Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession

When Prayer Is Useless

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2009-07-12

Synopsis: John Weaver examines Deuteronomy 1:35–46 to show that there are times when prayer is useless—when God will not hear. He clarifies this is not an atheistic, agnostic, deistic, or humanistic sermon, but a biblical truth. The Israelites' unbelief, disobedience, and rebellion made their weeping and prayers ineffective. Weaver explains that unbelief dishonors God, disobedience violates His law, and rebellion is a stiff-necked refusal to listen. He applies this to both unsaved and saved people, emphasizing that God does not hear prayers offered while harboring sin. True repentance and turning from wicked ways are required for God to hear and heal.

[John Weaver] I want you to open your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. We're going to begin reading with verse 35 and read through verse 46. Listen carefully to the title of this message. I will explain it momentarily. Here's the title. When prayer is useless. When prayer is useless. Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 35. Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I swear to give unto your fathers. Saith Caleb the son of Jephunneh, he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sake, saying, Thou also shalt not go and thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go and thither, Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover, your little ones, which you said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go unfither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

[John Weaver] But as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.' And then he answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, saying to them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you, and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

[John Weaver] And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Syria even to Hormat. And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear to you. So you abode in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you abode there." May I remind you again, the title of the message is When Prayer is Useless. Now, this title may be disturbing to some people, so I want to clarify a few things.

[John Weaver] First of all, this is not an atheistic sermon. I am not denying the existence of God, nor the power of God. I did not say that God did not exist, nor did I say that God does not answer prayer. I just simply said there are times when prayer is useless, when it does no good to pray. Secondly, this is not an agnostic sermon. I am not saying that God cannot be known and that His will cannot be known. I am not indicating in any way that God is unknowable. I certainly believe in God the Father.

[John Weaver] He had revealed Himself in His Son and also in His Word very clearly. So this is not an atheistic sermon. It is not an agnostic sermon. Thirdly, it is not a deistic sermon. Theism teaches that God created the world, but what did he do? He wound this world up like a big clock, and now God just sits back and watches it run down. There is no divine intervention. There is no providence. There is no nothing. God is just simply sitting back watching everything run down.

[John Weaver] That concept certainly is totally and completely unbiblical. I did not say that God would not answer prayer because He wound up the world like a big clock and God does not intervene. I just simply said there was a time when prayer is useless.

[John Weaver] Fourthly, this sermon is not a rationalistic or a humanistic sermon. One, that is, that places emphasis upon man, upon his works, his thoughts, and his desire. I am not saying that man must work everything out according to his abilities. All I said was there is a time when prayer is useless. And fifthly, by way of introduction, I want to point out that before I finish I hope you will see this statement is indeed a biblical statement and at times it is useless to pray.

[John Weaver] Now, one cannot deny the plain fact that there are ample commands and exhortations and admonitions in the Bible where you and I are exhorted and even commanded to pray. Let me give you just a few of them. Just listen. In Mark 14 and verse 38, our Lord said this, Watch you and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. In 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 17, he said it like this, Pray without ceasing. That's a plain command, pray without ceasing. In 1st Timothy 2 and verse 8, the Apostle Paul said, I will that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and without doubting. In James 5 and verse 16, he said, confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed.

[John Weaver] The effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much. In Romans 12 and verse 12, he says this, rejoicing in prayer, patient in tribulation, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. In Ephesians 6 and verse 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication of the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. And then in Philippians 4 and verse 6 he said this, be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And then when you get Colossians 4 and verse 2 he says continuing prayer and watch the same with thanksgiving.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to note, we have been commanded to pray. We've been commanded to pray without ceasing. We've been commanded to continue instant in prayer. We've been commanded to make everything known unto God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Since all of these are plain, obvious commands, how can I say that there is a time when prayer is useless? Well, let me clear the matter up for you by stating this same truth another way. There are times when it does no good to pray. You say what? There are times when prayer will not work at all and it is useless to pray. Now you're going to ask how in the world can I make such a statement since it's very obvious in the Bible that God has ordained prayer. Let me ask you a question. Is it possible to use a lawful truth in an unlawful way? If you take that which is lawful and right and pervert it and corrupt it and use it in a way which it was not intended to be used, should it surprise you that it's useless and will not work?

[John Weaver] Let me show you what I'm talking about. First of all, hold Deuteronomy 1. We're coming right back there. But look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 4. James, chapter 4. And notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1. James, chapter 4, verse 1. Hebrews, James. James 4, verse 1. And we'll read the first three verses. Listen to what James writes. James 4, verse 1. Look at this.

[John Weaver] He says, For whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence even your lusts that warn your members?

[John Weaver] Now look at verse two. You lust and have not. You kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight in war, yet you have not because you ask not. Well, isn't that amazing? He says you need to pray. You need to ask. But look at verse three. You ask and receive not. Because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your own lusts. What? In other words, here are people who are praying, but they are praying wrongfully and for the wrong reason, for the wrong motivation, and God says you're not getting it.

[John Weaver] I'm not answering that prayer. Why is God going to answer a prayer that is contrary to His law? Think about that for a moment. What if I just said, and I'm not saying this because I'm not, but I'm using this as an illustration. Suppose I said, I'm tired of my wife. 47 years is long enough. My goodness. I'm going to start praying for a younger woman. God help me, I don't want a younger woman, I can assure you, especially today's younger women. But you see what I'm saying? Would I be praying correctly if I asked God to give me another wife, another woman? Would I? Why would God hear that? When God said, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. You see what I'm saying? Now, if you don't believe what I'm talking about, go back to Deuteronomy chapter one. Let's let the Word of God settle this, because I want you to see there is a time when it is useless to pray. Look at it, Deuteronomy 1 verse 45, we read it, here it is, stated very plainly, Deuteronomy 1 verse 45, Moses tells these people, and you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

[John Weaver] Now if God wouldn't hear them, if God would not listen to them, did it do them any good to pray? Did their prayer work? No. God didn't listen to them. Did these people pray? Yes. They not only prayed, they prayed with great emotion. They prayed with great feeling. They wept before the Lord. Did it do any good? No. Did it accomplish anything? No. And the reason why God would not listen to them, God would not hear them, their cries, their weeping, their praying was in vain. Are you listening? It was useless for them to pray. Because God was not going to hear them. So there is a time when it is useless to pray. And that time is when God will not hearken and God will not listen.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in Deuteronomy 28. And you will remember that this passage is the blessings and the cursing That is, God has promised blessings if we obey His law. He has promised curses if we disobey His law. If you look in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 23 it is, you will notice what God says as part of the curse upon those who disobey. He said, And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thy feet shall be Now, when God said that the heaven would be like brass, he was not saying the heaven would be there for its clearness and its brightness and its splendor, which was spread out like a molten looking glass in the Old Testament, which was usually made of brass. No, when God is giving this as an illustration for a curse, When he's saying your heaven is going to be brass, he's talking about its dryness, its hardness, that no moisture is able to pass through it, no showers, no rain would fall, no dew from heaven would come upon their crops, and consequently,

[John Weaver] no prayer could penetrate it. When God says, Thy heaven shall be brass, it was a statement of God's judgment. So, you have to ask yourself, what makes heaven Brass for us. What makes it useless to pray? Well, if you will turn, hold Deuteronomy 1, we're coming right back there, but if you will turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 59 verses 1 and 2, I'll give you a very general statement. Here is what will make heaven brass for us. Here is when it is useless to pray. Look at Isaiah 59 verse 1. The Bible says this.

