Genesis 18: 23 - 26 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating

 the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
²⁶The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

     Communion with God is kept up by the word and by prayer. In the word God speaks to us; in prayer we speak to him. God had revealed to Abraham his purposes concerning Sodom;

Genesis 18: 20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." ("Their sin" Genesis 19: 5 ... "we may know them carnally" They (Men, old and young of Sodom) sought homosexual relations with the visitors (Angels) at Lot's home, V 19: 4).

        ... now from this Abraham takes occasion to speak to God on Sodom's behalf. Note, God's word then does us good when it furnishes us with matter for prayer and excites us to it. When God has spoken to us, we must consider what we have to say to him upon it. Matthew Henry Commentary, SwordSearcher CD

Genesis 18: 27 - 33
²⁷Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five

 people?"

"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
²⁹Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"

He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
³⁰Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"

He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

³¹Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"

He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."

³²Then 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."

³³When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

        The general scope of this prayer. It is the first solemn prayer we have upon record in the Bible; and it is a prayer for the sparing of Sodom. Abraham, no doubt, greatly abhorred the wickedness of the Sodomites; he would not have lived among them, as Lot did, if they would have given him the best estate in their country; and yet he prayed earnestly for them. Note, Though sin is to be hated, sinners are to be pitied and prayed for. God delights not in their death, nor should we desire, but deprecate, the woeful day. 

 He drew near with an assurance of faith, drew near as a prince, & Matthew Henry Commentary, SwordSearcher CD

Job 31: 37 (Redeemed approach our Lord Almighty with confidence and boldness) I would declare to Him the

number of my steps; like a prince I would approach Him.

Hebrews 4: 16 (Redeemed approach our Father - seeking His grace) Let us therefore draw near with confidence to

the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. 

  When we address ourselves to the duty of prayer, we ought to remember that we are drawing near to God, that we may be filled with a reverence of him.  Matthew Henry Commentary, SwordSearcher CD

 Genesis 18: 27 (Redeemed pray with humility before our Lord Almighty)

Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,"

OUR LORD'S ANSWER TO HIS REDEEMED'S PRAYER

Genesis 19: 12, 13, 15 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here, sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, ¹³because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."  ...¹⁵With the coming of dawn, the

angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when

the city is punished."
Genesis 19: 23 - 25 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from the LORD out of the heavens. ²⁵Thus he overthrew those cities and

the entire plain, including all those living in the citiesand also the vegetation in the land.

Compiled by Ralph Porter