You said — “I have to search the Bible because I don’t recall the details**. The gist is, God was going to destroy the earth again but because one man prayed/interceded, God didn’t do it. I think He only destroyed the city.”
I’m not sure which one you’re talking about, but this reminds me of Abraham talking to the Lord when the Lord told him that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (in Genesis 18).
Abraham pleaded for the Lord not to destroy the righteous along with the unrighteous. Abraham pleaded to not destroy it if there were 50 righteous there. The Lord agreed. Then Abraham said if there are 45, then again 40, then again 30, then again 20, then again 10 righteous. The Lord agreed to it all.
However, when it came to the time for destroying these towns, all that happened was that the angels (sent from the Lord) simply removed the righteous from the city, so the rest could be destroyed. Only four righteous were removed (Lot, his wife and his two daughters). And furthermore, the angel said that until Lot and the others were removed, he could not destroy the towns. In fact the town of Zoar was spared from destruction, because Lot hid out there (asking the angel if he could do that). Lot was told that the town would be spared on his account.
That’s as close as I can come to something...
The reason I find this story important is because it shows that prayer can change the outcome even if it is predestined.
I'm standing on God's Word and the Constitution. That's all. That's all I have.