Don't Pray

Have you ever had a preacher tell you not to pray? Personally, I can't remember ever being told that, by a preacher or by anyone else. But as we come to the end of 1 John, this disciple who walked with Jesus, having had a lifetime to reflect on Jesus' teaching, tells us just that. There is a time, John says, when you shouldn't pray for someone. There is a sin, he tells us, you shouldn't pray about. What the what?

Here's what John actually writes: "If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death" (1 John 5:16-17).

I contemplated skipping over this passage, and there's still a part of me that wishes I would have! But something about it draws me in, and it's this command to not pray. Let's try to be clear about what John is saying: when we learn or see or perceive that a brother or sister is sinning, we should pray for them. Pray life for them. In John's understanding, that "life" will come as a result of this person confessing their sin, repenting of it and turning to God. Now, remember, these are believers, brothers and sisters in Christ, whom John is talking about. The sins he is talking about are not ones that will turn them toward the Enemy; they are sins that do not lead to death. These are, as one commentator puts it, "sins in the realm of life." Sins that are already covered by the sacrifice of Jesus. This does not make such sin any less important than others; it's just that, as John understands it, this sort of sin will not drive a person away from God.

And this begins to give us a clue as to what he means about "sin that leads to death." Such sins are ones that drive a person away from God, into the arms of the Enemy. These are evil acts, done in the realm of death, committed by persons who have not yet accepted Christ, and these are the sins John says we should not pray about. Why not? Let's make sure we understand what John means here by praying for them: he's talking about prayer for sins for which there is no confession, no repentance and no acknowledgement of wrongdoing to God. Without those movements, John says, persons remain in the realm of death, in the kingdom of the Enemy. I think what John is saying is this: we can and should pray for that person, that they would turn to Christ and find salvation, but we can't pray for their forgiveness. They must want to come to Jesus on their own, must ask him for forgiveness. There are no proxy salvations.

So pray, but be sure you know what you're praying for. God longs that all come to salvation (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4), but each person has to come on their own. God longs for all to come to life, but we cannot provide (or pray) life for them. This is a hard, strange and wrestle-worthy word from John. It calls for a different form of faith than we normally have. But ultimately, it's a call to prayer, rooted in the hope and assurance that salvation is found by all who seek it.