Pester the Lord in Prayer!

10th Sunday after Pentecost, 8/18/19
Genesis 18:20-32


Pester the Lord in Prayer!
I. With a humble heart
II. With a confident faith


It’s something that most people never fully grow out of. I’m referring to our compulsion to pester people for what we want.

Toddlers and young children are known for it. Before a child can put a full sentence together, she is already able to tug at whatever part of her mother is available until her mother gives in—usually for something the little girl desperately wants to eat.

That fixation continues as the child grows, although it tends to manifest itself less frequently. Whether it’s a video game, a certain pair of shoes, a cell phone, or something else that “every other child” has, children have a way of persisting until they wear their parents down and they get what they want.

Annoying, isn’t it? Until you realize that adults have the same tendency, and that includes you and me. We get it in our minds that we simply can’t do without something—a new vehicle, an upgrade in the home, a trip to some dreamy location—and we continue to bring it up to our loved ones until they finally succumb and we get what we want. Annoying, isn’t it? We pester people, especially the people we love. And we do that because we know that they love us and care for us. So, we expect them to respond as we wish.

I imagine that could be one of the ways that you viewed Abraham’s prayer to the Lord as we have it before us here in Genesis 18. Six times he pestered the Lord to spare the people of Sodom. He went from 50, to 45, to 40, to 30, to 20 and finally to 10. And we get the impression that Abraham knew exactly what he was doing. It seems as if he knew all along that he wanted to get to 10, but he started with 50 and worked his way down. It certainly seems like he was pestering the Lord.

And yet each time the Lord granted his prayer. And, as we’ll see at the close of this sermon, God acted exactly as he promised Abraham. It’s apparent, then, that the Lord wasn’t annoyed with Abraham’s prayer, but pleased.

And that’s makes Abraham’s prayer life a model for you and me. In a good way, he pestered the Lord in prayer. And so should we. Pester the Lord in prayer! Let’s see what makes that activity God-pleasing as we examine this model prayer.

I.

Celebrities are known for more than a handful of annoying characteristics, and one of them is pulling the fame card, especially when caught doing something wrong. Actors, politicians, and athletes are routinely pulled over by law enforcement officers for traffic violations, and when the officer confronts the celeb with the violation, the response is, “Do you know who I am?” The celebrity wants special consideration.

It would have been easy for Abraham to pull the fame card with the Lord. After all, he is the father of the Jewish nation. Even the writers of the New Testament refer to him as a great hero of faith. Several world religions revere him. If there were a biblical hall of fame, he’d be a first ballot inductee without a doubt. He was the one whom God had chosen to be the father of the nation through whom the Savior of the world would be born. Incredible!

But there’s not a hint of pride in him during this extended prayer to the Lord. Never does he make a statement such as, “Lord, this is your chosen one, the great hero of faith, you know—Abraham.” Instead, look at how he approaches the Lord. “Now that I have been so bold to speak, though I am nothing but dust and ashes.” I don’t think Abraham used that description of himself thoughtlessly. I’m sure you recall where that phrase comes from—Genesis 3, right after the fall into sin. There God told Adam and Eve that they would die and return to the dust of the ground because they had willfully violated God’s command. Abraham was keenly aware that he was a son of Adam and Eve. As such he was no less a sinner than any other human being. He had no inherent right to approach the holy God for anything, let alone to approach him six times for the same thing.

Therefore, Abraham did not approach the Lord on the basis of who he was, but on the basis of who the Lord is. Listen to him once again, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What 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? Far 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?” Abraham does not pray for God to do anything that would violate who God is. He doesn’t ask God to look the other way at sin or to excuse it. That would violate God’s essence. Instead, he simply holds God to who he is—absolutely holy, just, and right. And he implores God—no, he pesters him—to do what’s right in this situation as well. Abraham does not ask the Lord to go out on a limb for him and do something uncharacteristic of God. He doesn’t ask God to violate his holy code of honor or his divine behavior. He pesters God to be just, but all the while he does so from the disadvantage point of being but dust and ashes, a sinner who has no right to ask God for anything, let alone to change the plans that he had announced for the citizens of Sodom. Abraham remained humble as he pestered the Lord.

