in glorious ways. So what are you waiting for? My prayer is that you may look at Abraham’s example of prayer and God’s response to it, and come before His throne with confidence, knowing that the God of the universe has you and your problems in His hands.