To Pray or Not To Pray...That is the Question.

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 7-9
Focal Passage: Jeremiah 7:16-24

Did God ever instruct "not to pray"? Think about that question for awhile before you answer it. Am I giving you a trick question? Why would God ever instruct His follower, "not to pray"? I will give you a hint about the answer to this "tricky" question: the answer is found in the focal passage. God actually told Jeremiah to quit praying for His people (Jeremiah 7:16). More than likely, this is a private word from God to the prophet of God's people. It is a rare occasion in Scripture, but it shows God's desperation and disgust with His people's actions.

What is my point? Read on in the focal passage and examine verse 24 carefully. Read the indictment of God's people. What is their problem? Time and time again God has spoken to His people about their sin and they have consistently done four things: 1)didn't listen to Him and didn't pay attention to Him 2) followed their own advice 3)were stubborn 4)continued to move backward instead of forward.

Do you have any of those habits in your life? Do you effectively listen to what God says to you or do you quickly dismiss it and justify why you didn't "hear God clearly or correctly" or why God "couldn't have said that"? Do you give God the opportunity to speak to you or are you simply too busy to read His Word or too busy to be still and quiet so you can hear Him? Do you find yourself solving your own problems and looking for worldly solutions to your problems instead of turning and trusting in God? Do you lean upon your own experiences, education, and wisdom to discern what is right and wrong? Do you simply like things your way and are stubborn when it comes to getting things done your way in your timing? Are you moving closer to God, are you learning more of who He is and wants to be in your life? When was the last time God clearly revealed Himself to you?

Will you agree with God today that you have some of the same problems that His people did back in Jeremiah's day? Will you confess your adulteress heart that has wandered from God? Come back to Him today! I don't know about you, but I don't want the same said about me that God said in Jeremiah 9:26. God, I want my heart to be in agreement with yours! I want to follow You, remove my stubborness, give me Your wisdom, open my ears and heart to hear from you, and help me to move closer to You rather than drifting slowly away from You! Will you pray that prayer with me today!