And that’s the first truth about Abraham’s prayer life that calls for you and me to imitate. Pester the Lord in prayer with a humble heart.

But that leads us to ask the question: What is the attitude of your heart as you pray to the Lord? Is it a heart like Abraham’s? Or, do you come to the Lord in prayer and start by reminding him how hard you’ve been trying in this particular situation? Is your prayer coming from a heart that wants God to recognize your Christian track record and, because of it, lend you at least a sympathetic ear? Do you begin your prayer with a heart that admits you’re not perfect, but you’re honest and sincere, at least most of the time? Does it ever happen that your prayer arises from a heart that reminds God you’re a card-carrying Christian who’s been practicing your Christian faith for decades? Every one of those attitudes makes the unspoken demand that God should listen to you and answer your prayer according to your wishes because of who you are or try to be. Where’s the “dust and ashes” attitude in any of that? The truth is that we have no business on our own approach-ing God for anything. We have no inherent right to interrupt his divine day for a single blessing. We should be left with only one fervent prayer: “Please, Lord! Don’t send me to hell like I deserve.” And he doesn’t! All because of who he is! He knows we’re but dust and ashes, but he loves us as dust and ashes nonetheless. In fact, he loves us so much that he nailed the holy body of his Son to the cross for us and spared his dead body of decay. Instead he raised him from the dead to assure us of our beloved status before him. By the life, death and resurrection of Jesus we have the blessing of prayer. So pester him! Pester the Lord in prayer with a humble heart!

II.

A few nights ago I happened to hear a contestant on a nationally televised show appeal to the universe—even later referring to the universe as her god—to do what was right for her. She cited her karma as making her deserving of winning that particular contest. Pathetic, but that’s likely the way the vast majority of people believe it works.

Abraham didn’t. Instead, he firmly believed that the future of the citizens of Sodom depended on the truth of who God is. He trusted in the fact that, first of all, God is righteous. He is holy. He is absolutely faithful to every promise he has made. And one of those astounding promises is that he makes us righteous or holy by faith in Jesus as our Savior. Even though our sins deserve eternal punishment, we have been declared not guilty because of the life and death of Jesus. That’s the sweetest pronouncement any sinner can hear! Abraham trusted that promise. He had faith in the Lord. That’s the same faith the Lord has placed in your heart and mine.

Second, Abraham also trusted that the Lord is merciful. He has every right to strike every sinner with death and condemn every sinner to hell. But he doesn’t because he is merciful. Instead, he sent his Son to suffer hell for us and now he gives every sinner time on this earth as the time to come to know him and to trust in Jesus. That’s his mercy. Abraham’s prayer flowed from a heart that trusted in a merciful God.

And his trust was well placed. If you know how this event turned out, you also know that God was absolutely righteous and merciful. He destroyed the city of Sodom but he also spared its righteous inhabitants—Lot and his family. What Abraham pestered the Lord in prayer to do, the Lord did exactly.

Take your prayer cue from Abraham. Pester the Lord in prayer with a confident faith.

The Lord did what was just and right in this instance. Surprised? We shouldn’t be. He always does what is just and right. But do your prayers reflect that truth? When you pester him in prayer, is it for what you consider to be just and right or what God considers to be just and right? Are there times when your prayer arises from a heart that is convinced that the Lord is not treating you as you deserve? That’s a fairly common prayer posture to assume. I know I’ve been there. Have you?

Our faith in our Lord has its foundation in the truth that God’s justice and mercy met at the cross of Jesus. There God’s justice was met when Jesus suffered the punishment for every sin of every sinner. And from that cross his mercy flows out over every sinner who deserves hell but finds in Christ the gift of eternal life. The cross of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead are eternal evidence that God always does what is right for you.

So, go ahead and pester him in prayer with a heart that rests securely on that truth. Your God promises to hear and answer every one of your prayers for your eternal good. Amen.