The Man Who Didn't Pray Enough

In this sermon the speaker examines Genesis 18‑19, focusing on Abraham’s intercession for Sodom. He walks listeners through the narrative, noting how Abraham draws near to God, confesses his need, and boldly bargains for the city, asking repeatedly whether God would spare it for fifty, forty‑five, down to ten righteous people. The preacher emphasizes that each of Abraham’s prayers was answered—God agreed to spare Sodom at each threshold—yet Abraham stops after the sixth petition, illustrating a missed opportunity. The preacher then uses Abraham’s example to warn against insufficient prayer. He outlines three elements of effective prayer: drawing near to God by confessing sin, speaking plainly and boldly, and praying with the right motive—love for others, concern for oneself, and obedience to God’s will. He urges the congregation, especially young men, to persist in prayer, warning that giving up too soon can mean missing God’s answer. The sermon concludes with a call for renewed, faithful prayer for personal needs, families, the church, and the nation.

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My sermon tonight is entitled, The Man Who Didn't Pray Enough. I admit that I had to read it several times before it occurred to me that here is one of the grandest expositions of answered prayer in all of the scriptures. For the first several spurious readings would cause one to believe that this was an unanswered prayer. But in reality, such is not the case. Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 18 and follow closely this rather lengthy scripture reading tonight. Genesis chapter 18, beginning in verse number one. And the Lord appeared unto him, that is unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground. And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts, after that ye shall pass on. For therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened unto the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of the meal. Knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched the calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man, and he hastened to dress it. And he took butter and milk and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee, according to the time of life. And, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with her, with Sarah, after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxful, shall I have pleasure? My Lord being old also. And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I have a surety bear a child which am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laugh not, for she was afraid. And he said, Nay, but thou didst laugh. And the men rose up from thence and looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And then the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me. And if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence and went toward Sodom. And Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, Will thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city, will thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes. Peradventure, there shall lack five of the fifty righteous, will thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure, there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Peradventure, there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold, now I have taken upon thee to speak unto the Lord. Peradventure, there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. Third venture, ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the Lord went his way, and as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned unto his place. And there came two angels to Sodom and even. And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom, and Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house in Tariel all night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise up early and go on your ways. And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house, and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round about, both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray ye, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only unto these men do nothing, for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge. Now will we deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door in the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they worried themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides, son -in -law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city? Bring them out of this place, for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spake unto his sons -in -law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons -in -law. And when the morning arose, the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, and the Lord being merciful unto them, and they brought him forth and sent him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all of the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, O not so, my Lord. Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die. Behold now, the city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one, oh, let me escape thither. Is it not a little one, and my soul shall live? And he said unto them, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, and I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither, for I cannot do anything, till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the city, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. It seems that in history, God always has a man for the time. Every time I preach, I am especially interested in young men responding to the call to preach. Or whether one becomes a full -time Christian worker or not, I'm always interested that young men, young teenagers, college students, young married men in the prime of life, realize that God may have a very special purpose for them. I think that one of the most tragic things that may happen in the future, if