does it mean when someone says that the squeaky wheel gets the grease? Think about a wagon

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1 Gn 18:20-32 Pentecost 10 "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." I'm going to guess that you have heard that saying before. If you haven't, it may be one of those statements that doesn't make much sense. What does it mean when someone says that the squeaky wheel gets the grease? Think about a wagon or a trailer. That trailer it has four wheels, all of which are turning and doing what they are supposed to be doing. Three of those four, the majority of them, are silently turning. One, only one of the four, is squeaking. Now even though there is only one of the four that is making any noise, that's the one that gets the attention. That's the one that is annoying. That's the one that gets the action. So that statement, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," becomes a description of how there are times when someone can make enough racket that someone will finally listen. People will stage rallies. They will strike. They will form protests and picket. The goal is to make enough of an outcry that those who have the power to do something, finally will. As you and I have opportunity this week to rejoice in the amazing gift of prayer, we turn our attention to our first lesson as we listen to Abraham pray to the Lord. GOD HEARS THE OUTCRY I. He hears the outcry of sin II. He hears those who cry out in prayer The setting for this event was set last Sunday in our first lesson. Perhaps you remember that three men came before Abraham as he welcomed them to his home and offered his humble hospitality. He washed their feet and made sure that they had a comfortable place to rest and be refreshed with a meal. During that visit it becomes clear that these three men are the Lord and two angels. God gave Abraham the promise that within the year he would be a father! And now the Lord turns his attention to what he is about to do. " 20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." God hears the outcry. He hears the outcry of sin. 1

2 His destination is Sodom and Gomorrah. Even in a society that may not recognize this as nothing more than a story, those two places are still equated with evil. The town even gets its own sin named after it! When we hear the names Sodom and Gomorrah we immediately think of destruction. If we were to keep on reading in Genesis 19 we would review again how God destroyed those two cities. God hears the outcry. The Lord is on his way. The outcry of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were so great that God was now going to go and see. He was going to check out the situation and "verify" that what was actually going on fits with what he was hearing. He hears the outcry of sin. Does God even care? As we think about how God hears the outcry, there may be times when we question if God cares. We turn on our televisions at night and the news shows are filled with disaster. People are murdered and goods are stolen. There is destruction that is caused by the greed of some people and hatred of people as well as the destruction that comes from the nature around us. Does God even care? We see the moral decay all around us. In fact we probably wonder if our society is much better than Sodom and Gomorrah. The things that were taking place in those two cities are happening here. Actions are openly condoned are being pushed and promoted as legitimate lifestyles and choices. And when we see that moral decay all around us we fear for our children who have to grow up in a world that proclaims these things as "normal," and we feel for ourselves as we become desensitized and find ourselves not caring. It doesn't take much to go from wondering if God cares to beginning to think that he doesn't care. Once we convinced ourselves that God doesn't care that becomes an excuse to keep on sinning. Nothing seems to be happening anyway. And since God must not care because nothing is happening then we can continue in our lifestyle. We convince ourselves that it's all right to dishonor marriage. It's okay to talk back to our parents. It's fine to become so devoted to work that there's no time for family or worship. 2

3 God hears. He hears the outcry of sin. God isn't arbitrary in his actions. It isn't that God finally gets so fed up with what is going on that he flies off the handle and just reacts by doing something. God in his patience does act, but he acts according to his timetable and for his glory. He hears the outcry of sin and that includes our sin. It's easy for us to condemn Sodom and Gomorrah, after all their sins were horrible and pushed on the public. It's easy for us to condemn those same sins in people around us. But remember that God hears the outcry of sin: all sin; you're sin. Those white lies, those misplaced priorities, the times we place ourselves as judge over God; all of them cry out to God and demand his action. God hears the outcry. Obviously God doesn't need to "come down" to figure out what's happening. He doesn't need to "verify" because he's heard some rumblings but doesn't really know yet what's happening. This is God's way of letting us know that he hears and that he will do what is just and right and that he is now going to take action. He hears the outcry of sin. But notice, that's not the only thing he hears. God hears the outcry. He hears those who cry out in prayer. This service is all about prayer. Today we had the amazing opportunity to review this precious gift that God gives to us. The Psalm reminded us of the confidence that we have in prayer: The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. Our gospel teaches us how Jesus gave us his Lord's Prayer, that amazing gift to help and guide us in our prayers. The account of Abraham that we are studying is a perfect illustration of what prayer is all about. Notice how Abraham prays. His prayer is a selfless prayer. With the exception of Lot and his family, Abraham doesn't know these people. There would be no direct benefit to him if Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed or not. It is just simply a selfless prayer for souls who stand before the judgment of God. 3

4 Abraham's prayer was a persistent prayer. In some ways it sounds like a reverse auction as he talks God down from 50 to 45, to 40, to 30, to 20 and finally to 10. Abraham was persistent as he prayed for those people who didn't even know what was coming. Abraham's prayer was a humble prayer. Abraham knew who he was. He stood before the Lord as nothing more than dust and ashes. In humility he brought his request before the Lord. He knew there would be no reason why the Lord should listen to him other than his grace. Abraham's prayer was a confident prayer. Even though humble, he knew he could dare to stand and speak to the Lord. With confidence, he addressed his Lord and offered his petitions to him. Abraham's prayer trusted in what God had already said about himself. That's why he could pray, knowing that the Lord would not treat the righteous and the wicked the same. That's why he could pray, knowing that the Judge of all the earth would certainly do what was right. He could pray knowing that God would have compassion on souls. God hears the outcry. He hears those who cry out in prayer. That's the amazing part: God listens! God does not get angry and shut Abraham down. God obviously was not stopping by Abraham's house to get some advice and get Abraham's take on what he was about to do. But he listens. He listens to what Abraham has to say and takes into account. The Lord says, "I won't do it." Does God even care? Once again we go back to that question. Those who are lonely may be tempted to ask that question. The teen who seems to be struggling with his place in life and is affected by the selfishness of his friends may wonder if God even cares. The elderly person sits in his home all by himself because his children are too busy with their own lives -- he may wonder if God even cares. The person who lost his job or had his pay cut again may wonder if God even cares. God hears the outcry. He does care! He hears those who cry out in prayer! He knows! He knows what you face. He knows where you are. He knows the temptations and the challenges 4

5 and the fears that you have. God hears the outcry. He wants to hear from you! You have that same amazing gift that Abraham had. You can go with the same persistence and confidence and humility and be assured that God will listen. He promised he would! He wants to hear from you. He gives you this amazing gift of prayer so that you can take every concern and problem and joy to him. But just as he wants to hear from you he also wants you to hear from him. Remember when we said that God will deal with sin, including yours? He did! There may be times when we feel that we cannot cry out in prayer because God wouldn't want sinful people like us talking to him. So we hear from him as he takes us again to that cross. He points to your substitute and the hell that he endured and tells you that is where you're sin was dealt with so that you can cry out to him in prayer. We need to hear from him. You know from experience that when you stop hearing from him that's when he stops hearing from you and you start assuming again that God doesn't care. He hears! He hears those who cry out to him. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Is that what prayer is? Is prayer just our attempt to make enough noise that God finally has to do something? If the cancer isn't cured, does that mean God didn't care? God hears. God hears the outcry. He hears the outcry of sin and even if he doesn't do something about the sins in a visible way here, we know that he will deal with sin according to his holy justice. He hears those who cry out in prayer! We cling to that cross where God's justice dealt with our sin. Eternity is ours. Forgiveness is assured. And now he gives us the chance to cry out to him and promises that he will hear every cry. 5