Pictures

 Okay, let's see what's on the ol' camera reel this week...  

We start on last Wednesday... I was on that lack of work vacation...

Bright morning... maybe TOO bright

"Nah, I'm good!"

I thought he was gonna make a good shot sitting there... but taking off is good.

Thursday was next... And we saw a few interesting things...

Like a carport that had been police-taped in was now demolished

Doggies ahead

...a single headphone...

...a pair of underwear...

And just as we were musing about how few people were on the trail on such a nice day, we were passed by two cyclists and 5 joggers

Next up, Friday...

Another bright morning, but my back was scuffling...

The elusive gray squirrel...

"What am I, chopped liver?  I even posed!"

River back to way down... momentarily

My friends at BeerAdvocate like beers with doggies.  Misty posing with my weekend's libations

One oddity for Saturday...

I tried turning that top light on when We built up the new computer set up back in December and got bupkiss.  Today, It just came on of its own.  3 months later.

And back to this last Monday...

Mow down the cattails, they'll sing from the trees...

Off to the Duck Pond!

Best part of the trip: Peace and quiet.

Misty THOUGHT she wanted to take a dip here, but I convinced her the wind-driven waves were a bit much.

Turtles got fooled by our "Pre-Spring spring"

I told you, you wouldn't like the waves!

Not surprisingly, Cricket was on

And not only was the river suddenly back to full, south canal was as full as I've seen it.

Wednesday Bible Study: Stones part I

 

I wanted to go with something a bit lighter after the house we built the last couple of months around Abraham...

...but on my own, I'm no good.  I prayed to God for inspirations, and He reminded me of my life verse:

1Sa 7:12  Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” 

For me, this reminds me that every day, every moment, is a stone, a monument for what God has done for me.  And in my prayer, my spirit and brain said in unison, "Stones..." I had my topic.  And as I have studied, I found the rich tapestry (and AM finding) woven around the word 'stone'.  The plan I see- assuming I let the Lord drive and don't go off-roading- is an arch reaching to a summit at the cornerstone- Christ the Lord.  For me, that means building up the 2 sides to reach that top- an Old Testament side and a New Testament side.  And I found 2 characters who basically sum up the foundations of each side.  My question to you is- have you ever stopped to consider the commonalities of Moses and Peter?

First, the stones.  Moses spent 40 days and nights on the mountain, and God carved the Ten Commandments and the Law onto stone tablets...

Exo 34:1  The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 

Broke?  Yes, because no more had God gave Moses the first set, than the people revolted and had Aaron make the golden calf, and Moses broke the Commandments and made the Israelites drink the calf (Exo. 32:19-20).  Still, God carved the second tablets, and they were the Law that founded the religion of the Hebrews.

How does Peter fit in here?  Remember this scene...

Mat 16:15  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 

Mat 16:16  Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 

Mat 16:18  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

Mat 16:19  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 

Now, the word "Peter" means, a PIECE of rock, whereas "this rock" is 'a MASS of rock; Christ is not going to build the Church around Peter (as the Catholics suggest), but he is going to be the first piece from that rock of revelation in building that church.  Just like with the Tablets, it is not the stone that is key, but God who reveals His Law and His grace to us.

"But, you said, Moses no more received the tablets from God, then he broke them." Yes, and what happened to Peter right after HIS revelation?

Mat 16:21  From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 

Mat 16:22  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 

Mat 16:23  But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 

Peter immediately broke his piece of the rock!  And both were broken because of the inability of man to grasp the plan of God.

There are so many other parallels.  Moses brought the Israelites the dietary Laws that God gave him.  Peter brought the new Laws on this subject:

Act 10:9  The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 

Act 10:10  And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 

Act 10:11  and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 

Act 10:12  In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 

Act 10:13  And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 

Act 10:14  But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 

Act 10:15  And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 

Act 10:16  This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. 

But the one that struck me most, you might think is a bit obscure, but hang with me.  As the Israelites moved towards the Promised Land, they had to battle the Amalekites.  And a curious thing happened.  While Joshua and the army fought, Moses, with Aaron and Hur, watched from a nearby mountaintop.  Moses lifted the staff which with he divided the Red Sea, and Joshua prevailed.  But when he got tired, and his arm drooped, the battle went against them.  So...