it is like this, will be the way that the day that God unfurls the silver screen of heaven and shows us the plan that he had for our life. What we could have been, what we could have done. And then we see how far we came short. This man, Abraham, played a very important part in the history and destiny of the world and one of the most exciting and important events of the bible he had in his power the right the ability and the power to intervene in history but although he was there at the right time the right man in the right place he made one fatal mistake and did not go far enough in his faith believing god and he lost everything and all that he could have been to the kingdom of god i call him as i have said the man who didn't pray enough the story is one that you all know very well our lord tells us that abraham was dwelling in the tent not many miles away was a very wicked city called sodom the very word almost blisters the tongue of a decent man it was there that every kind of immorality was being conceived and engaged in now the bible tells us that in the end of this situation the lord has was so fed up with the immorality and the homosexuality and the perversion and the wickedness of the sin of sodom and gomorrah that our lord sent down some messengers to destroy the city these men escaped of course a lot escaped he was a just man he was a very important man in the work of our lord because although he was a christian man as is well for men to do obviously he had engaged in politics and perhaps had begun to use his influence in the city when he first moved into sodom but obviously things had gone wrong and sodom had moved into him because when he warned his sons and his sons -in -law that judgment was coming to flee from the city of sodom the bible tells us they mocked at him and ridiculed him and disbelieved what he said he was a man i surmise in a place of great authority because he sat at the gate of the city and the word gate is always symbolic of authority in the scripture he was a christian man in high place whose high office had gone to his head and he had lost his testimony with his family and with the world he was saved he was spared by the grace of god and he fled and the bible tells us that those three who fled with him escaped also the judgment of god but they had to flee to the mountain his wife however as she was leaving with one last longing look back against the will of god back into the city longing for the leeks and garlics of egypt longing for the world longing for sin looked one time too many and the bible says god locked her in her frozen state somebody has called god's chosen people god's frozen people well it's important that a church be on fire and be warm but our lord does have a way of giving up on us and when one sets his mind towards sin and toward the world eventually god will freeze him in his condition and let him alone the bible says let him that think of the cast stand take heed lest he fall and woe unto him whose feet run swiftly to destruction and he that is often reproved and hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be cut off and that without remedy it is dangerous to delay all of these things the destruction of a great society the wickedness of a great generation the lives of several people seem to me to have been in the hand of a man of god abraham who was praying for them who had in his power the answer to prayer the answer of prayer that could have changed history and the destiny of the world but he stopped short he was not quite god's man in god's time because he was the man who didn't pray enough the very word sin means missing the mark coming up short not quite far enough not quite as high as we could have gone not quite as much as we could have accomplished and i pray that today will ever come that the people of first baptist church will stop short in faith of what god wants to do for us and that we shall look back on history seeing that we were almost god's church in god's time in god's place but because of our lack of prayer our lack of love or lack of vision or lack of faith we did not fulfill our niche in history that god wanted us to perform here's a man who failed he came up short now the bible tells us that these men came along as abraham was on the plane with his wife perhaps abraham had forgotten the promise of god perhaps he he had gone back to his shepherding and hardly believed that one day the Lord would bless him after all. Suddenly one afternoon the Bible says three men came along to him. Now the inference is it appears to me that these men were angels. They were certainly heavenly messengers of God and the Bible tells us that Abraham begins by announcing them as my lords and then he begins to call one of them my lord and so the conversation just naturally turns and we are never quite sure where the pivotal point is but at some place he calls one of these men lord. Perhaps this was as is often the case Christ incarnate in flesh in the old testament. Perhaps this was the living lord of the old testament. Perhaps this was an angel but at least it was some kind of heavenly messenger. There were three of them and one seems to be the leader and the spokesman and as they were going on their way to Sodom to bring the message of judgment and warning and destruction to this evil city of cities the Lord had them to stop off on the way bringing the message of judgment and bring a message of grace and he told Abraham and Sarah that they would right away have that long -awaited child. She laughed there are those who think that this was a holy laughter that she was filled with joy that at last the good word had come. I don't think so. I think she was laughing because she thought it was funny because she denied it when they said to her we heard you laugh and she said no I didn't and the angel said oh yes you did we heard you laugh. She laughed and ridiculed because she did not believe that it could happen and she argued thusly the age of herself and of her