“Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?”
Genesis 18:22-23
Here we see the heart of Abraham in a wonderful way, not only committed to loving God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength, but also loving His neighbor as Himself. His nephew Lot is again in a compromised situation and Abraham is talking to God on His behalf. It’s important to note that this time the action done on behalf of Lot isn’t Intervention but Intercession. And thus we have our example, for all of us have a “Lot” or two in our lives. Guys and gals who have chosen their own city to dwell in, their own crew to hang with, and their own culture and lifestyle to enjoy in spite of knowing the “Way, Truth, and Life” that satisfies. Sadly we understand the truth just as Abraham did, that these choices only lead to destruction.
So what can we do when we see friends or family members choosing the wrong path and desiring to dwell in a place that is doomed to disappoint, depress, and destroy?
We talk to God about it… We pray for them.
In the past Abraham got involved and saved Lot from being taken hostage (Genesis 14:16), only to see Lot return to the old hang-outs, old friends, and old habits. Unfortunately when we get involved and help friends or family members to get redirected on the right path they don’t always listen, and sometimes our best efforts aren’t enough. Here we see an awesome example of the power of prayer versus the power of a person.
Notice instead of judging the place himself and telling God to “send em’ all to hell” that Abraham left the final judgment up to God and at the same time prayed for those who were in danger of damage. We too need to spend more time in prayer…when tempted to put in the final say and judge others we should take Abe’s example and Intercede for those people.
What happened when Abraham prayed?
God got personally involved and rescued Lot from destruction. Of course there were still consequences to pay, and some of the results were rough as they always are when we make decisions apart from God’s will, but we see that Lot is saved.
We too will see as we commit to pray for that brother, friend, neighbor, or prodigal parent, that we won’t need to rely on our capabilities, we can rest as Abraham did, knowing that God is personally seeing into the situation and “working it together for His good purpose”. (Romans 8:28)