Exo 17:12  But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 

Exo 17:13  And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 

As Moses was supported by the stone (symbolic of God, his Rock), and helped by his faithful, the battle went well- so well in fact, that the name of Amalek was obliterated from the earth, as God said it would be.  Note that they could have took turns holding the staff, but they didn't.  The power wasn't in them, or in the staff itself, but in the faith of Moses.  As long as he stretched his hands to God, they were fine.

So where did Peter stretch HIS hands?  Observe:

Joh 21:17  He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 

Joh 21:18  Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 

As indeed he did, some 40-odd years later when Nero had him crucified,  And indeed, this leads to one last thing that the bases of our arch of faith have in common.  Consider Moses's end:

Deu 34:5  So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 

Deu 34:6  and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 

Is this important? Consider:

Jud 1:9  But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 

Why would they dispute?  Because, if the people knew where Moses was buried, they would have made a shrine and worshipped Moses, just like they did the bronze serpent.  Don't believe me?  Try this.  Because God- who in His mercy let Peter stand as a martyr- DIDN'T hide the burial of Peter, we have this:

Along with relics of supposed other saints- some of them in multiple places, and one at least in every Catholic Church.

And I can't believe I almost forgot the biggest thing I share in common with both of them- shooting off the mouth at the wrong time.  For both of them, more than I so far, it cost them dearly:

Num 20:10  Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 

Num 20:11  And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 

Num 20:12  And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 

Moses lost the Promised Land; Peter lost himself:

Luk 22:59  And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 

Luk 22:60  But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 

Luk 22:61  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 

Luk 22:62  And he went out and wept bitterly. 

Still, this 'name recognition' shows that they deserve the title of God's Founders.  But it also shows how their names can keep you from going far enough (Jews that stop at the Law and don't go forward to Christ), or lead you too far( to praying to Peter, the saints, and Mary like the Catholics).  If you really seek out their stories, they were only strong so far as they were led by the Lord- and so too you and I.

M10 no show

 In the interests of keeping my balky back off the computer chair, which helps not at all, I'm just going to post the M10 this week- but lucky you, that includes clips of 3 new songs!

At #10, new Shannon and the Clams:

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At #9 we have new from The War And Treaty:

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And at #8, Not quite new, but new to me, from Greta Van Fleet:

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Shilpa Ray dropped to 7 with Portrait of a Cat Lady; Geowulf held at 6 with Can't Read Your Mind.  

5 was a 4-notch jump for Austin Snell and Heavy Metal; Neil Young slips to 4 with Tell Me Why.

3 was a one notch climb for the Vapors and Hit The Ground Running; Maggie Rogers ascends to #2 with S o Sick Of Dreaming.

And once again at #1- Matt Berry and Silver Rings!

What's going on

 So this is the 'work scoop':  After we lost some sewers to enhanced ID issues, they slowed down precipitously.  So did some orders.  Yesterday morning, I told my boss that the other cutter and I had so many carts full of cut fabric in our area, we could clock in, walk over to the bar, and sit there all day, and they wouldn't even know it.  His response was, I was just going to say something about that- you all are so far ahead (I was cutting orders for the 24th), go ahead and take some time off.  I said, just let me finish this set of ten covers, then, and I'll take off.

Just as I finished cover #7 of 10, our internet went down.  I could cut no longer.

And that's how I ended my work week at 11:20 AM Tuesday.

In the meantime, let's have some pictures.

I got this 'ring around the moon' way back in February, but forgot to post it.

Last Friday night...

My son and I breaking in "Bob's Bar"

The next day...

It's a bit brisk, but I needed that today...

Looks like I wasn't the only one to have a rough night...

Mole trail across the Plex entrance

All of Misty's drinking holes frozen, as well as the ravine

Did I ever mention that Old Glory down there is as far away from where this was taken as our entire walk plus change?

Good morning Fort Wayne!

Sign turned yet again...

Monday evening, a balmy 65 F...

Someone ate a bunny, left a foot

It's fortunate there's really nothing to see, since Misty drags me too fast to see anything

Dude renewing his zen on the cricket pad

I believe this is a lawn mower transaxle in the canal

And about an hour or so ago (AKA first thing Wednesday Morning)

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham plank by plank finale

 

At this point, Abraham has been built into the man God wanted- the father of God's nation.  From here, there are 6 more events in Abraham's life I want to touch on, just to sew everything up.  Each one contains a last lesson to learn from our story.

