In the last article, I briefly touched on Esther. She stood in the gap so her people could be spared from certain death. With the wise counsel of her cousin Mordecai, she answered in a crisis. Whenever a nation fell into chaos, darkness, or danger, an intercessor stepped forward and into the gap for others. You are invited to do the same.

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Shall I Hide From Abraham What I Am Doing (Genesis 18:17)?

To those who believe that the more wicked a nation is, the more God does not care, I present Sodom and Gomorrah. We know they were exceedingly wicked. We know the outcry was great. We know that although Lot chose to live there, he was vexed by the depravity and lawlessness (2 Peter 2:7). Yet God didn’t hide from Abraham the fact that judgment was coming. If He didn’t care about what was happening, he wouldn’t have shared it with him. He’s the Almighty; he certainly didn’t have to. 

And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know (Genesis 18:20-21).

Intercessors Know God 

Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?  (Genesis 18:23-25)

Abraham, the man called God’s friend, knew the character of the God he loved and served. He knew that God is the Judge of the earth and always does what is right. Abraham interceded not only for his nephew Lot and his family, but also for others in the city who could be found righteous before God. This is where the intercession begins. 

And the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And the LORD said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

29Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?” And the LORD replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

30“Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?” And the LORD replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”

31Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?” And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

32Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?” And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33When the LORD had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent (Genesis 18:26-33 NLT). 

Abraham negotiated with God on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He is acting as a go-between for God and His righteous judgment.  He began with fifty people and kept lowering the number until he stopped at ten. Abraham asked the Lord not to be angry with him. But God was not angry with Abraham; in fact, He answered, “I will not destroy for the sake of the 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10 righteous in the land.” Judgment is God’s last option, never His first response. If God had found ten righteous, He would have spared the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Intercessors Dare to Speak to God 

In the New Living Translation of Genesis 18:31, Abraham tells God, “Since I have dared to speak, let me continue.” The NIV version of the same verse says, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord.” Would you consider what Abraham did to be bold? He put his neck on the line if it meant not only saving his nephew but others. That is daring to me, and that is the kind of boldness required for intercession. 

Remember that in Esther, she had to fast for permission to meet the King. She had to wait and see whether that scepter was extended to her to know if she found favor. We do not need to do any of those things. We can come before the throne of God freely according to Ephesians 3:12, “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.” 

We ought to always have the fear of the Lord in our lives; that is a non-negotiable for Christians. However, when we come into His Presence, we do not need to fear death as Esther did. We do not have to wait to be summoned by name. We can come into the Lord’s presence confidently because of Jesus Christ’s finished work. Because of Jesus, God favors us just as He did with Esther, and just as Abraham found favor with God to intercede.  

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” 

We can approach God’s throne with boldness to receive mercy, grace, and help in our time of need. Intercessor, let me ask you some questions about our nation. Are you vexed by the recurring news of injustice and depravity in America? This led to the outcry against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Do you believe that America needs a divine intervention, God’s help against the crises we are facing as a nation? Do you think we, as a nation, need God’s mercy and grace? I do. Despite what we are seeing, there are still those righteous in the land, not due to our own efforts, but because we are the righteousness of God in Christ. 

Will you be so bold as to speak to God, not just for yourself and your family, but for all people? For the next generation, which is being targeted on all sides if we do not intercede and engage with the heart of God. For the souls deceived by lies and confusion, for those blinded so they cannot see the glorious light of the gospel, and who do not know Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:4). Will you dare to stand in the gap for America, a nation that has a history with God? To see His plans and purposes fulfilled in our nation. If so. Let’s pray.

Will you dare to negotiate with God?

Dear Father, 

We come boldly into Your Presence to find mercy and grace in our time of need. America is in great need right now. We know lawlessness is abundant; it seems the wicked are prospering more than the church. But we are crying out for mercy, because You declare that mercy triumphs over judgment. We appeal to the multitude of Your mercies, not for us, but for the next generation, for the lost, and most importantly for the honor and glory of Your name. That Your name not be forgotten in America. 

We thank you, Lord, that where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. Lord, we need more grace. Grace to sustain us, to empower us to live righteously in a culture that calls good evil and evil good. You said that we can approach the throne of grace when we are in trouble, and America is in trouble. We have many evil alliances forming, and they have one common goal: to rob America of her destiny and remove You from the nation. I thank You, Lord, that we can come before the throne and appeal before the Judge of all the earth, the Righteous and Holy One. According to Psalm 46:1, a refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. Thank you, Lord, for being our refuge, a safe place. Thank you for being our strength, our protector, and defender. Thank you, Lord, that you are “ever-present” help. You are present. You are with us, and You are not surprised by what we are facing as a nation. You are a help in times of trouble, so Lord, help. Give mercy, and help us to show mercy. Give grace and help us to be grace-givers. Grant us the boldness to continue speaking to You on behalf of our nation and leaders, and to show up when the moment presents itself, in Jesus name, amen. 

How are you praying about this issue? Share your prayers and scriptures in the comments below.

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: doidam10 via Canva Teams.