[John Weaver] Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear. Watch, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear." So it is sins, so to speak, that turns God's face away from us. so that you will not hear.

[John Weaver] Now those of us, like myself, who have hearing problems can really identify with this. You talk to me face to face, I can hear you. But you turn around and walk off and say something. I can hear sound, but I can't hear what you're saying. This is what God's saying, I'll turn my head. You may be making sound, says God, but I'm not listening. I'm not hearing.

[John Weaver] Now let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter one and let's ask. What is it useless to pray? What is it that makes it useless to pray? What is it that makes our heaven brass? Well, in Deuteronomy chapter one, let's go back to verse 27. First, there is the sin of unbelief. Look in verse 27, Deuteronomy 1. He said, And you murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

[John Weaver] Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we. The cities are great and walled up to heaven. And, moreover, we have seen the sons of the Anacoms there. Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, He shall fight for you, courting all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bare thee as a man doth bare his son in all the way that you went until

[John Weaver] you came to this place. Yet in this thing you did not believe the Lord your God." Unbelief makes prayer useless. I'm sure that each one in this room is able to quote Hebrews 11 and verse 6, but without faith, It is impossible to please God, for he that cometh, God must first believe that he is, and secondly, that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Does it do any good to pray without faith? The answer is no. Even our Lord, in Mark 11, verse 24, said, Therefore say I unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe.

[John Weaver] that you shall receive them and you shall have them. Now, here's my question. How in the world can one believe when he's filled with unbelief? It is important to note in this passage that I just read that unbelief is not concerned with anything, nor does it concentrate upon anything but its own unbelief. That's what unbelief is concerned with. Unbelief. It feeds upon itself. Look what God told Israel in verse 32. Yet in this thing you did not believe the Lord your God. Note, you did not believe the Lord your God. Facts, reality, evidence, grace, mercy means nothing to unbelief. Unbelief is ready to take the word of men, but it is not ready to take the word of God. Unbelief will believe man, but unbelief refuses to believe God.

[John Weaver] These Israelites were willing to believe in those ten wicked spies who brought up an evil report upon the land. They refused to listen to Joshua and Caleb. They refused to listen to the Lord. Oh, but they were ready to believe wicked, fallen men. Unbelief will always believe wicked men ahead of and before the Word of God. Listen carefully. Unbelief is willing to deny and disbelieve the Word of God so that unbelief may believe in unbelief. That's what unbelief believes in. Unbelief. unbelief does not even consider facts and reality. Look in verse 31. Look what God says. He said, and in the wilderness where thou hast seen How did the Lord thy God bear thee as a man doth bear his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place? Listen, these people understood God's providence. God sustained them. God nourished them. God took care of them. God carried them in the wilderness as a man carries his own son. He tenderly treated them. He tenderly provided for them. They saw his provision.

[John Weaver] They saw his protection. They experienced all of this firsthand and yet. Look in verse 33. Here's God's providence who went in the way before you to search out you a place to pitch your tents in and the fire by night to show you by which way you should go and in the cloud by day. Did God leave them alone at all in the world? No, it was a pillar of fire by night. There was a cloud by day. God led them in every step of the way. God provided for them, God protected them, God nourished them. Did they believe facts? No. Did they believe reality? No. Did they believe truth? No.

[John Weaver] Unbelief is only concerned with itself. Now ask yourself this question. How does unbelief manifest itself? How can you tell whether or not you are falling into unbelief? Well, look in verse 27. Here's a characteristic of unbelief. He said, and you murmured in your tents and said, because the Lord hated us.

[John Weaver] Now that brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us in the hand of the Amorites and to destroy us. Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we, and the cities are great and walled up to heaven. And, moreover, we have seen the sons of the Anakins there." Notice, if you would please, they murmured, they complained. Here's discontent.

[John Weaver] Here is criticism, not only of Moses and Aaron, but now criticism of God Himself. Moreover, they're murmuring, they're complaining. It was not privately, it was publicly. Unbelief always expresses itself in doubt, in ingratitude or ungratefulness, and always a misuse of and misunderstanding of God's providence. Now let me ask you, how do these people interpret God's love God's providence, God's protection and God's provision. Here's how they interpreted.

[John Weaver] Look at it, if you would, in verse 27. They murmured and said, because the Lord hated us. He has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us in the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. They're miraculous, marvelous, wonderful deliverance from slavery and the bondage of Egypt has now become to them not an act of love, but an act of hate. It was only because God hated them that He brought them out of that wonderful vacation spot called Egypt. It was because the Lord hated them that He provided for them and protected them. In other words, God's exceeding great love is now measured in the terms of hatred. Wow. They are so dissatisfied with God. And His providence and His protection and His deliverance, they said, Make us a captain and let us return to Egypt. We will go back into slavery and bondage.

[John Weaver] I want to show you what unbelief says. Unbelief says this. God doesn't know what's best for me. My unbelief knows what's best for me. I'll never trust in God. I will trust in unbelief. I want you to see, folks, based upon verse 27 and 28. How unbelief turns everything upside down and inside out. We should hate unbelief. We should flee from unbelief. We should understand that it's wicked and vile and malicious. Prayer is useless when one is full of unbelief. Unbelief dishonors God. It disbelieves God and it discredits God's truth. You may pray. And go through a form and a ritual when you're full of unbelief. But your prayer is useless and worthless because God will not hear you. Secondly, if you look. In Deuteronomy chapter one, let's begin with verse 34. There was not only the sin of unbelief, there was a sin of disobedience, verse 34. The Bible says of the Lord heard the voice of your words and was wrought and swear saying surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I swear unto your fathers.

[John Weaver] Now watch say Caleb Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it and to him will I give the land that he trod upon and to his children because he had wholly followed the Lord. Moses says also the Lord was angry with me for your sake, saying thou shalt also not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun who standed before thee, he shall go in thither, encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover, your little ones, which you said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them I will give it, and they shall possess it.

[John Weaver] But as for you, look what God says, turn you Take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. I want you to understand something. Unbelief always leads to disobedience. The reason we disobey is because we don't believe. If we believe, we would not disobey. When God commanded the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land, they refused. They said, man, we're not going to fight those giants. We're not going in that land. Instead of believing God, they chose to believe the men who brought up the false report, and consequently they disobeyed God. God commanded them to fight. God commanded them to go into the land. God commanded them to possess the land. They refused. They disobeyed. They refused to enter in by faith and to trust the Lord to give them victory. So what does God do? God, in His righteous judgment, In His holy anger, pronounces judgment upon them and says, look, because of your disbelief, because of your disobedience, you're not going into this land. You're going to die in this wilderness.

[John Weaver] Look in verse 40. He says, but as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by way of the Red Sea. By the way, they were at the place, Kadesh Barnea. ready to enter into the promised land. Sin and disobedience might allow you to see it, but it'll certainly keep you out of it. So God says, you turn and go to the wilderness. You know what the people say?

[John Weaver] Now listen, God's told them to go in. No, we're not going to do it.

