That’s the Heart of an Intercessor!

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in Genesis 18 and 19, is one that is familiar to many of us. Though the sin was exceedingly grievous to the Lord, causing Him to execute judgment against the people, the focus of this Nugget will be the wonderful story of intercession from which we can learn and grow. I encourage you to read Genesis 18:17-33 and 19:1-29 in its entirety, for only portions will be included here.

The first thing of note is the place Abraham has in God’s heart. In Genesis 18:17, God says He will tell Abraham what He is about to do because Abraham is His friend and servant. Friends share their hearts with one another, so God wants to make His friend aware of what is about to happen. On the other hand, He also wants to tell His servant, because He wants his “service” of intercession. Oh, how I want to live the kind of life in which the Lord knows He can call on me any time and anywhere, telling me anything He wants – because He is certain I’ll do with it what He has in mind!

Genesis 18:23-25 “²³ Then Abraham approached Him and said: ‘Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ 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? ²⁵ 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?’” (NIV)

In these verses, note the boldness of Abraham with his Friend, the God of all creation! It’s one thing to remind the Lord of Who He is and what His nature is, or of what His Word says. It’s another thing, entirely, to continue to press it, almost badgering Him with it. That’s real boldness! It’s also what comes from an intimate relationship. Abraham was never rude or irreverent in his persistence. Perhaps he even strengthened his own determination as He reminded the Lord of His sense of justice, for he reminded himself, as well. The more he recounted of the Lord’s nature, the more certain he became of the truth in what he said. Faith was rising as he spoke and heard the Word of Truth coming from his own mouth. (Romans 10:17)

In the remaining verses, Abraham entreats God to spare the city for the sake of 45 righteous people down to just 10, each time receiving God’s assurance that they would be spared. I have always wondered about his decision to stop at ten people. Some have said that if he had continued to ask on behalf of just one person, God would have saved the city. In meditating further on this passage, however, I saw something else. During this interaction, it says that Abraham “came close” to the Lord. By the time he asked the Lord to save the city for the sake of the ten, with God agreeing to do so each time he asked, Abraham had come so close that he knew God’s heart. There was no need to ask any further, for he knew the Father would spare the righteous even if there was only one. At the end of the story, we find that God also knew Abraham’s heart through his earlier intercession, so righteous Lot and his family were spared, though their city was destroyed.

Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we have a place in the Lord that is far beyond the position from which most of us pray. The authority of our given position, however, is the authority of the Lord Himself! We cannot truly stand and pray in that position unless we, too, come close to the Lord, as Abraham did. When we do come close, we will begin to hear how the Lord is working out His Word in this very day and hour – and we will know His heart in the midst of it. We will begin to pray with boldness from the place of His Word that might even be contrary to our understanding. We will call for unrighteousness to be shattered, but will pray by His Spirit to spare the righteous – all from the place of His heart.

Genesis 19:29 “When God ravaged and destroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He [earnestly] remembered Abraham [imprinted and fixed him indelibly on His mind], and He sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when He overthrew the cities where Lot lived.” (AMP)

I want to be the friend to whom God turns. I want to be that one who boldly declares the promises of God to Him on behalf of the righteous, even in the face of imminent destruction. I want to be the one who is imprinted and fixed indelibly on the Lord’s mind so that my brothers and sisters will be snatched from the fires in which the unrighteous perish. I want to come close to God so I will know His heartbeat for people, beyond anything I’ve known before. God, give me the heart of an intercessor!

© Copyright 2009 Kay V. Stocking