Thank you for the question on which Bible verse astonishes you.
The Bible verses that astonishes me as I am reading the Bible is found in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 14 says this, “11 Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague” (NIV).
As a Christian, I often think that God will listen to the prayers of his people. God will listen and respond to the prayer of godly person, but God will listen and not respond to the prayer of an unrepentant person.
In the context of Jeremiah, the religious leaders, the rulers and the people have rejected the messages of the prophets. They persist in worshiping idols and violating the covenant. God calls them to repentance and they refused to change their ways. God indicts their wayward hearts from their deliverance from Egypt to the time of Jeremiah. It is frightening and astonishing that God would also say that if the most revered godly person were to pray for the Jews, he would not listen to their prayers. God tells Jeremiah not to pray for them for their stubbornness will bring the judgment of God on them.
It is astonishing how stubborn and unrepentant the Jewish people were toward God and his covenant Law. God’s response to them that grace has reached its limit. It so bad that the king cuts and burns the written message of Jeremiah for repentance. Because of the king’s response and the people desiring to kill Jeremiah, God’s patience and grace give way to his justice. It leads me to wonder if Christians and churches are presuming on the patience and grace of God that because our Savior died for our sins that we are immune of the discipline of God. If God brought forth judgment on Israel, the local church and its members are also subject to the judgment/discipline of God. Is it no wonder that churches are closing. Is it no wonder that Christians are powerless in their lives? Is it no wonder Christians wonder if God is real for their sins have separated themselves from God. Christians do not lose their salvation but the fellowship with God with his people is withdrawn. It is astonishing that we have the Old Testament to teach us and we are no better the Jews in the days of Jeremiah.
SUMMARY: I will not be astonished to see the prayers fall on deaf ear with God for the Christians and churches have not repented of their sinful ways. We can’t expect God to bless us when we live in sin.
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