What? Do Not Pray For ...
Last night in my Bible reading I read this verse:
“As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. (Jeremiah 7:16) {emphasis mine}
My first thought was “Why in the world is God telling us not to pray for this people? Doesn’t the Bible tell us to pray about everything?”
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) {emphasis mine}
Doesn’t God tell us to pray for whatever is bothering us?
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Doesn’t the Bible say that God will answer all of our requests?
Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13)
Doesn’t the Bible tell us to pray for Israel and Jerusalem and His chosen people?
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good. (Psalm 122:6-9) {emphasis mine}
Doesn’t the Bible even tell us to pray for our enemies?
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28)
If all of this is true, then why does this verse tell us to not pray for this people, especially considering this is referring to God’s chosen people?
To answer this question, let us look at a broader portion of this passage:
“As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me. Do they spite Me?” declares the Lord. “Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?” (Jeremiah 7:16-19) {emphasis mine}
God is saying to not pray for these people who have turned from Him and are worshipping other gods. These people are in full rejection of God. Still does it mean that we can’t pray for them at all or is this talking about a particular kind of prayer?
A little later in Jeremiah, we read:
“Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster. (Jeremiah 11:14)
and
So the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine and pestilence.” (Jeremiah 14:11-12) {emphasis mine}
We get a little more specificity on the command to “not pray for” in Jeremiah 14. We are told, “Do not pray for the welfare of this people.” This is not a universal command to never pray for them, but a command to not pray for their welfare. It is a command to not pray blessings on those in active rebellion against God.
At the time this command was made, the Israelites were expecting God’s protection and blessings while refusing to follow Him and instead worshipping other gods. This command isn’t a blanket statement to not pray for a sinning Israel, but a statement to not pray for blessings and protection for a sinning Israel. If this was a blanket statement it would contradict Psalm 122 above.
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14-15) {emphasis mine}
Using 1 John 5:14, we can begin to see the catch. We are to pray “according to His will.” It is not God’s will for sinners and those in open rebellion against God to be blessed or protected from hardship. A prayer such as, “Please turn your people back to you and give them a pure heart and repentance from sin,” would be according to His will. A prayer to “Please bless and protect Israel” while Israel has turned their back on God is not a prayer that God will answer. He will “not hear you.”
The Bible also says:
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:3)
How often are our prayers not answered because we pray with wrong motives? At least sometimes. Of course there are also times when God tells us to wait or has something better in mind and we can’t see it because we are not seeking His will, but our own.
It is always good to pray for someone’s repentance and salvation. It isn’t always good to pray for someone’s healing, blessings, and prosperity. It is always good to pray for a nation to turn back to God and to obey His commands. It isn’t always good to pray for a nation’s prosperity and power in the world. Sometimes God’s will is to punish those who turn away from Him or against Him. We need to make sure we are aligned to God’s will and not just seeking our own.
I recommend that our prayers be like Jesus’s prayer right before going to the cross, “saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42). Our requests should be like that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed Ngo right before being thrown in the fiery furnace, “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18). This isn’t just words thrown on the end of our prayers “yet not My will, but Yours be done,” but a cry of our hearts in full and complete trust in our Father God.
One thing that helps me is I try to pray the problem not the solution. God knows much better solutions than we do because He knows everything that has happened, everything that is happening, and everything that will happen. He knows what will lead to the best long term solution. When we pray the solution we desire, we miss out on the blessings of God’s knowledge, wisdom, and love.
May God lead you and guide you in a closer relationship to Him so that your will is completely aligned with His will and you are in close fellowship to Our Father in Heaven.
Trust Jesus
If you don’t want to miss a post, please consider subscribing, so you know when new posts are published. Unfortunately, my life will not allow for a perfect schedule of posts.
Subscribed
If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you. I will try to reply to your questions and comments as quickly as possible. I’m sure life will sometimes get in the way, but know that your input is valuable to me. Some responses may be direct to you. I may address some with a blog post.
Message Christy
Join Christy’s subscriber chat
Nicely done...
We forget that all is foreknown by God. In Jeremiah 14, God had already determined the fate of His disobedient children. When Jesus told us not to cast pearls before swine, He is asking us to use discernment of their spiritual condition. Whenever we become religious, we lose discernment. In all things, seek the spirit.