On Earth As In Heaven: Genesis 18:20-32 - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

²⁰Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! ²¹I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.”
  ²²So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. ²³Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” ²⁶And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” ²⁷Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ²⁸Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” ³⁰Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” ³¹He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” ³²Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” (NRSV)

Lord's Prayer by Ryan Stavely on Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0

There is no question in the Christian faith more troubling than “why didn’t God answer my prayers?”

It breaks my heart when I hear how an unanswered prayer impacts someone’s faith. People say, “I must not have prayed hard enough;” or, “I must have done something wrong.” The worst is, “if I pray, I’m going to make God even angrier with me and things are going to get even worse.”

This problem grows even more complicated in light of the picture of God painted by our Old Testament reading from Genesis. God is determined to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah on account of their wickedness. We get a glimpse of how depraved their citizens are in Genesis 19: Abraham’s nephew Lot, who lives in Sodom, has just been visited by two angels. Suddenly, a mob is pounding on his door—demanding that he hand over the two visitors so that they can take turns committing gruesome acts against them.

Despite this, Abraham pleads with God to spare the cities for the sake of fifty righteous persons. Then 45, then 40, then 35, then 30, 20, and, finally, 10 righteous persons.

We all know what happens, but don’t take that to mean that up to nine righteous persons were destroyed with the wicked.

God does rescue Lot, who isn’t exactly a shining beam of righteousness.

Nevertheless, we’re still left with a terrifying picture of God. Unfortunately, this harsh, wrathful God is the only God some people know. And this “God” does have quite the fan club…

Have you noticed how many major American cities are likened to Sodom and Gomorrah? When they’re struck by an earthquake, flood, or hurricane, TV preachers declare that God is pouring out wrath against them. Can you really blame someone who believes they’re under God’s wrath?

But if God was so harsh and wrathful, Abraham would’ve been a fool to plead with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, no matter how many “righteous” people lived there. Abraham would’ve been annihilated for confronting God in this way.

But pay attention to how Abraham contends with God: “far be it from you to slay the righteous with the wicked!” Abraham appeals to the compassion and mercy that are fundamental to who God is. After all, Abraham and Sarah were chosen to be God’s own, apart from their own worthiness or merit. God made a covenant to make of them a great nation that will be a light for the world. Therefore, when Abraham prays, he pleads for God to be true to who God is. That’s not sinful, folks!

Even though God does ultimately destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham did not pray in vain.

Why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and left so many other wicked cities and wicked peoples in the world, I cannot say—any more than I can explain unanswered prayers or why bad things happen to good people.

What we do know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that God saves a sinful and fallen world for the sake of one righteous person—Jesus Christ. The cross welcomes you to come before God in prayer, at any time, for any reason.

The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray—because, like them, we need to be taught. Human prayer is feeble, faithless, and full of selfish motives. How often do you hear people boasting about how God gave them success and prosperity, because they trusted God, they did good works, and they persevered in prayer? Prayer is supposed to be a relationship with God, and they turn God into something like a weight loss regimen or get rich quick scheme—“do this, and this will be your result. It worked for me.”

Prayer is not all about you! It’s also about God, your neighbor, God’s creation—and your relationship to them all.

Prayer is not a chore, like brushing your teeth or washing the dishes. Prayer is the Christian of life. Prayer is a mindset and a willful determination for God’s grace and mercy to be revealed in you, for the sake of God’s purposes in the world. Don’t think for a second that you’re praying enough; that our church is praying enough; or that I am praying enough.

Does the church prayer list stay accompany you during the week? Are you reading the Word in Season? How does your bible-reading time compare with your screen time? In all your priorities, does prayer take precedence?

Prayer changes things. It doesn’t change who God is, and it doesn’t always mean that bad situations will get better. But prayer will change you—because God answers every prayer by drawing you closer into Christ, revealing his love, and leading you into joyful obedience.

And one more thing: it’s okay to not be okay with what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah—just as it’s okay to not be okay when your prayers don’t bring about the desired outcome. Just don’t stop praying—because every prayer is answered by God being true to who God is—being gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.”