Wake-Up Calls (Devotional)

Winston Churchill’s famous WWII battle cry was “Never, never, never give up!” The battle cry of a Christian should be “Never, never, never stop praying!” Such is the point of this amazing conversation and the focus of today’s Wake-Up Call. Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” Genesis 18:32

God revealed to Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom. Abraham, saddened by the potential of such death and destruction, became the unlikely intercessor for the people of Sodom. He took a chance and asked God if He would spare the town if there were just fifty righteous persons living there. God graciously agreed. Realizing that he was stretching his luck (not by imposing on God but by hoping to find fifty righteous people in Sodom), Abraham began to whittle down his number. We don’t know why, but Abraham stopped asking at ten. If Abraham could find just ten righteous people in the town, God would spare it.

Why did Abraham stop? Maybe he thought finding the ten would be an easy thing. Maybe he felt that he was trying God’s patience. We just don’t know. But stop asking he did, and Sodom and Gomorrah went up in flames. Now I’m not blaming Abraham for Sodom’s demise. God was justly judging the wicked. But one can’t help but wonder what God would have said if Abraham had asked on behalf of just one righteous person. Abraham’s nephew Lot lived in Sodom and escaped just before its destruction. Would God have spared Sodom for Lot’s sake alone? We’ll never know.

What we do know is that God never grows weary of our prayers. We have an advantage that Abraham didn’t: we have the entire Bible exhorting us to never stop praying. We have the picture of God as a good Father who longs to give us our desires. We know that God wants none to perish and that He sent His Son to die, even for those who would reject Him. God placed no limits on our ability to ask, so neither should we.

Friends, don’t ever stop short of receiving God’s promises. Never stop praying! Don’t give up on that wayward child, lost spouse, or sick friend. Don’t let go of that God-given vision and don’t turn your back on an unrighteous employer. You never know when you may be just one prayer away from turning the eternal tide for a life, a city, or even a nation. --From Wake-Up Calls: 101 Devotionals for Sleepy Christians

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