Isaac's birth

We've already seen a host of miracles involved in this event, including the miraculous rejuvenation of Abraham and Sarah needed to accomplish it.  But there is one further thing to add, and it comes when Ishmael, now a young man, gets mouthy about the new arrival, and Sarah demands Abraham kick him and his mother out of the camp.  Abraham is loathe to do so; but God speaks to him:

Gen 21:12  But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 

Gen 21:13  And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 

I think we draw from this a lesson about our children: sometimes we can guide them in faith, and sometimes we just have to put them in God's hands, and hope in His blessings.  As it turned, Ishmael returns to the story when Abraham passed, helping Isaac bury their father.

Abimelech

While the rejuvenated Sarah was pregnant, Abraham did that "she's my sister" thing a second time; I covered that pretty well before.  But then, later on, they almost got in a dust-up over wells that their herdsmen were disputing.  This points out that, even when we think we've "made it", there is always the danger of backsliding.  Not to mention the importance of communication- when the well issue came up, Abimelech brought his army with him, thinking Abraham meant trouble (and why wouldn't he?).  As they talked, Abimelech found out that NO ONE had even told him about the source of the conflict!  Finally, Abraham gave Abimelech seven ewes from his flock, as a symbolic payment to end the dispute.  The whole series of incidents reminded Abraham what he did wrong with Abimelech (and Pharaoh), and he meant to make them right.

Sarah's death

While he was with the herds in "the land of the Philistines", Sarah died at what would become Hebron, some miles away.  When he returned, he wanted a certain area to bury her.  He had many friends there, and they encouraged him to take whatever spot he wanted.  But having learned the price of free gifts, he demanded to pay for the land.  Even when giving a price, they were willing to forgo the cost:

Gen 23:15  “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 

But Abraham paid it anyway, and it became not only her burial spot, but that of himself, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah.

Sacrificing Isaac

Now we get to the big one, and all the symbology that goes with it.  But I'm going to skip past that, to throw in a bit of Jewish tradition that throws a different spin on it.

The Jews believed that, just like the Job story, an aspect of Satan appeared before the Lord and claimed Abraham loved Isaac more than God, and that was the reason behind this event.  Do I believe that?  I don't know... but what I do know is that if there was a conflict in Abraham's loyalty, this settled it.  Not only did he BELIEVE that God could do anything (including raise Isaac from the dead), but was willing to DO anything God commanded.  "Faith without works is dead", and Abraham proved in the most extreme way, he had both.

Abraham gets re-married

Gen 25:1  Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 

Gen 25:2  She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 

Gen 25:3  Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 

Gen 25:4  The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 

Some try to say that this happened WHILE he was still married to Sarah- I don't believe that.  After all he went through for and with Sarah, and Sarah's reaction even to Ishmael, why would Abraham humiliate her more with an even more fertile woman? No, this came later- and shows that Abraham still had that restored youth!  A many who thought himself "as good as dead" at 99 years old, had 6 more kids between the ages of 138 and 175!  Now I almost went down a bunny trail of the 'many more nations' that he apparently fathered, with names like 'Sheba', 'Dedan', 'Medan', 'Midian', and 'Asshurim'; but I have found that several of them were namesakes of the original progenitors of these peoples from either Shem or Ham; However, Midian is the progenitor of the Midianites that Moses lived with, and Shuah is the ancestor of Bilbad the Shuahite, one of the 'advisers to Job.

But to the original point, this is yet another example of, "You're not done till God says so"!

A wife for Isaac

In what would seem an offhand comment, the Bible says that Hagar found a wife from among the Egyptians for Ishmael; later, we will see the disapproval of Isaac and Rebekah for Esau marrying a handful of Canaanite ladies.  But Abraham, who had learned of his brother's expanding family some time after the almost sacrifice of Isaac, wanted a bride for Isaac from said family.  He did not want the tree God was growing defiled with Canaanite or Egyptian blood.  On the other hand, he didn't want Isaac picking up his old family baggage, either:

Gen 24:2  And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 

Gen 24:3  that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 

Gen 24:4  but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 

Gen 24:5  The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 

Gen 24:6  Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 

Gen 24:7  The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 

Gen 24:8  But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 

I file this under, "Giving my children the tools they need to grow up serving God"; he didn't want Isaac defiled with new sins OR old sins.  If Isaac had went back, he would have had to have rebuilt himself exactly the way God did with Abraham; as it was, Isaac would have to face the same "she's my sister" mistake, and the same "two-son" problem.  Not to mention the same "Don't let my kid marry a Canaanite" thing.  It seems to me that just like Abraham and Isaac found themselves having to "go back over the same old ground" a few times, so do we; so do I.  And by the stress Abraham puts on it here I'm thinking the "don't go back" is a lot harder than the "don't do the new thing".  I can attest to that!  Many of my sins are my father's sins; many of my son's sins are mine.  And if there is any overarching lesson to gather from the building of Abraham, it's that it's a never-ending process.

