Image from 20 the Countdown Magazine.
The people of Israel made God angry many times: by doubting him, by worshipping idols, by questioning the leadership of Moses, by having too little faith to enter the Promised Land, and more. God reacted to their disobedience in many different ways: with mercy, grace, silence, punishments that were brief, punishments that lasted decades. But in the book of Jeremiah we see something new. God specifically tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people of Judah.
“So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them. Do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you” Jeremiah 7:16.
God says it again a few chapters later:
“Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in their time of distress” Jeremiah 11:14.
Then he says it a third time: “Do not pray for the well-being of these people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry” Jeremiah 14:11.
God says he will not listen to Jeremiah and he will not listen to the people when they cry out in a time of distress.
It sounds like God is fed-up!
But what’s going on here? I thought God’s mercy was everlasting?
It turns out, Jeremiah is not the only Biblical writer who talks about times when God prefers we do NOT pray, and times when God says he will NOT listen to prayers. The reason God rejects prayers at such times is the sinfulness of those for whom we pray. “All have sinned,” of course, and God welcomes the prayers of sinners. But in rare cases he rejects the prayers of those who have spent a lifetime rejecting him.
Through Isaiah, God confirms, “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you. Even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening [because] your hands are full of blood!” Isaiah 1:15.
Through Micah, God warns, “Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done” Micah 3:4.
But this is Old Testament stuff, right? No.
Jesus spoke of a sin that would not be forgiven:
“Whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come” Matthew 12:32.
John says do not pray for those who commit this “unpardonable sin”—“There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that” 1 John 5:16.
To simplify a difficult subject, to commit the unpardonable sin is to reject the pleadings of the Holy Spirit. When do you know a person has committed that sin? When they die without Christ.
A pastor I know suggested (though he admitted he had no clear scriptural evidence) that he had heard of cases in which a person rejected Christ so often, for so many years, that finally everyone just stopped trying. It was as though the burden to win his soul was lifted from the believers around him. Even the man’s own wife spoke of an odd relief—she loved him, she grieved for his lost soul, but she no longer felt a burden to witness to her husband. She wondered whether the man had finally said NO to God one time too many.
What’s going on here? Can a skeptic thumb his nose at God, rejecting over and over the tug in his own heart until finally God has had enough? And did the people of ancient Israel reject God, lusting so hard after idols that God finally said, ‘Don’t even pray. I don’t want to hear it. You are being punished now’? Yes.
Remember: God has a heart. He is bigger than the universe and more powerful than ten thousand suns. But we hurt God when we reject him. We hurt the Holy Spirit when he pleads with us to repent and we simply laugh in his face and trudge on in our sinful ways.
And the thing is—we KNOW we are doing it. I believe somewhere deep down, no matter the deception, people know they are repeatedly rejecting God over and over and over and over. The Bible says, “He has placed eternity in their hearts” Ecclesiastes 3:11. We have a sense of the truth of eternal life. And we also have a sense of justice, and of the rejection we are engaged in when we tell God to stay out of our lives. Consider these song lyrics:
I only talk to God when I need a favor
And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer
So, who the hell am I, who the hell am I
To expect a Savior, oh
If I only talk to God when I need a favor?[1]
Clearly Jelly Roll[2] understands—sometimes we pray selfishly, or we never pray at all. Why do we expect God to rescue us when we are unwilling to obey him and serve him? The logic is actually quite simple. If Israel is determined to worship idols all week long, then God says don’t bother me with your prayers on the Sabbath day. And if Israel is determined to worship idols for decades—for generation after generation—then God tells even his prophets not to pray on behalf of this wicked nation.
But if you love the Lord, spend some time with him! If part of you wants to pray, encourage that part! Make walking with Jesus easier for yourself! Spend more time with those who love him. Spend some time reading the word. Get to church at least once every week. Make walking with God a habit, and I know he will bless your life and answer your prayers.
And don’t wait to talk to him until you need a favor!
AΩ
[1] “Need a Favor,” song by Jelly Roll, 2023.
[2] Say what you want about Jason DeFord, but he may be the most interesting singer to emerge in years. DeFord, whose mom began calling him “Jelly Roll” when he was still a child, is a unique cross-over artist, whose music has been played on country, rock, alternative, pop, and adult contemporary radio formats. The ex-con with the face tattoos has a kind of universal “street cred” that causes his music to appeal to the widest audiences imaginable. Even Christian contemporary stations are playing his collaboration with Brandon Lake, “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” Jelly Roll writes music that openly tackles personal problems. These lyrics are not simply vulnerable. They are raw. Consequently, many of his songs ask searing questions about spirituality.
Household Words: 