[John Weaver] Now God says, all right, you're right, you're not. You turn to go to war. No, no, no, no, no, no. We're not going to do that. Now we're going to turn on our weapons and we're going to go fight. God says, no, don't do it. Yes, we are. What is disobedience? It is sin. I want you to hold Deuteronomy 1, but I want you to turn, first of all, to Jeremiah chapter 3. Let me show you how sin is defined. Jeremiah chapter 3 and look at verse 25. Look what Jeremiah writes, Jeremiah 3 verse 25. He says, We lie down in our shame and our confusion covereth us, for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers from our youth, even in this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord. Now, notice if you would, he says we've sinned against the Lord. In what way did they sin against the Lord? We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord. Now look in Jeremiah 9 and verse 13.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah 9 and verse 13. Notice what God says. And the Lord said, Because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walk therein. Now it's called a forsaking of the law. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 44 and verse 23. Jeremiah 44 verse 23. Here he says this. Jeremiah 44 verse 23. Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies, therefore this evil is happening to you as at this day." So in Jeremiah 3 and verse 25, sin is described as not obeying the voice of the Lord. In Jeremiah 9 and verse 13, again, it's called not obeying the voice of the Lord, violating his law. Jeremiah 44, verse 23, it goes further and says now that disobedience and sin is a refusal to walk in God's law, God's statutes and God's testimony. You know what disobedience is? Disobedience is a refusal not only to hear, but also to obey God's word.

[John Weaver] Now, let me remind you of a couple of passages. We're talking about when it's useless to pray. It's useless to pray when you're full of unbelief. God's not going to hear you. It's useless to pray when you're disobedient. Help me out now. What did David say in Psalm 66 and verse 18? If I regard iniquity in my heart, what's the rest of it? The Lord will not hear me. What? If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. You know what iniquity is? Iniquity is sin. It's a violation of the law of God. You want to know what sin is?

[John Weaver] Let me just quote it. 1 John 3, 4. Whoso committed sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. So if I harbor in my heart that which is contrary to God and contrary to His law, And if I do that, which is contrary to God and contrary to His law, is God going to hear me? No. David said he's not going to listen.

[John Weaver] You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28 verse 9? Let me just quote this one. Listen. Proverbs 28 verse 9. God said, Whoso turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. The word abomination literally means a stitch in God's nostrils. God said, if you turn your ear away from hearing my law, even your prayer is a stench in my nostrils.

[John Weaver] I'm not going to put up with it. I'm not going to have it. I'm not going to listen to it. And God said in Jeremiah 44 and verse 4. Listen carefully, he's talking about sin. How be it I send unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, O do not this abominable thing which I hate." God calls sin that abominable thing which he hates. What is sin? It's disobedience to God. It's a violation of God's Word. It's a violation of God's law.

[John Weaver] These people in Deuteronomy chapter 1, they were normally full of unbelief. They were disobedient. God plainly commanded them to do something and they refused to do it. In fact, they did just the opposite. Here's my question. What good does it do to pray when you're full of unbelief and you're disobedient? What's the answer? It does not do any good. It's useless. Because God will not hear it. Your prayer is an abomination to God. It's a stitch in His nostrils. When is it useless to pray? Not only because of unbelief. Not only because of disobedience. But go back to Deuteronomy 1.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there with verse 26. When there is the sin of rebellion. Look in verse 26. God says notwithstanding you would not go up but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God. Rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God. Now skip down to verse 41. Then you answered and said unto me we have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us.

[John Weaver] And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten among your enemies. Now watch. So I spake unto you, and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up the hill."

[John Weaver] Now I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. We've talked about the sin of unbelief, the sin of disobedience. Now we're talking about the sin of rebellion. It is possible to be disobedient without being rebellious. Just because you're disobedient in some things does not necessarily mean that you're rebellious. For instance, If I were to ask you, don't answer out loud, I already know the answer. If I were to ask you, how many of you prayed yesterday the way that you should have and the way God has commanded you?

[John Weaver] Now, you probably prayed some, but you didn't spend any great deal of time in prayer. Who's going to say, I prayed every day the way God has commanded me to pray? You've sinned. How many of you studied yesterday the way God has commanded you? You didn't. So what does that mean? That means you were disobedient. But it does not necessarily mean that you were rebellious. It is true that usually sin or disobedience and rebellion go hand in hand. It is also true that disobedience often leads to the sin of rebellion. Rebellion is usually associated with deliberate premeditated disobedience. Now listen, rebellion is sin. But not all sin is rebellion. You say, how do you know that? Well, Job 34 verse 37, listen carefully. The Bible says, for he added rebellion to his sin. He clapped his hands among us and multiplied his words against God. And he's already sinned, but now he's adding rebellion to his sin. So, all rebellion is sin, but not necessarily all sin is rebellious. Rebellion. You can sin and not be rebellious, but usually your sin leads to rebellion.

[John Weaver] Rebellion is usually associated with being stiff-necked, hard-headed, stubborn, and hard-hearted. Look in Deuteronomy 31. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. Look what God says to Israel through Moses. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. God says, For I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck. Behold, while I'm yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death? What did he say? I know by rebellion and by stiff neck. You're hard headed, you won't listen. You know, in the book of Nehemiah, you don't have to turn there, I'll quote it, but Nehemiah 9, verse 17, the Bible says, And they refused to obey, neither were they mindful of my wonders, or the wonders that thou didst among them, but hardened their necks. And in their rebellion, oh, what in the world did they do? In their rebellion, they hardened their necks, and they said, what?

[John Weaver] Let us make us a captain, and let us return to Egypt. What? Here's a stiff-necked, hard-headed, rebellious people. And they are going to appoint them a captain and return to Egypt.

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you, unbelief is sin and it's bad. Disobedience is sin, and it's bad, but usually unbelief and disobedience lead to rebellion, and rebellion is even far more grievous to the Lord than just what you and I would call unbelief and disobedience, although they're all sin. Do you remember what Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 15 and verse 23? He said, for rebellion is as a sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Now, you know, what was the penalty for witchcraft? Death. What was the penalty for idolatry? Death.

[John Weaver] Now, what did he say? For rebellion is as wickedness. Rebellion is as wickedness and witchcraft. And stubbornness is as wickedness and idolatry. So if rebellion merits the death penalty as well. When you think of rebellion, it's not just one sin. It's not just one act of disobedience. When you think of rebellion, you think of someone who is so hard-headed, so stiff-necked, so stubborn, they refuse to listen. They will not listen.

[John Weaver] And by the way, If you look back in verse 43 in Deuteronomy chapter 1, that is exactly what God said to these people. Look at it. Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 43. We read it, but He said, So I spake unto you, and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now watch this next word. And went presumptuously up the hill. In order to demonstrate the perverseness and the malignancy of rebellion, consider the fact that God commanded these people to enter the promised land. They refused. Next, he commanded them to turn him to go into the wilderness and they refused. Next, they determined they were going to go up. As God initially commanded them and then God commanded them not to go up.

[John Weaver] Well, look at it, Deuteronomy 1. Verse 44, verse 43, So I spake unto you, and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you, and seared you into hormone. Now note, if you would please, the Bible says they disobeyed and went presumptuously up the hill. The word presumptuously in the Hebrew means to boil. to boil up, to seethe, to act proudly, to act presumptuously, to act rebelliously, to be arrogant, to act insolently, and to be rebelliously proud.

[John Weaver] I want to tell you something, folks. It is very difficult for me to put up with an insolent, rebellious, arrogant teenager. You've no doubt seen that little sticker that says teenagers. Act now. Run away from home while you know everything and can do everything, you know. If you cannot tolerate an arrogant, stubborn, hard-headed, insolent child, think of what it must be like toward God with our rebellious attitude. You know what a rebellious attitude is? Here's a rebellious attitude.

