When God Says, “Stop Praying!"

The privilege of prayer is one of God’s greatest gifts to His people. We are told to pray always, to come before God with our requests, to cast our cares upon him, and to seek him in times of trouble. But there are some surprising moments in Scripture when it basically says, “Don’t ask God about it.” I never thought God would ever say that to anyone. But during my daily Bible reading, I saw God’s response to Moses. And I did a double take. Did God just tell Moses, the man who spoke with God face to face, to shut up and quit bugging Him about the matter?!!

Now this may sound strange, but in the Bible there are many examples where it was no longer a question of whether God had heard the prayer. The question was, does the one praying want to accept God’s answer?

The clearest example is perhaps Moses. “Speak No More Unto Me of This Matter!” said God to Moses (Deuteronomy 3:26). Moses wanted to get into the Promised Land. For forty years he led Israel through the wilderness, and now he could see the land in front of him. It was on the other side of the river, the Jordan. Seeing that milk-and-honey land only whetted his appetite the more. It was just beyond the reach of his fingers. The land he had dreamed of and fought for forty-plus years to get to, and now he is not allowed to go in.

“Let me pass over and see the good land which is beyond Jordan, I beseech thee” (Deuteronomy 3:25). God's answer, however, was final. “Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter” (Deuteronomy 3:26). And that’s one of the most powerful statements in all of Scripture about unanswered prayer.

God was basically saying, “Moses, I have heard you. I have given you an answer. Cease requesting that I alter this decision.” The trouble was not that Moses had not prayed enough. The trouble was, the answer was a foregone conclusion. At times, continued prayer can become an effort to persuade God, to try to twist His arm, to secure from Him a different answer than the one that He has already given. There comes a time when faith is not asking anymore. To have faith is to accept.

God spoke to Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, “Pray Not Thou for This People.” Jeremiah faced a situation more somber than that of Moses. Judah had rebelled against God again and again. Generations of warnings had made God’s judgment inevitable.

God said to Jeremiah, “Therefore pray not for this people, nor lift up cry nor prayer for them, nor make intercession to me; I will not hear thee” (Jeremiah 7:16). He again says something similar, “Therefore pray not thou for this people…" (Jeremiah 11:14). And again, “Pray not for this people for their good” (Jer. 14:11).

Jeremiah was an intercessor. His instinct was for the people. But God said, “The time for intercession over this judgment is past.” There is a sobering lesson to be learned here. God is very patient, but the Bible does not say that divine patience means that judgment can be delayed indefinitely. There may be a time when the effects of continued rebellion are such that prayer cannot remove them.

Here is another interesting example, this time after Israel’s defeat at Ai. Joshua is crushed. He falls down before the ark of the Lord and stays there until evening. Then God said, “Arise, why liest thou thus upon thy face?” (Joshua 7:10). That’s bordering on scandalous. Joshua is in prayer. But God says to him, Arise. Why? Because the problem wasn’t a lack of prayer. The trouble was sin in the camp. God continues, “Israel hath sinned…” (Josh. 7:11). God was saying, “Joshua, this situation doesn’t need more prayer. It needs action.”

Prayer can be a substitute for obedience. We can pray about something that God has already told us to take care of. We may be asking God to change a situation while ignoring the action He has already commanded. Sometimes God's answer is, "Get up."

I began to look into this matter and was amazed at the many times God said, "Enough is enough. Rise and deal with it! I have made my decision." Another such moment is at the Red Sea. Israel is behind the Egyptian army. There they are, before the sea. People are scared horribly. And God said unto Moses, "Wherefore art thou crying unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward” (Exodus 14:15).

See the command, "Go forward." There’s nothing wrong with crying out to God. But there came a time when prayer had to become movement. The sea would not part as long as Israel remained perpetually on the shoreline. Sometimes we pray, “Lord, what do you want me to do?" And God has already told us. Sometimes we pray, "Lord, open the way." And God says, “Start walking.”

Prayer is to lead to obedience, not substitute for it. Samuel had a second instance of this principle. Saul was rejected as king due to his continual disobedience. And Samuel wept for him. Finally, God said, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?” (1 Samuel 16:1). And God gave Samuel a new job, “Fill thine horn with oil, and go, ...” Sometimes we are emotionally tied to something that God has already closed. A connection. A chance. Location. A vision. A time of life.

We keep asking God to fix what He may be asking us to release. God’s question to Samuel is powerful, “How long?" There comes a time when grief must be outrun by obedience. Samuel had to stop looking back at Saul so he could see David. Sometimes we miss what God is getting ready for next because we’re still asking Him to resurrect what He’s already completed.

Jeremiah has one other statement to his credit. God says, "Despite the fact that Moses and Samuel stood before me, my heart could not be toward this people” (Jer. 15:1). It is a statement that has a lot of weight. Moses was one of the greatest intercessors in the Bible. Samuel was also famous for his intercession for Israel. But God says, if both of them were standing before Me praying, the judgment would stand. Sometimes prayer does not change God's decision because God's decision is righteous, settled, and finished. Prayer is powerful. But prayer is not the norm. God is.

If this is not too many examples, let me give one more. The apostle Paul gives us another important example. Paul prayed three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh.” God did not take it away. But Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

At last, Paul ceased to petition for removal and began to live in sufficient grace. Perhaps this is one of the hardest lessons in prayer. Sometimes God will turn it around. Sometimes God changes us in the situation instead. We frequently desire to be free of a trial. Sometimes God gives staying power. We pray to God to take away the burden. Sometimes God makes the shoulders that bear it stronger. Sometimes, asking over and over for the same thing can keep us from seeing the grace God has already given.

These writings do not instruct that we should quickly give up prayer. Jesus taught perseverance. The Scripture repeatedly encourages continued prayer. But these passages demonstrate the need to keep persistence open to God’s answer.

There are times in Scripture when God is basically saying, “Stop praying about this.” Sometimes the answer is conclusive. Sometimes judgment has been determined. Sometimes obedience must take the place of prayer. Sometimes grief has to be put aside for a new assignment. Sometimes the situation will not change, because instead God wants to give enough grace. Maybe the question should be, “Have I prayed long enough?” Sometimes the better question is, “Has God already responded to me?”

Prayer is not a matter of spiritual bargaining, wearing down God’s resistance. Prayer is the lifting up of our desires to God, but true prayer is the lifting up of our desires to God’s will. Jesus modeled this perfectly in Gethsemane, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done” (Luke 22:42).

That may be the most adult sentence we can add to a prayer. We dare to ask. We pray constantly. We believe hard. But at last we give up altogether. There’s a difference between persevering in prayer and refusing the answer God gives. There will be times when the prayer must be changed. Rather than, “Lord, fix this.” The prayer is, “Lord, help me accept this. Instead of, “Lord, open this door again." It’s, “Lord, show me the door that You want me to go through now. " Instead of" Lord, please take this burden off my back." It is, “Lord, give me grace to bear it.” Not, "Lord, grant me what I requested." It turns into, “Lord, help me believe what You have chosen.”

Moses wanted Canaan. God said, "No." Samuel was for Saul’s restoration as king. Joshua was lying before God. God said, "Get up," and at the Red Sea Moses cried for Israel. God said, "Move on." Paul wanted the thorn taken out. Jesus said, “My grace is enough."

If you wish to review another, consider David fasting and praying for God to save his newborn child. Any comments?