“The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.” Genesis 18:22 NIV
Abraham stood before the Lord and when the angels departed, he drew near to the Lord. We, too, can approach Him and draw as near to our heavenly Father. Listen to His invitation to us, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16). Abraham’s prayer to the Lord arises out of several burdens he carries because of the revelation he has just received. First, he is concerned about the Lord’s reputation. If the Lord simply destroys the people of Sodom out of hand, Abraham is concerned that people will get the wrong impression of Him and of His love for sinners. Secondly, he is thinking about Lot and his family, who live in Sodom. He wants to see them spared, at the very least. He begins to talk to the Lord about the situation and gets the Lord to agree to spare the city if just 10 righteous people can be found there. In Lot’s family, there was Lot, his wife, two unmarried daughters and at least two married daughters and their husbands. This was a total of at least eight people in that family. Although Abraham did not know it at the time, his prayer was answered! God did spare the righteous when He destroyed the wicked. Sometimes, our prayers seem to be very ineffective and weak, but only in eternity will we know the full impact of our personal ministry of prayer in the lives of others. Therefore, do not be discouraged, just pray and trust the Lord to bring it to pass!
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, we will persevere in prayer and continue to trust You.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, thank You for the power of prayer. Holy Spirit, come and encourage us not to give up praying, and trusting our Lord to bring an answer to our prayers, even if it takes a long time. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
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