Maybe answering Avraham’s prayers was not the point here. Perhaps the whole reason God gave Avraham enough information to worry about the fate of Sodom, but not enough to know that their fate was sealed, was not really about Sodom at all.  It was God’s way of getting Avraham to develop his prayer muscles and find ways to “convince” Him. For as we see with Moshe, it is not enough to simply say, “Please God, do it because I want You to.” Thankfully, Avraham met God’s challenge to find a proper argument (even if it was not relevant in this case); thereby educating himself, as well as giving himself greater ownership of the monotheistic project – the latter, as he now became a partner not only in implementing it, but also in its very conception. For more at the Jewish Press, click here.