July 5, 2025
Abraham’s Penitent Prayer
By Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D.
Read Genesis 18:16-33.
When God told Abraham He was about to bring judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham did not say, “Well good. They are wicked people and are getting what they deserve.” No, Abraham immediately went into prayer mode, and his intercession should serve as a model for our prayer for our nation.
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah had rejected the true God. The cities were riddled with bloodshed, corruption, and immorality, for the people took pride in their sin and abomination. The outcry against these sins prompted God to come down and deal with their wickedness. You see, God does not ignore the evil in the world. Injustice and evil cry out for judgment, just like the blood of Abel cried out to God (see Genesis 4:10).
At this point in the story, God is about to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family lived. So Abraham prays. This is the first prayer ever recorded in the Bible. And there are several principles about how Abraham approached God that will prepare us to intercede for America today. We’ll look at the first today: Abraham’s prayer was penitent.
Abraham did not just burst into the presence of God making demands. He recognized that he was a sinner saved by grace. He began by confessing his own unworthiness to stand before a holy and righteous God. He admitted his failures, weaknesses, and shortcomings. He did not presume on God’s grace, listing all the good that he had done for God. He did not tell God why He should answer his prayer. He said, “I am nothing but dust and ashes, . . .” (Genesis 18:27).
I have never prayed for America without confessing and repenting of my own shortcomings, failure, and sin. We don’t intercede for America with self-righteousness and superiority in our hearts. We do not come to God making requests based on our merits. We have none.
Like Abraham, the friend of God, we must approach God’s throne conscious that without the shed blood of Jesus, we would be just as deserving of God’s righteous wrath. We must come to Him as sinners saved by grace, as broken people healed by His hand, as rebellious people who have received divine mercy. We come to God the Father clinging only to the merits of Christ and His atoning blood. The prayer of intercession must be a penitent prayer.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for the ways I have sinned against You and against my neighbors—for the ways I have failed to stand for You and to care for the needy. I approach Your throne by the blood of Your Son alone. Father, may the lost in America turn to You and be saved, and may I serve as a witness to Your transforming power and goodness. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“Then Abraham spoke up again: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, . . .’” (Genesis 18:27).
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon They Were Just like Us, Part 5: LISTEN NOW
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