[John Weaver] I'll do whatever I please. Nobody's going to tell me what to do. I am in charge of my life. I don't care what God says. I don't care what the Bible says. My life is my own. I live it the way I please. You've never heard those statements before, I'm sure. But that is an attitude of rebellion. You see, rebellion is not just simply one act. Rebellion is not just one sin. Rebellion is not just one disobedience. Rebellion is a hard-headed, stiff-necked, stubborn determination that you're not going to listen, and you're not going to learn, and you're going to do whatever you want to do. It doesn't matter about God. It doesn't matter about anyone else. You will do what you're going to do.

[John Weaver] That's what these people believed. Nobody's going to tell us what to do. Not Moses. Not God. We're going to go up. God says don't go up. I'm not among you. It's useless to fight against your enemies without God. Go not up. Now watch. Here's the result of their rebellious attitude and action. First, they were chased and destroyed by their enemies. God said, they're going to chase you like bees. Now, Rebecca can tell you about being chased by bees.

[John Weaver] She bucked a hive one time with a lawnmower. They were after her. Allison gave Alice a butterfly box. We have it on the porch. Someone called me on the cell phone. I walked over to the butterfly box because, you know, I hadn't seen it in a while and wanted to see if there were any butterflies. Well, there weren't any butterflies, but there were red wasps. And I got news for you. I dropped my cell phone and I ran like a scalded dog getting away from them. Of course, two or three got me, but I'm just saying I know what it's like to be chased by hornets, bees. That's what God said. They're going to be all over you before you know it. They're going to chase you, they're going to destroy you. You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 29 in verse 1? Now listen carefully.

[John Weaver] He that being often reproved and hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be cut off, and that without remedy. Who has a hardened neck? Who has a stiff neck? Who is stubborn? Those who are rebellious. God said they shall be suddenly be cut off, and that without remedy.

[John Weaver] Secondly, I want you to note these people failed to conquer, and they were condemned by God. So here is the overall picture. They're full of unbelief. They're murmuring. They're complaining. They're bellyaching. They're criticizing Moses. They're criticizing God. They're misinterpreting God's love. They're thinking evilly of God. Consequently, they disobey their sin of unbelief, their disobedience and leads them to pure rebellion. And when they find out now they're not going in that promised land, and when they attempted to do so in their own strength.

[John Weaver] They were chased like bees by their enemies and destroyed. Look what happens. In verse 45. And you returned and wept before the Lord. For the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. Here's my question. What did their weeping and crying avail? Nothing. Why? God refused to hear them. God would not hearken to them. God would not listen to them. Proverbs 28, 9 said. He did turn away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. Remember, David said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Were these people harboring iniquity? Were they turning their ear away from hearing the law of God? You better believe it. Their prayer was useless. I want you to turn.

[John Weaver] To Hebrews chapter 12, let me show you another instance. Hebrews. Chapter 12. Beginning there, verse 16, everyone knows this story. Hebrews 12. You know about old Esau who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage? The Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 16. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright, for you know that afterwards, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sold it carefully with tears." How much crying and praying of Esau avail him? None. Could Isaac change the blessing that he'd given Jacob? No. Had Jacob already received the blessing? Yeah. Esau can cry and weep and pray all he likes. It's to absolutely no avail.

[John Weaver] There's a time when prayer is useless. Now, I ask that you turn to Proverbs chapter 1. I want to read this in light of a common statement that you hear from preachers. I've heard this all my life. And I want to ask you if this statement is correct based upon the Word of God. OK. Here's the statement.

[John Weaver] Now, remember, we've been talking about unbelief. We've been talking about disobedience. We've been talking about rebellion. OK. I've heard preachers say, well, I know that God doesn't hear the prayer of unsaved people because they're sinful, they're disobedient, they're rebellious. But now there's one prayer that God will always hear from an unsaved person. And that's the prayer of salvation. OK. Let's see. Proverbs chapter one, beginning with verse 20, God says, Wisdom crieth without she uttered her voice in the streets. Proverbs 1 verse 21 she cried to the chief places the concourse in the opening of the gates of the city.

[John Weaver] She uttered her words saying how long you simple ones would you love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. Now look Turn you at My reproof. Behold, I will pour out My Spirit upon you. I will make My words known unto you." No. Here's the pleading. Turn at My reproof. Listen to Me. Now is the time. Listen right now. Repent right now. Come right now. Turn you at My reproof. Behold, I will pour out My Spirit upon you. I will make known My words unto you. Watch.

[John Weaver] Because I have called and you refused. I have stretched out My hand and no man regarded. But you have set not all my counsel, and would have none of my reproof." What does God say? I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.

[John Weaver] They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? for that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would have none of my counsel. They despised all of my reproof. Therefore, they shall lead to the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices.

[John Weaver] Now, does that sound like God's going to hear the prayer of an unsaved man anytime the unsaved man prays? No. I want you to understand something, folks. Salvation. Is of the Lord. That's what Jonah 2 9 says. That's what Galatians 1 says. That's what all the Bible says. Since salvation is of the Lord, it is not in man's hand, nor is it in man's time. It is in God's hand and it is in God's time. And if a man is not saved by God in God's time and by God's hand, he will not be saved now.

[John Weaver] Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 55. Let me just show it to you. Here it is. Black and white. Isaiah 55. Look at verses 6 and 7. A verse or two that's quoted very frequently. Isaiah 55 verse 6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Now look. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found.

[John Weaver] What are the implications of that statement? There are times when he cannot be found. Call ye upon him when he is near. What are the implications? There are times when he is not near. And when God cannot be found and when God is not near. It's useless to pray. Because God's not going to hear you because of your rebellion and your wickedness and your sin.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make just a couple of applications, and I think you'll see where I'm going with this message. The first one is this. We need to learn to pray when God will hear us. If we do not hear Him, He will not hear us. We must hear His Word. There is a time when prayer is useless. If you don't believe that, look in Revelation chapter 6. Let me read this passage and then you tell me if this prayer avails anything. Revelation chapter 6 and verse 15. Look carefully. Revelation 6 and verse 15. Tell me now if this prayer is useless or not.

[John Weaver] And the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the cheap captains and the mighty men and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in dens and in the rocks and the mountains and said to the mountains and the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For that great day of His wrath is coming.

[John Weaver] Who shall be able to stand? Do you think their prayer was answered? Do you think the mountains are going to fall on these wicked men and hide them from God's judgment? It's useless to pray when God is not near and when God will not hear. We can see that in relationship to the unsaved. Now let me put it in relationship to we who are saved. I hear this verse Quoted constantly. You may quote it. You can quote it. Second Chronicles 714. If my people. Put your call by my name. What now shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.

[John Weaver] I want you to know something. Please note carefully, it is not just prayer. It is not just seeking God's face. There are plenty of Christians who pray. Plenty who seek God's face. But here is what God said. If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face, help me out now, and turn from their wicked ways, then Will I hear their sin? Or I hear their prayer? Now, then will I hear their prayer? Is God going to hear our prayers while we're still in sin and disobedience and rebellion to Him? No. Is He going to forgive our sin and heal our land while we still refuse to turn from our sin? No. There are so many people that pray so hypocritically, and yet they pray regularly. They pray faithfully. They ask God turn us. They ask God to bless this land. They ask God to heal our land.

[John Weaver] But I got news for you folks. God is not going to heal our land nor forgive us until we turn from our sins. Period. And it's useless to pray. Even as a Christian. While we're harboring sin. and iniquity and disobedience and rebellion in our lives. For if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Here's the second application. Pomp, ceremonies and rituals mean nothing to God.