husband and now when they bring the message of impending judgment that is coming down upon the city of of Sodom the great heart of Abraham breaks within him because he remembers that down in Sodom there is Lot his nephew and his wife and their daughters and their sons -in -law and so Abraham begins to address one of them in person as the Lord and he responds to him and somehow he seems to become the Lord if that is not who he was to begin with I cannot understand it but I do know this that he be he ultimately ended up addressing God perhaps as he spoke through God's spokesman God just moved his servant to one side or perhaps it was the Lord incarnate in some way to begin with but at least the significant point of the story is that Abraham was addressing God and he reasoned thusly surely there are some good men down in Sodom Lord you would not do such a thing as to destroy the unrighteous and the righteous side by side the answer is an immediate and obvious one of course not our Lord does not do things like that and so the Bible tells us because he reasoned that surely and I think that he had the right to do so it was surely not too much to expect that there were at least five or six Christians down there in Sodom did he not have the right to believe that Lot himself a man of God had at least won his own life and his own children and his own relatives to Christ surely a man of God could have done at least that much and so he began to reason that there were some Christians there and he began to pray Lord if there are some people in the city that are Christians will you not destroy the city for the sake of 45 or 50 and he said yes and then he said 45 and the Lord said no I will not destroy the city if there are but 40 righteous in the city Lord what if there are 30 and 20 and 10 and on and on the bargaining goes and this man Abraham concerned about his nephew concerned about his loved ones and his relatives down in this city that he knew before they knew was going to be destroyed did some tall and serious praying and I suggest to you that you shall agree with me before this night is over that this was one of the most important successfully answered prayers in all of the word of God you say preacher it looks to me like God destroyed that city anyway that it was an unanswered prayer but such is not the case God answered every prayer he prayed it was a beautiful case in illustration and proof of answered prayer in the scriptures and because of its importance the very heart of which we shall not see until the conclusion tonight I want us to do for a few moments a serious study in this beautiful and important model prayer of the Old Testament three things I would briefly suggest for your consideration number one as he began to pray consider first the method of prayer now keep your Bibles open let's learn how we pray Let's learn how he prayed. Look in the 23rd verse. We're in the 18th chapter, verse number 23. And Abraham drew near and said, Will thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Look again. And Abraham drew near. The first thing that he did was to draw near the Lord. Obviously a man cannot pray to the Lord if he is not near to the Lord. The psalmist said, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Now don't worry, this doesn't mean if I have any sin, God will not hear my prayer. Because the very first prayer we should pray is, Lord, forgive me of my sins. We must get our sins out of our lives and confess them, but we may be assured that God will then hear our prayers when we are near to him having confessed our sins. Now what does a man have to do to draw near to the Lord? Well, obviously the only thing that keeps a man away from God is what? Sin. And so sin must be confessed. If a man is going to draw near to the Lord to pray, the first thing that he has to do is to confess his sin to God. Get that sin out of the way, and then the Lord will be close to the man because nothing keeps God from men but sin. Regardless of what excuse or reason or reasoning you might have or what you've always told yourself about why you've quit going to church or don't pray anymore or why your husband won't come to prayer meeting anymore, there's only one reason and that's sin. There's only one thing that keeps men from God and that's sin. Only one problem keeps sin from man, a God from man and that's sin. Only one problem keeps men from loving the Lord and that's sin. Only one reason the songs of Zion do not thrill us and the conversion of lost sinners does not excite us and that's because of sin. Nothing but nothing keeps men from God but sin. Regardless of whatever excuse you might have conjured up or what excuse you might be pointing at someone else who may be wrong or whatever reason you have to justify your coldness and lukewarm heart and distance from God, there's only one thing the Bible says and that's sin. We have a hundred new names and a hundred new excuses for sin. Oh but hear me, if this night your heart is not burned with love for the Lord, if you do not have the zeal you once had at the joy of your new conversion, then there is sin in your heart and that sin must be confessed or the Lord can never be drawn back near again into your life. He confessed the sin, he had to, to get near to the Lord. And not only did he draw near to the Lord when he began to pray as we study the method of his prayer but also the Bible says and he drew near and said. It doesn't say he drew near and thought or he drew near and meditated. Or he drew near and, uh, sat. Or he drew near and, uh, contemplated. It says he drew near and said. He began to talk to the Lord. Now it's wonderful to be in an attitude of prayer all the time but far many people, too many people are in an attitude of prayer all the time they say and never spend any real time in personal direct prayer. The man took time to say something. He verbalized what he had in his heart. I asked a woman once if she prayed and she said, yes, I pray all the, I'm always in an