“Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death 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?'” (Genesis 18:23-25)
When the Lord God gave Abraham the bad news that He had decided to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, he knew that God was right. The gross evil of the people of these cities was repulsive and cried out for God’s justice. Yet Abraham was concerned because his nephew Lot and his family lived in Sodom. He knew that he had such an intimate relationship with the Lord that he could plead for mercy. The Lord granted his request but to no avail, because, sad to say, there were not even 10 righteous people in Sodom. Apparently, the godly influence of Abraham had not affected his nephew nor his family, and consequently, their neighbors.
The believer can have as intimate a relationship with God as Abraham did. Such a relationship permits us to be bold and honest with the Lord realizing of course that He always knows best. Nevertheless we should never be afraid to express our thoughts and requests openly but respectfully to the Lord just as Abraham did.
One such prayer we must pray is for blessings upon our nation. Our nation is filled with great wickedness that condones and exalts sin. And yet, unlike Sodom, there are many righteous living here. For the sake of the righteous the Lord still stays His hand of judgment on this land but will not always do so. We believers must work by faith to be a godly influence on our neighbors while we can.