[John Weaver] They have no effect upon me. whatsoever. I want you to turn to Psalm 51. I want you to see this one last verse with me, Psalm 51. If I had time, I could take you through the book of Isaiah, the book of Amos, and I could show you where God says literally, I hate, I despise your feast days. I will not have them. I won't listen to you. Take away from me the noise of thy vows. Did not God appoint those feast days and that music? Yes, he did. Did not God appoint the burnt offerings and sacrifices? Yes, he did.

[John Weaver] But the people had turned them into a mere ritual, to a mere ceremony. Pomp and circumstances. You know what we've done in our modern day church, our modern day church, churches, or either pomp and circumstances, where everything is so high and so pompous, the average man wouldn't go to it. It's cold and dead as a mausoleum. Or, on the other hand, most folks turn the average church into a circus, and nothing but entertainment and recreation. God could care less for pomp and circumstances and ritual and ceremony in entertainment. I'll show you what God is interested in.

[John Weaver] Look in Psalm 51 in verse 16. David had sinned. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. He had killed Uriah, her husband, with the sword of the children of Ammon. Here's what David said in Psalm 51, in verse 16 he says, For thou desirest not sacrifice, else will I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

[John Weaver] You can go through all your rituals and all your ceremonies And all your good deeds and all your humanistic, rationalistic performances. And it just nauseates God. But you come to God with a broken heart that's genuinely sorrowful for their sin and repentant over those sins. And that's God's. Delight. That's what God wants. Folks, we have to understand we're not dealing with some God of our imagination. We're dealing with a sovereign, holy, majestic, just and righteous judge of heaven and earth.

[John Weaver] And if we want His blessings, if we want His help, we must only pray and seek His face. We must turn from our wicked ways. Anything and everything in our life that is contrary to God's Word needs to be changed. You say, Brother Weaver, I can't change everything overnight. You can't. But there's one place that you can start, and that's on the most obvious sin in your life. You can start there.

[John Weaver] I tell people I've done far more repenting after I was saved than I did when I got saved. I repented of sin in general when God saved me, and one or two sins specifically that I was convicted of. I didn't know I was so wicked till I started reading the Bible. Of course, Alice tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen to her. But you know, the more you study the Bible, the more you find there's things wrong in your life and you need to change the attitudes. You need to change your actions. You need to change your conduct. You need to bring them in a greater conformity to the Word of God. And let me tell you, folks, I can't control you. I can't control the wicked. There's only one person by God's grace that I have control over, and that's me.

[John Weaver] And if I don't start with myself, I can't expect anyone else. to start with themselves. When is it useless to pray? When we're full of disbelief, when we're full of disobedience, when we're full of rebellion, God will not hear our prayers. We may pray, and we may weep, and we may show great emotion But that's worthless in the material. God says, I will only hear. I won't answer it. There are times when prayer is useless.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We ask you to help us. Lord, change us. Enable us, Lord, to have thy grace and thy gift of repentance in our lives. May we bring our lives into greater conformity to your word. May we not only just pray and seek your face, but turn from our wicked ways. And until we do, Lord. I pray that you will convict us even more so. Make it harder for us until we realize we cannot go on in our sin our iniquity and our rebellion. We do pray for grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

When Prayer Is Useless

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	105091136470
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2009-07-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 042: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: God's Answer to America's Problems — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	81

Formatted Transcript

Opening

I want you to open your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. We're going to begin reading with verse 35 and read through verse 46. Listen carefully to the title of this message. I will explain it momentarily. Here's the title: "When Prayer Is Useless." When prayer is useless. Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 35:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

"Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I sware to give unto your fathers, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it." "But as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea."

And then he answered and said unto me,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

"We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us."

And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

"Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you, lest ye be smitten before your enemies."

So I spake unto you, and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there." May I remind you again, the title of the message is "When Prayer Is Useless." Now, this title may be disturbing to some people, so I want to clarify a few things.

Introduction: Clarifying the Title

Weaver explains that the title 'When Prayer Is Useless' is not atheistic, agnostic, deistic, or humanistic, but a biblical statement that there are times when prayer does no good.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there."

May I remind you again, the title of the message is "When Prayer Is Useless." Now, this title may be disturbing to some people, so I want to clarify a few things. First of all, this is not an atheistic sermon. I am not denying the existence of God, nor the power of God. I did not say that God did not exist, nor did I say that God does not answer prayer. I just simply said there are times when prayer is useless, when it does no good to pray. Secondly, this is not an agnostic sermon. I am not saying that God cannot be known and that His will cannot be known. I am not indicating in any way that God is unknowable. I certainly believe in God the Father.

He has revealed Himself in His Son and also in His Word very clearly. So this is not an atheistic sermon. It is not an agnostic sermon. Thirdly, it is not a deistic sermon. Deism teaches that God created the world, but what did He do? He wound this world up like a big clock, and now God just sits back and watches it run down. There is no divine intervention. There is no providence. There is no nothing. God is just simply sitting back watching everything run down.

That concept certainly is totally and completely unbiblical. I did not say that God would not answer prayer because He wound up the world like a big clock and God does not intervene. I just simply said there is a time when prayer is useless. Fourthly, this sermon is not a rationalistic or a humanistic sermon—one that places emphasis upon man, upon his works, his thoughts, and his desires. I am not saying that man must work everything out according to his abilities. All I said was there is a time when prayer is useless. And fifthly, by way of introduction, I want to point out that before I finish I hope you will see this statement is indeed a biblical statement and at times it is useless to pray.

Biblical Commands to Pray

Despite the title, Weaver acknowledges the many biblical commands to pray without ceasing, showing that prayer is ordained by God.

Now, one cannot deny the plain fact that there are ample commands and exhortations and admonitions in the Bible where you and I are exhorted and even commanded to pray. Let me give you just a few of them. Just listen. In Mark 14 and verse 38, our Lord said this:

Scripture Reading — Mark 14:38

"Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak."

In 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 17, he said it like this: "Pray without ceasing." That's a plain command—pray without ceasing. In 1 Timothy 2 and verse 8, the Apostle Paul said, "I will that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and without doubting." In James 5 and verse 16, he said, "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed." "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." In Romans 12 and verse 12, he says this: "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer." In Ephesians 6 and verse 18, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." And then in Philippians 4 and verse 6 he said this: "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." And then when you get to Colossians 4 and verse 2 he says, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."

Now I want you to note, we have been commanded to pray. We've been commanded to pray without ceasing. We've been commanded to continue instant in prayer. We've been commanded to make everything known unto God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Since all of these are plain, obvious commands, how can I say that there is a time when prayer is useless? Well, let me clear the matter up for you by stating this same truth another way. There are times when it does no good to pray. You say, "What?" There are times when prayer will not work at all and it is useless to pray. Now you're going to ask how in the world can I make such a statement since it's very obvious in the Bible that God has ordained prayer. Let me ask you a question. Is it possible to use a lawful truth in an unlawful way? If you take that which is lawful and right and pervert it and corrupt it and use it in a way which it was not intended to be used, should it surprise you that it's useless and will not work?

Lawful Truth Used Unlawfully

Prayer becomes useless when a lawful truth is perverted or used in a way God did not intend, such as praying with wrong motives (James 4:3).

Let me show you what I'm talking about. First of all, hold Deuteronomy 1. We're coming right back there. But look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 4. James, chapter 4. And notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1. James, chapter 4, verse 1. Hebrews, James. James 4, verse 1. And we'll read the first three verses. Listen to what James writes. James 4, verse 1. Look at this.

