Genesis 19:15-16
As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
We have all seen the exasperated mother, alone with 4 little children, trying to get them all pointed in the right direction, finally just grabbing them all at once and dragging them out of the store. It gives us renewed respect for moms to think that, here were two angels sent by God, trying to get four adults to have the good sense to get out of a rainstorm of sulphur that was coming to Sodom. After repeated warnings, reasoning with them like grownups, and watching them sit there like teenagers with a video game, the angels had finally had it.
We have the same feeling at times on Prayer Walks and in our random opportunities for evangelism. We are routinely met with abrupt dismissal, at times mockingly, and a lethargy reminiscent of these lingering adults in Genesis. People seem to lack the sense to get out of the rain, then look at us like we are ignorant. It is as if they see multiple signs reading, “BRIDGE OUT”, yet speed hastily to their destruction. Pray for those who linger on this earth, thinking everything will be alright. That is true only for those who trust in Jesus Christ.
O Heavenly Father you alone are our strength and shield against this world. We pray for those who are relying on their own strength and the world’s shield. In Jesus’ name. Amen.