Genesis 18:20-32 (excerpts)

²⁰Then 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.”

²²The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. ²³Then 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?... ²⁶The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

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?... “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.”

Dear children of our Heavenly Father

Each year we see more and more advances in technology and other facets of our lives. For instance, I was looking at speed records for vehicles which travel on the ground. They call these “land speed” records as opposed to records by boats or airplanes. The first record show that an electric car in 1898 went a whopping 39 mph. By 1927 the first car had broke 200 mph. Thinking this might never be broken, we see that in 1963 the first vehicle went 400 mph on the Salt Flats here in the USA. By 1965 the record was over 600 mph. Where would the limits stop? In 1997 the record for the fastest land speed was set at 763 mph which was the first land vehicle to break the speed of sound. Where is the limit? It seems that if we put our mind to it, we can continue to make vehicles with bigger engines and more powerful rocket powered motors.

As we come this morning to God’s house, we are going to see something else that has no limits. We are going to see that prayer has no limits. We can come to our Lord and Savior over and over again knowing that God can accomplish anything through prayer. We might always think that prayer is powerful, but this morning we are going to be reminded

Sermon Theme: Prayer Knows No Limits!

1. It trusts in God’s grace

2. It submits to God’s will

Last week our scripture reading was about Abraham being visited by 3 men, who actually were not real men by two angels and the LORD. These men had told Abraham and Sarah that they were going to have a child, even though they were well pass the years of childbearing. After they had finished their visit with Abraham and Sarah, they were going to go to the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were going there to see the wickedness that was taking root in the hearts and minds of the people living in these cities. ^“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.”

What this reminds us of is the fact that God doesn’t condone sin. It may seem like people and countries are getting away with all kinds of terrible sin, but God knows what is going on and God hates sin. He tells us that sin will be punished. Yes, it is easy to point our fingers at people we know who are living horrible and sinful lives, but we first need to point the finger at our own hearts and actions. What do we see when we point the finger at ourselves. We see people who are greedy and impatient. We see people who are selfish and hurtful. We see people who think sin isn’t all that bad or hurtful. It is this reminder from God that opens our hearts to see and believe that God is the only answer for sin and any spiritual problem that sin may bring. We need to believe and trust that God’s grace has saved us and that God’s grace is all around us.

Abraham shows us a wonderful example of what it means to pray to our Lord and God. Abraham’s heart was filled with faith, and Abraham knew that prayer was one of God’s blessings for God’s children as we sit and talk with God. He knew that when he preyed to God, God would listen and God in his grace would answer his prayer in the best possible way. His prayer was for the believers who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He wanted those righteous people to be saved and spared. ^“The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. ²³Then 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?... ²⁶The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 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?... “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

As we look at our prayer lives, do we always think of prayer as something that is so wonderful that I will want to use it as often as possible? Do we approach prayer as a privilege and joy as we sit down one on one and talk personally with the God of this universe who created us and saved us from our sin? Do we approach prayer with a confidence which fills our hearts which says that there are no limits with God, because in his grace and mercy he will answer your prayers just right? Are we bold like Abraham to approach God with difficult prayers which seem to push the boundaries? Are we willing to go to the well of God’s grace and mercy and ask things that might not seem possible or even wise by human standards? It is not wrong to ask for difficult things. In fact it would be wrong to not approach our God in prayer when the most difficult things come into our lives.

When we are sick, go to God in prayer. When we don’t know where to turn next and our lives are falling apart all around us, turn to the Lord in prayer. When we are going through a crisis, turn to the Lord in prayer. When marriages are on the rocks, turn to the Lord in prayer. When our emotions are high and our bodies are worn out, turn to the Lord in prayer. Just like Abraham, realize that there are no boundaries when we approach God in prayer.

Abraham also teaches us to approach God in prayer with persistence. Abraham didn’t stop right away. He continued to plead with his Lord and Savior. 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?... “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” Once again he spoke to him,… 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.” Was Abraham bothering God? Was Abraham being the spoiled brat kid in the store who after begging and begging got the candy bar at the checkout? No, not at all. Abraham gives us a wonderful example of what it means to trust in God’s grace. He knew that God in grace would never cut him off or tell him to go away. He knew that God would listen to him over and over again. He knew that God had made this promise, “Ask and it will be given to you.” He knew that the only person who could do anything to save those people in Sodom and Gomorrah was God himself.

As we go through life, we might ask ourselves how persistent we are in our prayer lives. How often do we forget to pray, because we think that it is something so small that God doesn’t’ really want to bother with it? How often have we prayed for something once or twice, but stopped when it seemed like we didn’t really get an answer from God? How many of us think of God as someone who is like the spoiled sport star who wants nothing to do with the fans, because he is better than everyone else and doesn’t rally want to help the little people like us?

God does listen to every prayer. God does answer ever prayer, but the question is how does God answer every prayer. How many of us have prayed for something and it didn’t really seem to be answered? If it was answered, it wasn’t anywhere close to what we prayed for. We then become discouraged, because we didn’t get exactly what we prayed for. As we look at Abraham, we need to recognize that God commands us to pray boldly and persistently, but our prayers always are going to be answered according to God’s good and perfect will. But what does that exactly mean, “according to God’s will?” It means that we may not always get what we think is best for ourselves. We may think that if only somehow got a little more money, our lives would all of a sudden be good, but God may know something that we don’t know and doesn’t give us the money we ask for. Does that mean God doesn’t care or isn’t concerned for us? Obviously not. It means that whatever God gave us to answer that prayer was better than the money we prayed for. We always submit to God’s will, because it is always better than our will.

That’s what Abraham did as he prayed to the LORD and that is what we can do. In Abraham’s case, we know that there were not even 10 righteous in all of those cities and those cities were destroyed, but Lot his nephew was spared. That was God’s will. It may not have been what Abraham wanted or expected, but it was what God knew was best for everyone involved. It takes faith to trust that God’s will is best. It takes faith to know and believe that God will hear our prayers and answer them in the best ways possible. It takes faith to know what God’s will is and know that God would never do anything to hurt one of his children.

As we have seen today, prayer has no limits. We can come to him at anytime with persistence and faith and know that God actually is listening to us as if we were his dear children. Prayer is powerful and beneficial. May we always use prayer and trust that prayer is God’s good and gracious gift to us as his sinful children. What are the limits that God can accomplish as we pray. Let’s continue to go to him and watch his grace and mercy flow through us and into us. Amen