attitude of prayer. I think about the Lord at the sink. I think about the Lord in the backyard. I think about the Lord over dishes. I'm always thinking about him. That is not sufficient. He did not just think about the Lord. He said something to him. The Bible does not say and he drew near the Lord and read. Now I know it may be alright to read prayers once in a while, but it's pretty hard for me to write out something that's really coming from my heart that I want to say to God and then read it. I saw a fellow on TV the other day who was reading a prayer. He seemed to be a lot more concerned about the camera angle as he kept that eye cocked, making sure everybody was getting it just right, than he was when he was pouring out of his heart. When a man really stands in need of God, when his heart is really burdened, he's not going to be reading prayers or thinking about God in earnest from his heart, he's going to be talking to him. This man began to pray. He meant business. His loved ones, his nephew, his friends were down in Sodom and Sodom was about to be judged and destroyed and he was pleading with God to intervene and spare the city because of these righteous people. He did some tall and serious praying. The Bible says he prayed boldly. You read this through very closely and you'll find that he actually talks pretty straight to the Lord. Listen. He said, shall not the judge of all the earth do right? He calls God to question. you who are the Lord of all the world, are you going to do wrong? This thing cannot be. You must answer. You must respond. Now, I do not suggest anything but the utmost awe and reverence for a holy God, but the Bible says, come boldly before the throne. He did some tall and serious praying. The Bible says of the works concerning my hands, command ye me. Oh, Christian, be bold in prayer. If it is the will of God, you can claim it in faith and believe it. Come boldly to the Lord. He didn't come with any fancy words. He didn't talk to the Lord any differently than he had been talking to these men. Once again, there was an attitude of holiness and awe and respect, but he began to pray in everyday language. That's the next thing. He prayed simply. He prayed simply. He drew near. The Bible tells us when he drew near, he said what he had to say. He said it boldly, and he said it simply. I don't, frankly, I just almost wish most folks would forget about the King James Version of the Bible. I really do. Now, that may be treason. That may be grounds for lynching the pastor, but I think it's one of the biggest problems we have today. You know why? Because there's nothing at all holy about the King James Version of the Bible. Jesus talked in everyday language to everyday people. He talked in our make. That was the language he spoke. The disciples wrote it down in Greek. And 400 years ago, because Greek people didn't speak Greek anymore, in Old English, they came along and put it in Old English under King James 400 years ago. Well, we don't say whithersoever, and thee and thou, and most people think today, unless you pray thee and thou, and whithersoever, you're not really praying. That's not true. You are being just as holy and just as pious and just as religious to say you as you are thee and thou. But most people get all tangled up in the fancy words of Old English, which are no more relevant and important and holy than is German or Swedish or Dutch or French. And they, oh, that's just, I can't say all those big fancy words. Well, you don't have to pray a lot of big fancy words. Most folks get their tangs tangled up over whithersoever and thither and thence, and they don't know how to pray, and they just give up in frustration. This man prayed simply. He got on on his knees and said, Dear God, you can't do this. It's not right. My relatives are down there. Now, what about this thing? Forget whithersoever. Forget Old English. There's nothing holy about it. Talk to God in your language. Talk to God like youth talk. Talk from your heart. Talk about your problems. Talk about what bugs you. Talk about what hurts you. Talk about what depresses you. Talk about your needs. And the Lord will hear and answer and respond. He knows our frame. He knows our hearts. He's not impressed with our fancy words. He's impressed with the sincerity of our soul. Well, he did something else. He prayed directly to God. And this isn't going to cost any extra. But he didn't go through anybody. He just went directly to the Lord. I heard the other day about a couple of fellows at work. One of them had to be a Catholic and one of them was a Baptist. They were discussing their various approaches to God and their various approaches to prayer. And the Baptist said, well, we just talk to God. We just pray right through. The other said, well, we confess our sins to the Pope. We go through the priest. We go that way. Well, he said, this priest, what kind of fellow is he? Well, he said, he's sort of a regular preacher. Well, he said, does the priest ever sin? Well, he thought a minute. He said, yes, I guess he does. Well, he said, who would the priest confess his sins to? Well, the Catholic boy thought a minute. He said, well, I suppose the cardinal or somebody. Well, he said, well, what about the cardinal? Does he ever do anything wrong? Why, sure, he said. Nobody's perfect. Well, who would he confess his sins to? So he thought a minute. He said, well, I suppose the bishop, one of the bishops. Well, he said, what about the bishop? Does he ever do anything wrong? He said, yeah, well, who would he confess his sins to? well i don't know the pope i suppose he said you mean the pope is absolutely perfect he never sins no he said now don't misunderstand we never we never did claim that well he said who does the pope confess his sins do he said well probably just write straight to god he said oh i see the pope's a baptist too he prayed directly to god he went in everyday language he went in earnestly he went in purity of heart he went boldly thus