He says, "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" Now look at verse two. "Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not." Well, isn't that amazing? He says you need to pray. You need to ask. But look at verse three. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." What? In other words, here are people who are praying, but they are praying wrongfully and for the wrong reason, for the wrong motivation, and God says you're not getting it.

I'm not answering that prayer. Why is God going to answer a prayer that is contrary to His law? Think about that for a moment. What if I just said—and I'm not saying this because I'm not, but I'm using this as an illustration—suppose I said, "I'm tired of my wife. 47 years is long enough. My goodness. I'm going to start praying for a younger woman." God help me, I don't want a younger woman, I can assure you, especially today's younger women. But you see what I'm saying? Would I be praying correctly if I asked God to give me another wife, another woman? Would I? Why would God hear that? When God said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." You see what I'm saying? Now, if you don't believe what I'm talking about, go back to Deuteronomy chapter one. Let's let the Word of God settle this, because I want you to see there is a time when it is useless to pray. Look at it, Deuteronomy 1 verse 45, we read it, here it is, stated very plainly, Deuteronomy 1 verse 45, Moses tells these people, "And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you."

The Sin of Unbelief

Unbelief makes prayer useless. The Israelites believed the evil report of the spies rather than God's promises, despite experiencing His provision and protection.

"Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went until" "ye came to this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God." Unbelief makes prayer useless. I'm sure that each one in this room is able to quote Hebrews 11 and verse 6: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Does it do any good to pray without faith? The answer is no. Even our Lord, in Mark 11, verse 24, said, "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe"

"that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Now, here's my question. How in the world can one believe when he's filled with unbelief? It is important to note in this passage that I just read that unbelief is not concerned with anything, nor does it concentrate upon anything but its own unbelief. That's what unbelief is concerned with—unbelief. It feeds upon itself. Look what God told Israel in verse 32: "Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God." Note, you did not believe the Lord your God. Facts, reality, evidence, grace, mercy mean nothing to unbelief. Unbelief is ready to take the word of men, but it is not ready to take the word of God. Unbelief will believe man, but unbelief refuses to believe God.

These Israelites were willing to believe those ten wicked spies who brought up an evil report upon the land. They refused to listen to Joshua and Caleb. They refused to listen to the Lord. Oh, but they were ready to believe wicked, fallen men. Unbelief will always believe wicked men ahead of and before the Word of God. Listen carefully. Unbelief is willing to deny and disbelieve the Word of God so that unbelief may believe in unbelief. That's what unbelief believes in—unbelief. Unbelief does not even consider facts and reality. Look in verse 31. Look what God says. He said, "And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went until ye came to this place." Listen, these people understood God's providence. God sustained them. God nourished them. God took care of them. God carried them in the wilderness as a man carries his own son. He tenderly treated them. He tenderly provided for them. They saw His provision.

They saw His protection. They experienced all of this firsthand and yet—look in verse 33. Here's God's providence: "Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day." Did God leave them alone at all in the world? No, it was a pillar of fire by night. There was a cloud by day. God led them in every step of the way. God provided for them, God protected them, God nourished them. Did they believe facts? No. Did they believe reality? No. Did they believe truth? No.

Unbelief is only concerned with itself. Now ask yourself this question: How does unbelief manifest itself? How can you tell whether or not you are falling into unbelief? Well, look in verse 27. Here's a characteristic of unbelief. He said, "And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us." "Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there." Notice, if you would please, they murmured, they complained. Here's discontent.

Here is criticism, not only of Moses and Aaron, but now criticism of God Himself. Moreover, they're murmuring, they're complaining. It was not privately, it was publicly. Unbelief always expresses itself in doubt, in ingratitude or ungratefulness, and always a misuse of and misunderstanding of God's providence. Now let me ask you, how do these people interpret God's love, God's providence, God's protection, and God's provision? Here's how they interpreted. Look at it, if you would, in verse 27. They murmured and said, "Because the Lord hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us." Their miraculous, marvelous, wonderful deliverance from slavery and the bondage of Egypt has now become to them not an act of love, but an act of hate. It was only because God hated them that He brought them out of that wonderful vacation spot called Egypt. It was because the Lord hated them that He provided for them and protected them. In other words, God's exceeding great love is now measured in the terms of hatred. Wow. They are so dissatisfied with God and His providence and His protection and His deliverance, they said, "Make us a captain, and let us return to Egypt." We will go back into slavery and bondage.

The Sin of Disobedience

Disobedience to God's commands renders prayer ineffective. Scripture defines sin as not obeying God's voice, and God does not hear those who harbor iniquity.

"Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it." "But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." I want you to understand something. Unbelief always leads to disobedience. The reason we disobey is because we don't believe. If we believe, we would not disobey. When God commanded the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land, they refused. They said, "Man, we're not going to fight those giants. We're not going in that land." Instead of believing God, they chose to believe the men who brought up the false report, and consequently they disobeyed God. God commanded them to fight. God commanded them to go into the land. God commanded them to possess the land. They refused. They disobeyed. They refused to enter in by faith and to trust the Lord to give them victory. So what does God do? God, in His righteous judgment, in His holy anger, pronounces judgment upon them and says, "Look, because of your disbelief, because of your disobedience, you're not going into this land. You're going to die in this wilderness."

Look in verse 40. He says, "But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." By the way, they were at the place, Kadesh-barnea, ready to enter into the promised land. Sin and disobedience might allow you to see it, but it'll certainly keep you out of it. So God says, "You turn and go to the wilderness." You know what the people say?

Now listen, God's told them to go in. "No, we're not going to do it." Now God says, "All right, you're right, you're not. You turn to go to the wilderness." "No, no, no, no, no, no. We're not going to do that. Now we're going to gird on our weapons and we're going to go fight." God says, "No, don't do it." "Yes, we are." What is disobedience? It is sin. I want you to hold Deuteronomy 1, but I want you to turn, first of all, to Jeremiah chapter 3. Let me show you how sin is defined. Jeremiah chapter 3 and look at verse 25. Look what Jeremiah writes, Jeremiah 3 verse 25. He says, "We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God." Now, notice if you would, he says we've sinned against the Lord. In what way did they sin against the Lord? "We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord." Now look in Jeremiah 9 and verse 13.

Jeremiah 9 and verse 13. Notice what God says.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:25

"And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein."

Now it's called a forsaking of the law. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 44 and verse 23. Jeremiah 44 verse 23. Here he says this:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:25

"Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in His law, nor in His statutes, nor in His testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day."

So in Jeremiah 3 and verse 25, sin is described as not obeying the voice of the Lord. In Jeremiah 9 and verse 13, again, it's called not obeying the voice of the Lord, violating His law. Jeremiah 44, verse 23, it goes further and says now that disobedience and sin is a refusal to walk in God's law, God's statutes, and God's testimonies. You know what disobedience is? Disobedience is a refusal not only to hear, but also to obey God's Word.

Now, let me remind you of a couple of passages. We're talking about when it's useless to pray. It's useless to pray when you're full of unbelief. God's not going to hear you. It's useless to pray when you're disobedient. Help me out now. What did David say in Psalm 66 and verse 18?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 66:18

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

What?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 66:18

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

You know what iniquity is? Iniquity is sin. It's a violation of the law of God. You want to know what sin is?

Let me just quote it. 1 John 3:4:

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:4

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

So if I harbor in my heart that which is contrary to God and contrary to His law, and if I do that which is contrary to God and contrary to His law, is God going to hear me? No. David said He's not going to listen. You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28 verse 9? Let me just quote this one. Listen. Proverbs 28 verse 9: "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." The word abomination literally means a stench in God's nostrils. God said, if you turn your ear away from hearing My law, even your prayer is a stench in My nostrils.

I'm not going to put up with it. I'm not going to have it. I'm not going to listen to it. And God said in Jeremiah 44 and verse 4, listen carefully, He's talking about sin: "Howbeit I sent unto you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate." God calls sin that abominable thing which He hates. What is sin? It's disobedience to God. It's a violation of God's Word. It's a violation of God's law.

The Sin of Rebellion

Rebellion is a stiff-necked, stubborn refusal to listen to God. It is more grievous than simple disobedience and leads to destruction.

These people in Deuteronomy chapter 1, they were full of unbelief. They were disobedient. God plainly commanded them to do something and they refused to do it. In fact, they did just the opposite. Here's my question. What good does it do to pray when you're full of unbelief and you're disobedient? What's the answer? It does not do any good. It's useless. Because God will not hear it. Your prayer is an abomination to God. It's a stench in His nostrils. When is it useless to pray? Not only because of unbelief, not only because of disobedience, but go back to Deuteronomy 1.

And let's begin reading there with verse 26. When there is the sin of rebellion. Look in verse 26. God says, "Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God." Rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God. Now skip down to verse 41. "Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." "And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies." Now watch. "So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill."

Now I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. We've talked about the sin of unbelief, the sin of disobedience. Now we're talking about the sin of rebellion. It is possible to be disobedient without being rebellious. Just because you're disobedient in some things does not necessarily mean that you're rebellious. For instance, if I were to ask you—don't answer out loud, I already know the answer—if I were to ask you, how many of you prayed yesterday the way that you should have and the way God has commanded you?

Now, you probably prayed some, but you didn't spend any great deal of time in prayer. Who's going to say, "I prayed every day the way God has commanded me to pray"? You've sinned. How many of you studied yesterday the way God has commanded you? You didn't. So what does that mean? That means you were disobedient. But it does not necessarily mean that you were rebellious. It is true that usually sin or disobedience and rebellion go hand in hand. It is also true that disobedience often leads to the sin of rebellion. Rebellion is usually associated with deliberate, premeditated disobedience. Now listen, rebellion is sin. But not all sin is rebellion. You say, "How do you know that?" Well, Job 34 verse 37, listen carefully. The Bible says, "For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God." And he's already sinned, but now he's adding rebellion to his sin. So, all rebellion is sin, but not necessarily all sin is rebellion. You can sin and not be rebellious, but usually your sin leads to rebellion.

Rebellion is usually associated with being stiff-necked, hard-headed, stubborn, and hard-hearted. Look in Deuteronomy 31. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. Look what God says to Israel through Moses. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. God says, "For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?" What did He say? "I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck." You're hard-headed, you won't listen. You know, in the book of Nehemiah—you don't have to turn there, I'll quote it—but Nehemiah 9, verse 17, the Bible says, "And they refused to obey, neither were mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage." Oh, what in the world did they do? In their rebellion, they hardened their necks, and they said, what?

"Let us make us a captain, and let us return to Egypt." What? Here's a stiff-necked, hard-headed, rebellious people. And they are going to appoint them a captain and return to Egypt. Now let me tell you, unbelief is sin and it's bad. Disobedience is sin, and it's bad, but usually unbelief and disobedience lead to rebellion, and rebellion is even far more grievous to the Lord than just what you and I would call unbelief and disobedience, although they're all sin. Do you remember what Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 15 and verse 23? He said, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." Now, you know, what was the penalty for witchcraft? Death. What was the penalty for idolatry? Death.

Now, what did he say? "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." So rebellion merits the death penalty as well. When you think of rebellion, it's not just one sin. It's not just one act of disobedience. When you think of rebellion, you think of someone who is so hard-headed, so stiff-necked, so stubborn, they refuse to listen. They will not listen. And by the way, if you look back in verse 43 in Deuteronomy chapter 1, that is exactly what God said to these people. Look at it. Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 43. We read it, but He said, "So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord."

Now watch this next word. "And went presumptuously up into the hill." In order to demonstrate the perverseness and the malignancy of rebellion, consider the fact that God commanded these people to enter the promised land. They refused. Next, He commanded them to turn and go into the wilderness, and they refused. Next, they determined they were going to go up as God initially commanded them, and then God commanded them not to go up. Well, look at it, Deuteronomy 1. Verse 44, verse 43: "So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah." Now note, if you would please, the Bible says they disobeyed and went presumptuously up the hill. The word "presumptuously" in the Hebrew means to boil, to boil up, to seethe, to act proudly, to act presumptuously, to act rebelliously, to be arrogant, to act insolently, and to be rebelliously proud.

I want to tell you something, folks. It is very difficult for me to put up with an insolent, rebellious, arrogant teenager. You've no doubt seen that little sticker that says, "Teenagers: Act now. Run away from home while you know everything and can do everything," you know. If you cannot tolerate an arrogant, stubborn, hard-headed, insolent child, think of what it must be like toward God with our rebellious attitude. You know what a rebellious attitude is? Here's a rebellious attitude.

Examples of Useless Prayer

Esau's tears and the wicked in Revelation 6 illustrate that emotional prayer without repentance is useless when God has rejected it.

to Hebrews chapter 12. Let me show you another instance. Hebrews chapter 12, beginning there with verse 16. Everyone knows this story. Hebrews 12. You know about old Esau who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage? The Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 16,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 12:16-17

"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

How much crying and praying of Esau availed him? None. Could Isaac change the blessing that he'd given Jacob? No. Had Jacob already received the blessing? Yes. Esau can cry and weep and pray all he likes. It's to absolutely no avail.

There's a time when prayer is useless. Now, I ask that you turn to Proverbs chapter 1. I want to read this in light of a common statement that you hear from preachers. I've heard this all my life. And I want to ask you if this statement is correct based upon the Word of God. OK. Here's the statement.

Now, remember, we've been talking about unbelief. We've been talking about disobedience. We've been talking about rebellion. OK. I've heard preachers say, "Well, I know that God doesn't hear the prayer of unsaved people because they're sinful, they're disobedient, they're rebellious. But now there's one prayer that God will always hear from an unsaved person, and that's the prayer of salvation." OK. Let's see. Proverbs chapter 1, beginning with verse 20. God says, "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets." Proverbs 1 verse 21: "She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"

"Turn you at My reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." No. Here's the pleading. "Turn at My reproof. Listen to Me. Now is the time. Listen right now. Repent right now. Come right now. Turn you at My reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." Watch.

"Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer;" "they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of My counsel: they despised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."

Now, does that sound like God's going to hear the prayer of an unsaved man anytime the unsaved man prays? No. I want you to understand something, folks. Salvation is of the Lord. That's what Jonah 2:9 says. That's what Galatians 1 says. That's what all the Bible says. Since salvation is of the Lord, it is not in man's hand, nor is it in man's time. It is in God's hand and it is in God's time. And if a man is not saved by God in God's time and by God's hand, he will not be saved now.

Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 55. Let me just show it to you. Here it is, black and white. Isaiah 55. Look at verses 6 and 7. A verse or two that's quoted very frequently. Isaiah 55 verse 6:

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

Now look.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found."

What are the implications of that statement? There are times when He cannot be found. "Call ye upon Him while He is near." What are the implications? There are times when He is not near. And when God cannot be found and when God is not near, it's useless to pray. Because God's not going to hear you because of your rebellion and your wickedness and your sin.

