Marakesh 𓅦 on Nostr: > My first thought was “Why in the world is God telling *us* not to pray for this ...
> 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?”
That *us* is key. God didn't tell *us* not for the 6th-century Judeans, he told *Jeremiah* not to.
But around 700 years later, the Apostle Paul does tell Christians to pray for all people, as you cited above from 1 Timothy 2:1, and we know that these instructions are applicable to us who believe even today.
I agree with your overall points about praying according to God's will and that sometimes it is not His will to bless a nation, and I think that God telling Jeremiah not to pray about something shows that God might tell us the same; there's precedent for it. Of course, God always means it for good. He wanted unrepentant Israel to turn back to Him, and He was willing to tolerate some discomfort in their lives to motivate them that way, if their hearts weren't already too hard. In 1 Corinthians 5 it talks about a man in the church who was engaged in egregious fornication (worse than even pagans normally did!) and Paul told them to "turn that person over to Satan" for the destruction of his flesh so that perhaps ultimately his spirit would be saved! It doesn't say, but I'm sure they prayed for that man even as they excommunicated him, and we read in 2nd Corinthians 2 that he did repent and was eligible for restoration into the church (and Paul had to tell them to restore him since they were unwilling to!) I've heard Christians say before that they were praying for God to "drop the rock" on somebody, figuratively, of course, meaning let them face some difficulties in their life so that they would repent and turn to God. While that is not necessarily praying for someone's material well-being, they are seeking that person's overall spiritual well-being, which is of greater importance. What good would it do to be the richest person in the world and still lose your soul and go to hell?
That *us* is key. God didn't tell *us* not for the 6th-century Judeans, he told *Jeremiah* not to.
But around 700 years later, the Apostle Paul does tell Christians to pray for all people, as you cited above from 1 Timothy 2:1, and we know that these instructions are applicable to us who believe even today.
I agree with your overall points about praying according to God's will and that sometimes it is not His will to bless a nation, and I think that God telling Jeremiah not to pray about something shows that God might tell us the same; there's precedent for it. Of course, God always means it for good. He wanted unrepentant Israel to turn back to Him, and He was willing to tolerate some discomfort in their lives to motivate them that way, if their hearts weren't already too hard. In 1 Corinthians 5 it talks about a man in the church who was engaged in egregious fornication (worse than even pagans normally did!) and Paul told them to "turn that person over to Satan" for the destruction of his flesh so that perhaps ultimately his spirit would be saved! It doesn't say, but I'm sure they prayed for that man even as they excommunicated him, and we read in 2nd Corinthians 2 that he did repent and was eligible for restoration into the church (and Paul had to tell them to restore him since they were unwilling to!) I've heard Christians say before that they were praying for God to "drop the rock" on somebody, figuratively, of course, meaning let them face some difficulties in their life so that they would repent and turn to God. While that is not necessarily praying for someone's material well-being, they are seeking that person's overall spiritual well-being, which is of greater importance. What good would it do to be the richest person in the world and still lose your soul and go to hell?