was the direction in the method of his prayer number two I want us to consider the motive of his prayer. Why was he praying? Well, the Bible tells us, I think he prayed because it's the right thing to do. He prayed because men are supposed to pray. He prayed because prayer is as natural as taking in and taking out. Prayer is as normal as life itself. The Bible says, I will that men always pray. I would that all men everywhere pray. And adds, men ought always to pray and faint not. He prayed because it was normal. Nobody had to tell him to pray. He didn't get a letter. He didn't read a book that said, now pray. It was as normal for him when there was a time of peril to turn to God in prayer as to breathing in. He prayed because he cared for his family. He cared because he had responsibility to those to whom he was related. Oh, mom and dad, pray for your children. Pray for your family. You say, preacher, I've done all I can do. I could tell you many a story of a brokenhearted parent who in this very church has hung on to God and hung on to God until finally the light dawned on that boy. The spirit of God broke through on that girl, and they came back to the Lord for, oh, the only reason, not the preaching of the preacher, not the witnessing of the people, but because of the compassion and prayer of a mother and dad that finally saw them through. Let me say this to you. The Bible says, train up a child in the way he should go, and when he's old, he'll not depart therefrom. It doesn't say when he's young. It says when he's old because it is the far too common experience of many of us that our children do go away from the Lord. But eventually, eventually, ultimately, the Bible says one day they will come back. It may be when they're old, but they'll come back. And the more we pray, I can believe, the sooner it is that they'll return. Alexander, Grover Cleveland Alexander said, I would rather raise one good and godly son than to write the 100 bestseller books in all the world. Dad, you may give that boy riches and possessions and finery and degrees and education, but if he lives an ungodly life and goes to hell, you will have been far worse, more of a failure than had you lived and raised him on a $60 -a -month income and raised a boy that loved and lived for Jesus Christ. There are places we cannot go. There are problems we cannot solve. There are decisions they're going to have to make in the crucible of experience day in and day out that nothing can help, that we cannot influence at all, that only God can solve, which he will by prayer. There are answers to problems. There are solutions to difficulties that can only be met because the people of God have prayed for their families. He prayed for them because it was the right thing to do. He prayed for them because he loved them. And he prayed for another reason. I could say that he prayed for the unsaved, which he did. He put them in the same category. He said, Lord, will you not spare them for the sake of the righteous? He prayed for the saved as well as for the unsaved. But I suggest to you that the last part of his motive for prayer was that he was praying for himself too. And that was smart because, you see, where he was wasn't very far from Sodom. And when the judgment of God started to fall, he just didn't know how much was going to spill over up there where he was. Now that's the truth. A man is not foolish nor is he selfish to be concerned about himself. He needed to pray for himself too. Lord, spare me too. It was a wise decision for a man to do. Down there in Oklahoma, there was a fellow who was a chicken thief. And he caught a whole dozen chickens. Well, the family parrot got loose and got out in the barnyard. And they caught the parrot right along with the chickens. And the thief took off running. And there in his sack were 12 chickens and one parrot. The farmers took off after him with a shotgun, raised it up, started to shoot. The parrot said, don't shoot, I'm in here too. Well, he was in there too. I wasn't intended to be a side splitter, Harvey, but thank you anyway. He was in there too. And you and I are in that sack as well. I am concerned about our country. I pray for my country. Let me tell you something. I'd like also for my children to have the experience of growing up and enjoying a little bit of the life I've enjoyed too. I'm in that sack too. And so are us all. So are we all. Now the last word is this. I suggest to you that we consider the might of his prayer. It was a powerful prayer and brought tremendous results. And you say, Preacher, I don't understand that at all. You say that it was an effective prayer that God answered it, and yet he destroyed the whole city. Absolutely. He answered every prayer he prayed. Let's go back and read it again. In the 18th chapter, the 24th verse, Peradventure, if there be 50 righteous down there in the city, Lord, wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the 50 righteous that are therein? It is not like thee to do this. Be it far from thee to do after this matter. And the Lord said in the 26th verse, If I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. Now, listen, like the disciples who prayed, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. He just couldn't quite hear his ears, believe his ears. He couldn't quite sure that he had heard right. And so he, with great hesitancy and great timidity, comes nearer and says, Lord, behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto thee, unto the Lord. And Lord, I am but dust and ashes. So I know this is asking a lot, but Peradventure, there shall be just five less than that. For 45, Lord. And he said, if I find there are 40 and five, I won't destroy it. Now his faith begins to take on new courage. God's answered two prayers. And he spake unto him yet again and said, Peradventure, there shall be 40 found there. And he said, I will not do it for 40's sake. Well, his faith was really encouraged, and he continued to pray. And he said unto him, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I'll speak. Lord, please listen to me again. Peradventure, if there shall be 30 found there. And he said, I'll not do it for 30's sake. Look, the Lord isn't even negotiating with him. He isn't arguing. He isn't reasoning. He's just saying, All right, all right, all right, I'll do it. Like he's just waiting for somebody to pray. I wonder if God's waiting for somebody to pay the price for revival in America. I wonder. Well, he goes on. He says, Lord, let me ask you this. Peradventure, there shall be 20 found there. He said, I will not destroy it for 20's sake. Immediately the answer. Now he says, as though I almost can't believe that he's gained this much ground. Lord, Lord, oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. But this once, I wish he hadn't said that. I wish he hadn't given up. I wish he hadn't limited the power of God. I wish he hadn't said, Lord, this is the last time I'm going to pray. But he did. Listen again. Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet. But this once, Peradventure 10, shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for 10's sake. Oh, now listen. He knew of just Lot. He knew of his wife. He knew of his daughters. He knew of his sons -in -law. He could have prayed, Lord, for five's sake, for three's sake, for one's sake. I raised the question, why did he stop? Did he not have anything but answered prayer? Did he not have anything but buttress and support to his faith? Did he not have every reason to go a step further? Why did he not pray, Lord, for one's sake, for three's sake? I believe that God would have been just as quick to have answered for one as he did for 50. But listen. Oh, the pathos and the pity of these poor words. And the Lord went his way as soon as he had left communing with Abraham. And Abraham returned unto his place. He just quit. He just quit praying. You say, God didn't answer his prayer. Oh, yes, he did. He prayed six prayers, and God said, yes, six times. The only one God didn't answer was the one he didn't pray. What would have happened? Who knows? We can but suppose. Perhaps this city would have been so grateful over the spare judgment of God. Perhaps Lot would have been revived. Perhaps Abraham's soul so stirred that he would have begun to prophesy and preach. And they would have repented, and the whole society would have been spared. Oh, what an incelible mark he could have made on history for God and for good. What a revival could have come. But he didn't. He just quit. I've heard a lot of stories about people who prayed for 30 years and God finally answered their prayer. And I've wondered what would have happened if they would have prayed 29 years and 11 months and 29 days. Well, they wouldn't have had the answer. I do not know why. But I do know that sometimes our God insists that we hang on in prayer. And if it is right, if it is the will of God, keep on praying, keep on believing, keep on expecting, keep on thanking, keep on asking. He quit praying one prayer too soon. There are a lot of us that have quit praying one day too soon. God is not dead. His ear is not shortened that he cannot hear. His arm is not shortened that he cannot say. I believe with all my heart our God still answers prayer. He still calls young men to preach. He still sends revival. He still changes cities. And when this town of ours shall have come to the blackest edge of night, to the very precipice of destruction, when God who seems that when men give themselves over and grow sins of immorality, that in that period, God says, that's enough. As he did three times in Romans, God gave them up. God gave them up. God gave them up. And when God sees a city, a society, a nation, that is given over to sin in total rebellion against God, I believe right on the precipice of the very midnight hour of the coming of the king, I believe that even until the last hour, God would spare a city, would spare a nation, would give it a chance for revival, if only somebody would have hung on to God and gone on in prayer. Don't give up. Don't quit. Why did he stop? I am out of soap at that point. I do not have the slightest idea why a man would ask six prayers and get six yeses and quit when the seventh one would have spared the whole city and changed the course of history. But I do know this. You and I can learn from his mistake. You can keep on praying. Keep on believing. God will save that boy. God will spare this city. God will revive this nation. God will give us that answer that we want. God will answer that prayer if you just keep on praying. But always remember this. When you give up on prayer, when you give up on something, when you give up on God, there is the very real possibility that the next prayer you prayed would have been the one on which God answered your prayers. Don't be like the man that didn't pray enough. May we pray. Our Father, we acknowledge to Thee that all of us are men who do not pray enough. But we have every reason to keep on praying. There's no reason in this world why we should not believe that You'll keep on answering our prayers. Help us to pray faith -sized prayers and believe God for what we can believe for the little things if necessary and keep building up until our faith is stronger and we can believe God for the big things. Oh, God, send revival. Send revival to our city and our nation. Send revival to our people and to our hearts. And Lord, help us in the new year in a new and fresh way to be men and women of prayer and that thing that is the desire of our hearts that we long for the most that seems to constantly be just out of our grasp. Help us to realize that on that very next prayer might be the one Thou wouldst answer on. Help us to always remember from the man who didn't pray enough that the only prayer You didn't answer for him was the last one, the next one, the one he didn't pray. Help us to believe Thee, to be faithful in prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen.