This might be a strange question to ask, but the answer to this question has tremendous practical applications. Is there ever a time when we should cease asking God for His intervention in a particular matter? If so, how do we know that the time has come to stop asking?

In this installment, we will look at several examples where God made it very clear that no further requests or pleas should be made in a particular matter. In the next installment, we will discuss situations where prayers should continue to be made.

Due to Saul’s disobedience and rebellion, God rejected him and asked Samuel to anoint David instead as king. We read in 1 Samuel 15:35; 16:1: “And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. Now the LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

Samuel had already told Saul previously: “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent” (1 Samuel 15:28-29).

Still, Samuel kept praying to God for Saul, hoping that God would change His mind. So God had to remind him that he himself had clearly pronounced God’s Will in the matter which was final (God would not relent), and that further prayers for Saul would be useless.

Another example can be found in the episode when David’s firstborn son died. David had sinned greatly by committing adultery and murder, and God sent Nathan, the prophet, who clearly proclaimed to David: “… because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die” (2 Samuel 12:14). Understandably, David was hoping that this outcome could be changed, and when the child became ill, David pleaded with God for the child, and he fasted and prayed. Still, the child died seven days later. When David realized this, he ended his fast and ate. He had accepted God’s judgment, and there was no longer any reason and purpose to pray and fast for the child’s life. David expressed it this way in 2 Samuel 12:22-23: “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?’”

A third example can be seen in Moses’ life. Due to the ongoing murmuring and complaining of the unthankful people, Moses lost his cool and spoke and acted too rashly and in anger. Although he was supposed to talk to the rock once to give water to the thirsty people, he struck the rock (symbolic for Christ) two times and took glory to himself, rather than to God. We read in Numbers 20:10-12:

“And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’”

We find an additional commentary on this episode in Psalm 106:32-33: “They angered Him also at the waters of strife, So that it went ill with Moses on account of them; Because they rebelled against His Spirit, So that he spoke rashly with his lips.”

Even though God had pronounced that Moses and Aaron would not enter the Promised Land, Moses asked God repeatedly to change His mind. But God’s judgment stood firm.

We read in Deuteronomy 3:23-26:

“Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying: ‘O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’  But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter.’”

And so, Aaron died on the way, and even though Moses was allowed to see the Promised Land, he was not allowed to enter it. We read in Deuteronomy 32:48-52:

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: ‘Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.’”

A fourth example can be drawn from Paul’s experience.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 says:

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God made it abundantly clear to Paul that He would not heal him at that time, and that therefore further prayers for healing would be without any effect.

Also, God told Jeremiah the prophet that he should not pray for the people as they had gone too far in rejecting God so that His judgment against them would not be altered:

Jeremiah 7:16-20 states:

“‘Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. Do they provoke Me to anger?’ says the LORD. ‘Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?’ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place–on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.’”

Jeremiah 11:11-14 adds:

“Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal. So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.’”

Jeremiah 14:10-14 reiterates:

“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. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, “You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.”’ And the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.’”

Finally, let us note Christ’s own example. Matthew 26:37-46 tells us about Christ’s prayer to the Father shortly before His arrest and His brutal torture and murder:

“And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, ‘What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.’ And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.’”

Christ knew now with absolute certainty that the Father’s Will stood firm, and that there was no other way.

Luke 22:40-46 adds:

“When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, ‘Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.’”

Temptation could include here the unwillingness to accept God’s decision and to try to do something to prevent it from happening, as Peter attempted to do when he took his sword to “defend” Christ.

(To be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

In the 33rd chapter in the book of Job, beginning with verse 14, Elihu makes some stunning comments about God’s dealings with humans:

“For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.

“Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food. His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners.

“If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’; His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth. He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness.

“Then he looks at men and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.’ He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light. Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”

What is contained in these Scriptures is the fact that God may deal directly with a person two or three times to warn him or her of serious trials and even impending death due to his or her sinful way. What is also included is the fact that there is no promise that God will prevent grievous problems, illness or death from occurring after these two or three warnings have been given, if the person does not perceive or take to heart those warnings and does not repent and change his or her ways; but rather, if he or she continues to sin.

When God deals individually with a person, He gives him or her warnings when He sees that the person is in need of correction. These “wake-up” calls can come in many different ways, but if they are so serious that they deal with serious trials and even impending death, then it is high time to wake up, because God might not give those signs for more than three times, if at all.

Christ warned that those who refuse to repent and who don’t heed God’s warning may die a violent death. We read in Luke 13:1-5:

“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’”

Christ continued in verses 6-9 to give a time element, showing that God’s patience has limits. He will not wait forever for a person to repent and change; especially, if He has given him or her ample opportunities and wake-up calls:

“He also spoke this parable: ‘A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, “Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?” But he answered and said to him, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’’”

God warns in numerous ways before He is going to act. He warned mankind through Noah, a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), before He sent the flood to destroy all those who did not listen and who refused to repent. The USA, the UK, Canada and other English-speaking nations have been placed on notice that unless there is genuine repentance, they will be invaded by a foreign power and defeated in a nuclear war, with most people dying and most cities being completely obliterated. As He warned the world through Noah; Nineveh through Jonah; and Sodom and Gomorrah through Lot (Genesis 19:9; 2 Peter 2:6-8), so He is warning our nations today. His warning has been contained in the Bible for a long time, but it is in our time that it is being powerfully proclaimed by His Church. We read, for example, in Ezekiel 33:2-5:

“Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.”

The people of Nineveh heeded the warning and were spared; the people of Sodom, as well as mankind at the time of Noah, refused to listen and perished.

God does not leave individual people without warning either; especially those with whom He has been directly dealing on an individual basis and who have been given knowledge of the Truth and understanding about His Church and His true servants.  We read in Psalm 52:3-5:

“You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah. You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.”

Or Psalm 55:19, 23:

“God will hear, and afflict them, Even He who abides from of old. Selah. Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God…  But You, O God shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days…”

Psalm 73:18-19 adds the following about those who refuse to listen and change:

“Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!”

At the same time, God has no pleasure in the death of unrighteous sinners, but He wants them to repent and change. That is WHY He gives them wake-up calls. Moses wrote in Psalm 90:12:

“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” A better translation is (compare Luther Bible 2017): “Teach us to consider that we must die…”

Psalm 107:4-14 speaks of those who were in trouble and turned to God for help, finally taking God’s warnings seriously:

“They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses… Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death [they were near death], Bound in affliction and irons–Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.”

He continues in verses 17-20:

“Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”

The Psalmist concludes with these words, in verse 43: “Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.”

God gives this warning in Proverbs 5:12-14, quoting someone who refused, for a while, to listen to Him and His true ministers: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

Proverbs 29:1 adds: “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” A better translation is (compare Luther Bible 2017): “He who is stiff-necked against all warning…”

Returning to Elihu’s above-quoted speech in the book of Job, the statement that God will warn and send wake-up calls two or three times should be taken quite seriously and also quite literally.

The numbers three and two have significance in the Bible and may also indicate finality. Christ was three days and three nights in the grave, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster. Peter received the vision with the sheet of unclean animals three times, and three men came to him to lead him to Cornelius, an “unclean” Gentile in the minds of the Jews, whom he then baptized. Paul reasoned with the Jews for three Sabbaths in Thessalonica, before turning away from them, due to their hostility (Acts 17:1-5, 10).

God pronounces severe punishments against several modern nations because of three transgressions committed by each of them, respectively (compare the book of Amos, chapters 1 and 2). As we saw earlier, the owner of the fig tree was searching for fruit for three years. God presented David with three kinds of punishment for his sin of numbering Israel. Finally, Paul asked God three times to heal him but God decided not to do so then (2 Corinthians 12:8).

In Solomon’s case, God punished Solomon after He had appeared to him two times to warn him not to forsake His Way and follow other gods (1 Kings 11:9-10). A sin or crime, especially a capital crime leading to the death penalty, needed to be dealt with when the testimony of two or three witnesses established the facts (Hebrew 10:28). The acceptance of an accusation against an elder requires two or three witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19); and by “the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1).

In light of this, if someone who knows (of) God’s Truth has received two or three warnings from God through serious life-threatening situations or other grievous and frightening occurrences, and has still not repented or has even turned his or her back on God, then the life of such a person is in serious danger, and it is high time to return to God with prayer and fasting and ask for forgiveness.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link