M10 show week #153

 

So we're really gonna do this this week?

Yep, I'm feeling good, actually got an M10 together on a Wednesday for a change, got target year 1971 set up, ready to go!

Ah wish I knew what gets inna you...

Well, last week it was a case of "miss two work days with bum back", combined with, "Have to work part of an overtime day when I came back".  I'm still not quite over the back, or being whupped from it this week, but I did get a good nap in, and I'm ready.

Man, gettin' old is a b...

Buddy...

Well, ya are older than me when I left, by half the age I got to... scary!

Yes, sir, 21 years difference.

Pays ta have a doctor who cares...

And to be content in all circumstances, as Paul said in Philippians 4:11.  Anyway, we got two debuts this week, plus one from last week, so have at it!

Okay, so last week, this'n came in at 9, drops ta ten this week.  This is French Kicks and, Said So What...

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So this week in 1971, Cashbox had the Jackson Five at the top with Mama's Pearl, a tune that got to #3 in Canada, and-as usual with Motown- zip in Australia (but don't feel bad, first time I played it for Laurie, she didn't remember it either).  Probably my second favorite J5 song.  In Canada, their white Mormon equivalent, the Osmonds, ruled the roost with One Bad Apple (which just fell out of CB's top spot), which got a #35 in Australia.  Down Under, it was the across the board #1 from the beginning of the year up here, George Harrison's My Sweet Lord.

Our big mover list has six songs move up double figures this week! We kick that list off with two that moved up 10 spots:

6- Chicago, Free.  Maybe easier to remember the opening line (I just wanna be free), it flew up to 37, but then would slow down.  It stopped at 20 here, 14 in Canada, and just tipped their hats at #99 in Australia.

5- Sammi Smith, Help Me Make It Through The Night.  The country classic, its 10-spot jump landed it at 33 this week; it would peak 9 here, 4 Canada, 6 Australia.

4- Up 11 to # 38, Cat Stevens and Wild World.  Absolutely my fave from the Cat, it had a big gap between the CB and Billboard ranks.  Peaked 18 CB, 11 BB (which is more in line with how it played in Ft Wayne), it was another #14 in Canada- but was not a Cat hit that charted in Australia.

3- Up 14 to #40, Brewer and Shipley's One Toke Over The Line.  I was just reading how it came about.  They were getting stoned (no, really?) and someone mentioned that they were about one toke over the line.  A clever line, they turned it into a goof-around song, but when forced to play it opening for Melanie one night, the record company told them, "Put it on the album", and there we are.  Cracking the Australian charts at 40, it would get 8 on CB, and 5 in Canada.  

"Ey, you stoners!"

2- A 16 notch climb to 28 for Marvin Gaye and What's Going On, #1 on CB, but mysteriously only 69 in Australia and 76 in Canada...

"Ey, you stoners!"

Now cut that out!  Go on and play the next clip- to build suspense, as you say...

You bet!  Here's a cool country metal tune all ya stoners will like!  This is Austin Snell...

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Makes ya wanna go fer a ride, don' it?

Maybe when my back is back to top speed!   And now, the big mover this week in 1971- a 17 spot leap to 39 for...

...Andy Williams and Love Story (How Do I Begin)- a #9 here, 6 in Australia, and 5 in Canada!  Okay, we have one more song to play...

Before ya pick yer favorite of the week?

Suspense, amigo!  

Yeah, yeah, yer back all right!  Comin' in at 6, Geowulf's latest...

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And to round out my big buddy's excitement, I chose my fave for the week at #3- CCR and Have You Ever Seen The Rain- where it peaked on CB, and got to 6 in Australia, and topped Canada!

And as for the mutant 2-week M10...

 Last week, Gold Rush by Lucius held at 10, dropped out this week. 

Japanese Breakfast dropped 2 to 8 last week with Kokomo, IN- and stayed there this week, extending a now 11-week run.  

Shannon and the Clams climbed a pair to 7 last week with Wax And String, dropped out this week.

Shilpa Ray climbed a pair to 6 last time, one more this week to 5, with Portrait Of A Cat Lady.

Maggie Rogers was up 2 to 5 last week with So Sick Of Dreaming- 2 more to 3 this week.

