HOW MANY RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A COUNTRY?
For Sodom and Gomorrah, it was exactly 10 righteous people, plus one man who cared enough to petition God for them. What about the USA?
We’ll start with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah found in Genesis 18:20-33. God let Abraham in on His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham convinced God to save the cities if they had just 10 righteous people between them. Sadly, there were not 10 righteous among those cities and God destroyed them.
Keep in mind, however, that God did bring the one righteous man and his family that would follow him safely out of the Sodom before destroying it.
From my Web search I could find only limited information about the population size of Sodom and Gomorrah. It seems that there were probably 600-1,200 people in each city. So, at most there were probably 2,400 people (men, women and children) between them. Ten out of 2,400, means we just need 1 righteous person out of every 240 citizens to change the future of the city, state or country in which they live.
But, wait, if you think I am saying “get out there and vote,” you are wrong. That is between you and your convictions. As a Christian, I believe that I have a responsibility to be righteous and to take the role that Abraham modeled for me of praying for God to save the cities, states and countries where the righteous of God live. That is right. Abraham prayed for the saving of the evil in those cities for the sake of the righteous within it.
Does the USA have the numbers it needs? Well, let’s do the math. Here are the facts you need:
Total population of the USA: 325,025,790 (as of the afternoon of 10/29/16). Following the idea that out of every 2,400 we need 10 righteous and 1 who cares enough to petition on their behalf, we would need 1,354,274 righteous and 135,427 who care enough to petition on behalf of them.
According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2015, 70% of the US population identifies as Christian (www.pewforum.org). That is 227,518,053 Christians! Even if only 1/10 of those who identify as Christian are actually considered righteous by God (the only one whose opinion matters), we still have 22,751,805 righteous!
Across the Christian organizations, an average of 65.5 percent say they pray every day. That is 149,024,325 daily petitioners – that is more than 10 times the number of petitioners needed for our successful model.
What I want to impress upon you is this: whether you have voted already or not, whether you plan to vote or not, we (you and I) have less than two days left to petition the Almighty for the leader He would choose in order to spare the evil and the good in this nation.
But, dear sisters, take heart, there is no indication that Sodom and Gomorrah were on the verge of Election Day when Abraham petitioned on their behalf. Abraham didn’t even live there. So, while he surely had Lot’s family in mind as among the righteous, Abraham was praying for people who were not his people.
So, on any random Tuesday, you and I should be on our knees, modeling the example of Abraham in praying for our nation and other nations nearby, for God’s mercy to be applied on behalf of the righteous among the nations.
Pray on.
I’d love to hear your thoughts too. You can write me at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org