When the future is uncertain and we don’t like what we’re hearing, we turn to the Lord. Abraham teaches us to do so knowing who the Lord is.
God announced in Genesis 18:20-21 that he was going to inspect Sodom and Gomorrah, cities famous for their wickedness. Abraham understood what that meant. Judgment was coming. But Abraham’s nephew Lot lived there. So, Abraham stayed behind to speak with the Lord. He dared to intercede, asking if God would spare the cities for the sake of just fifty, then forty-five, and eventually just ten righteous people.
He was bold, but reverent. “Now that I have been so bold as to speak…” he said. “May the Lord not be angry…” he added. Abraham knew God’s justice was perfect. He didn’t try to manipulate God. He asked—and he trusted.
That’s what faith-filled prayer looks like. Some believe they must . . . . first offer obedience, money, or suffering for God to listen. But Scripture shows us otherwise. Jesus Christ has already made the full payment. Because of him, we can speak to our Heavenly Father freely and confidently.
Abraham didn’t receive a clear answer. God didn’t say, “Here’s what I will do.” And that’s often how prayer works. We speak, but we don’t always get immediate or specific answers. Yet we trust. Because we know who God is: just, merciful, wise, and loving.
Bring your burdens, your questions, your joys—everything—to the Lord. Speak boldly, like Abraham. Then rest in the knowledge that God hears, God answers, and God knows best.
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.” (Genesis 18:32)