Prayer provides believers with a powerful connection to God. Any believer can cry out to God any moment of any day and immediately step into the presence of God. What they find there may not be what they are looking for, but they are in a place of potential transformation. But even with this amazing opportunity, something is missing. Prayers can be God-honoring or self-serving. What is needed is the voice of God in our hearts, forming and directing our prayers. We pray best responsively. We pray in response to the word of God, the revelation of God in the Scriptures. We find this often in the Bible. God shows up, and people call out to him. We see this, especially in the life of Abraham. God is always the initiator, and Abraham is the responder. Most of the time, when the Lord comes to Abraham, he responds with worship and obedience, but sometimes Abraham responds with prayer; he speaks to God. One of the theologically rich places we see this is in Genesis eighteen.
The story of Abraham’s life can be viewed as eighteen different connected episodes. It is important to look for two central themes in each episode. The first is Abraham’s quest to fulfill the covenant promises from the Lord, that is, a son to be his heir. The second is the development of Abraham’s faith. These two emphases are closely related. As Abraham grows in his faith, his ability to trust the Lord’s covenant plan increases. Previously, the Lord had promised him an heir through his wife, Sarah. In Genesis 18, the Lord appears again to Abraham, but this time in a different way. He appears as three travelers seeking hospitality. They are, in fact, two angels and the Lord himself. At some point, Abraham recognizes the visitors for who they are. The Lord promises that about this time next year, Sarah will have a son in fulfillment of the covenant promise. This is an amazing and awesome miracle of the Lord. Abraham and Sarah struggle to believe it. As the three men get ready to leave, the Lord divulges to Abraham his plan to judge Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. It is here that Abraham begins his intercession for his nephew Lot and his family because they live in the wicked city of Sodom.
Abraham prays for the safety of his family, knowing that divine judgment is coming their way. He does so by negotiating with the Lord to spare the city if he finds ten righteous persons there. At one point in the prayer, Abraham asks the Lord, “Shall the judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25). Abraham recognizes the Lord as the rightful judge of all the earth. He also knows that he will do what is right and just; that’s why Abraham asks the question. The perplexing problem is, how can the righteous be swept away with the wicked? The righteous are righteous because the Lord redeems them. Will the Lord turn his back on his saints? At what level of righteous persons will God hold back judgment? In this interchange, we see the Lord’s just judgment and tender mercy. In this prayer of Abraham, we discover three timeless truths that can inform our prayers.
Divine Revelation
God reveals his plan to his people. We understand God’s plan by God’s character, God’s purposes, and God’s ways as revealed in the Scriptures. In every passage of Scripture, we can discern God’s ways by noticing what God does in any situation. When we grasp something of the ways of God, we can see the purposes of God. The ways of God are how he accomplishes his purposes. By seeing the purposes of God, we have a better understanding of the character of God. God always acts according to his character. As we grow in our understanding of the character, purposes, and ways of God, we grow in our capacity to pray in accordance with the will of God for the plan of God. This timeless truth shows the absolute necessity for the prayer warrior to be constantly in the word of God.
Divine Judgment
God judges the world in righteousness and justice. He is the judge of all the earth, as Abraham understood. The things that happen often seem arbitrary and unjust, and they are from a human standpoint. But we must understand that God is in control. He has his purposes in all things. We trust his wisdom to know perfectly what is best. God sends judgment and withholds judgment in his perfect way and at his perfect time. There seems to be a threshold of wickedness that, when reached, God unleashes judgment on a place and a people. At the same time, God knows how to protect and provide for his people. “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 2:9).
Divine Answers
God will hear and answer the prayers of his people according to his perfect will. We pray according to God’s revealed will in the Scriptures. We are motivated to pray because we know he hears and answers, we trust that. At the same time, we trust the hidden will of God as to just how he works out the details of his plan in the world. These details impact our lives and the lives of people we love. We also pray according to the needs of the moment. We live in a wicked, dangerous, and uncertain world that is under the hand of our righteous, just, wise, good, and faithful heavenly Father. In all this, we pray for wisdom, knowing that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-28).
Conclusion The prayer of Abraham helps us go deep into the mind and heart of God as we seek to pray in a way that is compatible with his purposes. We love our Lord, who loves us, and we trust his plan for our families and friends. We know and believe as we pray that the Judge of all the earth will always do what is right and just.