When the subject of prayer comes up, only a naive person believes we as intercessors are expected to pray for everyone. The prophet heard directly from God, "Do not pray for this people. Even though they fast and offer up sacrifices to me, don't waste your time praying because I'm not going to accept them."

Such an idea almost borders on sacrilegious for most people. That's because they never ask God how to pray before they open their mouth and start doing it. Please, don't misunderstand me. It's a good thing to pray for people, but if God is working on someone in order to get their attention, don't you think praying for relief works contrary to what God is doing?

Jeremiah wasn't afraid to ask God why he shouldn't pray. He was confused because other prophets had promised good things for them beforehand. Then God explained that the prophet assumed something that simply wasn't true: not everyone who says they speak for God really do. What a surprise!

Why not learn something from Jeremiah and the next time you pray for someone, ask God how to do it before you start? It saves a lot of time and keeps you from getting caught up in what God is trying to teach someone else.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( Jr. 14:11-16:15 1 Th. 2:9-3:13 Ps. 80:1-19 Pr. 25:1-5 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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