The Vapors and Hit The Ground Running went up one to 4 last week, and held place this week.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers dropped from top spot to 3 last week, and down to 7 this week, with Never Be You.

Neil Young moved into the runner up spot and stayed there, with Tell Me Why.

And moving up for his first #1 last week, making it a 2-week run this week...

....Matt Berry and Silver Rings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week, we go for two in a row!

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham Plank by Plank part X

 

I closed last time with "Shake and bake in Sodom", so you might be expecting one of my dissertations on the myths surrounding the cities destroyed by God due to their evil.  But there's a different shake and bake God wants us to see- a theme that Paul often brought up in the New Testament: finishing well, or not.  You see, surrounding the story of the fiery fall of Sodom and Gomorrah are two men who give us examples of both, through their prayers.

In my morning studies today, I was in Daniel 9, reading the prayer he offered when he found out Jeremiah's timeline for the restoring of Jerusalem ( a story that would easily make this post longer than last time!), and I noted in my mind the similarities between it and another prayer we studied a while back- Nehemiah's prayer before facing the Persian king.  And the prayer that Abraham offers to God for the sparing of Sodom follows the exact same pattern.  These are three men who finished well, and it will help us all to look at this prayer, er, plank by plank.

Plank one: the glory of God

Gen 18:23  Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 

Gen 18:24  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 

Gen 18:25  Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 

Abraham focuses on the glory of God in the first plea- God is Holy, and would never do wrong.  He puts God on the high pedestal.  And God grants the petition- for 50, Sodom would be spared.

Plank two: My humble position before God

Gen 18:27  Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 

Gen 18:28  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

He acknowledges his lowly position before God- "but dust and ashes".  In the prayers of Daniel and Nehemiah, this spot is filled by recognizing their sin, and the sin of their people.  In this case, it isn't Abraham's sin at issue.  Still, he humbles himself before the Lord, and this petition is also granted.

Plank three: just ask

Gen 18:29  Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 

At this point, it's just straight to the petition.  Ask, and you shall receive; and again, the plea is heard.  But if you know your Bible, you might know that phrase I lifted from Jesus above truly translates to "Ask, and keep asking...", and thus...

Plank four: keep asking

Gen 18:30  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 

Gen 18:31  He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 

Gen 18:32  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 

So he asks three more times- sandwiching in between two "Let not the Lord be angry"s one "as long as I've gotten this deep".  There is no need to be shy about asking the Lord over and over.  The stories of heaven are filled with prayers that were prayed over a whole lifetime, only to be answered after the petitioner has passed on.  However, there comes a point...

Plank five: be sensitive to when God's answer is no

Gen 18:33  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. 

Before Abraham could whittle it down to five (which would have gotten him down to Lot, his wife, and his daughters, and a plus one), God WENT HIS WAY.  You have to know that there is a point in some cases where God flat says NO.  And then you should just let it go.

Now on the other hand, let's look at Lot's prayer.  Lot prayed?  Sure, look here:

2Pe 2:6  if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 

2Pe 2:7  and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 

2Pe 2:8  (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 

So yeah, Lot had been praying for the salvation of the people of Sodom.  But see, the problems are many here.  First of all, Lot wasn't willing to just get away from the problem- which he could have done- he apparently kept praying for the sinful around him to 'get better'.  He was praying for his comfort and convenience, but not seeking God's glory.

Secondly, he should have seen where his good intentions were getting him:

Gen 19:9  But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 

All his good deeds, all his prayers, were getting him was, "Look at this guy judging us!  He's not one of us!"

Third, his desire to "make things right" led him to some horrible compromises with the world of Sodom:

Gen 19:7  and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 

Gen 19:8  Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 

Fourthly, those compromises shattered his family:  His sons-in-law laughed at him (v14), his wife turned from him to her destruction (v26), his surviving neighbors didn't want him around (v30), and his own daughters played him for a fool (vv31-38).

I've often made comments about "soap opera prayers":  Only praying when you're in deep enough, and then trying to make a deal (which, by the way, Lot also tried in vv19-21).  But just being 'sincere' isn't enough either.  Your prayers need to focus on the glory of God, and how your petition might increase it.  And if not, the results shouldn't be a surprise...

Gen 19:27  And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 

Gen 19:28  And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 

And just one more thing:  Recognizing what prayer was answered.  Of all Lot's prayers, he got nothing.  On the other hand...

Gen 19:29  So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.