Title

When Not To Pray For Good

Scripture
Thus says the Lord to this people: “Thus they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now, and punish their sins.” Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good...”
(Jeremiah 14:10-11)
Devotional
The Lord does not accept willful and rebellious sin. Therefore neither should we. Yes we are to, “pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”(1) We are to seek God’s mercy and be merciful ourselves. Nevertheless, we are not to pray for their good. When friends wander from the right path, we cannot pray for their way. We can and should pray that they be restrained from the error of their ways, but not for them to prosper. Here is what I have clearly found: When a deceived believer is choosing the wrong path, he or she will foolishly seek reasons to justify that path. The decision will be made first, then the reasons for the decision will be foolishly fabricated. It will be a shallow decision without a biblical foundation. A favorite reason for their foolish choice is more than often, “God put it on my heart.” They fail to heed Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things...”

(1) Matthew 5:43