Now, let me make just a couple of applications, and I think you'll see where I'm going with this message. The first one is this: We need to learn to pray when God will hear us. If we do not hear Him, He will not hear us. We must hear His Word. There is a time when prayer is useless. If you don't believe that, look in Revelation chapter 6. Let me read this passage and then you tell me if this prayer avails anything. Revelation chapter 6 and verse 15. Look carefully. Revelation 6 and verse 15. Tell me now if this prayer is useless or not.

"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come;" "and who shall be able to stand?" Do you think their prayer was answered? Do you think the mountains are going to fall on these wicked men and hide them from God's judgment? It's useless to pray when God is not near and when God will not hear. We can see that in relationship to the unsaved. Now let me put it in relationship to we who are saved. I hear this verse quoted constantly. You may quote it. You can quote it. 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Applications for Believers

Christians must not only pray but also turn from wicked ways. God desires a broken and contrite heart, not mere ritual or ceremony.

I want you to know something. Please note carefully, it is not just prayer. It is not just seeking God's face. There are plenty of Christians who pray, plenty who seek God's face. But here is what God said: "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face"—help me out now—"and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven." Is God going to hear our prayers while we're still in sin and disobedience and rebellion to Him? No. Is He going to forgive our sin and heal our land while we still refuse to turn from our sin? No. There are so many people that pray so hypocritically, and yet they pray regularly. They pray faithfully. They ask God to bless us. They ask God to bless this land. They ask God to heal our land.

But I got news for you, folks. God is not going to heal our land nor forgive us until we turn from our sins. Period. And it's useless to pray, even as a Christian, while we're harboring sin and iniquity and disobedience and rebellion in our lives. For "if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Here's the second application: Pomp, ceremonies, and rituals mean nothing to God. They have no effect upon Him whatsoever. I want you to turn to Psalm 51. I want you to see this one last verse with me, Psalm 51. If I had time, I could take you through the book of Isaiah, the book of Amos, and I could show you where God says literally, "I hate, I despise your feast days. I will not have them. I won't listen to you. Take away from Me the noise of thy songs." Did not God appoint those feast days and that music? Yes, He did. Did not God appoint the burnt offerings and sacrifices? Yes, He did.

But the people had turned them into a mere ritual, to a mere ceremony. Pomp and circumstance. You know what we've done in our modern day churches? Our modern day churches are either pomp and circumstance, where everything is so high and so pompous, the average man wouldn't go to it. It's cold and dead as a mausoleum. Or, on the other hand, most folks turn the average church into a circus, and nothing but entertainment and recreation. God could care less for pomp and circumstance and ritual and ceremony and entertainment. I'll show you what God is interested in.

Look in Psalm 51 in verse 16. David had sinned. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. He had killed Uriah, her husband, with the sword of the children of Ammon. Here's what David said in Psalm 51, in verse 16: "For Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."

Study Guide

Major Themes

Conditional Nature of Prayer

Summary: Prayer is not automatically effective; it becomes useless when offered in unbelief, disobedience, or rebellion.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 1:45: 'the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.'

Unbelief Dishonors God

Summary: Unbelief rejects God's truth and believes lies, making prayer worthless because it lacks faith.

Evidence: Hebrews 11:6: 'without faith it is impossible to please Him.'

Disobedience as Sin

Summary: Disobedience is defined as not obeying God's voice and violating His law, which causes God to refuse to hear prayers.

Evidence: Psalm 66:18: 'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.'

Rebellion's Severity

Summary: Rebellion is a stiff-necked, stubborn attitude that is as the sin of witchcraft and idolatry, meriting death.

Evidence: 1 Samuel 15:23: 'rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.'

Repentance Required for Answered Prayer

Summary: God hears prayers only when accompanied by genuine repentance and turning from sin, not mere ritual.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 7:14: 'turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven.'

Key Arguments

Prayer can be useless when offered with wrong motives.

Summary: James 4:3 shows that asking amiss to consume on lusts results in unanswered prayer.

Evidence: James 4:3: 'Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.'

Unbelief feeds on itself and ignores God's works.

Summary: The Israelites saw God's miracles yet believed the spies' evil report, demonstrating unbelief's irrationality.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 1:32-33: 'Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God.'

Disobedience makes prayer an abomination.

Summary: Proverbs 28:9 states that turning away from hearing the law makes one's prayer a stench to God.

Evidence: Proverbs 28:9: 'He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.'

Rebellion is presumptuous and leads to destruction.

Summary: The Israelites went up presumptuously against God's command and were chased by their enemies.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 1:43-44: 'went presumptuously up into the hill... and destroyed you.'

God does not always hear the prayer of the unsaved.

Summary: Proverbs 1:24-31 shows that God will not answer when sinners refuse His reproof and call upon Him in calamity.

Evidence: Proverbs 1:28: 'Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 1:35-46

Context: The primary text showing Israel's unbelief, disobedience, rebellion, and God's refusal to hear their weeping.

Mark 14:38

Context: Command to watch and pray lest entering into temptation.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Context: Command to pray without ceasing.

James 4:1-3

Context: Prayer asked amiss to consume on lusts is not received.

Deuteronomy 28:23

Context: Heaven as brass as a curse, symbolizing prayers not penetrating.

Isaiah 59:1-2

Context: Iniquities separate from God so He will not hear.

Hebrews 11:6

Context: Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Mark 11:24

Context: Believing when praying is required to receive.

Psalm 66:18

Context: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

1 John 3:4

Context: Sin is the transgression of the law.

Proverbs 28:9

Context: Turning away from hearing the law makes prayer an abomination.

Jeremiah 3:25

Context: Sin defined as not obeying the voice of the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:13

Context: Forsaking God's law and not obeying His voice.

Jeremiah 44:23

Context: Sin as not walking in God's law, statutes, and testimonies.

1 Samuel 15:23

Context: Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, stubbornness as iniquity and idolatry.

Proverbs 29:1

Context: He that hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy.

Hebrews 12:16-17

Context: Esau found no place of repentance though he sought it with tears.

Proverbs 1:20-31

Context: Wisdom calls but when refused, God will not answer when they call in calamity.

Isaiah 55:6-7

Context: Seek the Lord while He may be found; there are times He cannot be found.

Revelation 6:15-17

Context: Wicked men pray for mountains to fall on them, but their prayer is useless.

Historical References

Israel's refusal to enter Canaan (Kadesh-barnea)

Context: The Israelites believed the ten spies' evil report, disobeyed God's command to enter the Promised Land, and were condemned to die in the wilderness.

Esau selling his birthright

Context: Esau sold his birthright for a meal and later could not regain the blessing despite tears, illustrating useless prayer after willful sin.

Important Quotes

And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

Significance: The key verse demonstrating that emotional prayer is useless when God refuses to hear due to sin.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Significance: Shows that wrong motives make prayer ineffective.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Significance: David's statement that harboring sin blocks God's hearing of prayer.

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Significance: Prayer becomes a stench to God when one refuses to obey His law.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Significance: Highlights the severity of rebellion in God's eyes.

Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.

Significance: Implies there are times when God cannot be found, making prayer useless.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.

Significance: God desires genuine repentance over ritual, which is the condition for acceptable prayer.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean for prayer to be 'useless,' and how does this align with the biblical commands to pray?

Context: Weaver clarifies that prayer is useless when offered in unbelief, disobedience, or rebellion, not that prayer itself is invalid.

How does unbelief manifest itself in our lives today, and how can we guard against it?

Context: The Israelites murmured, complained, and misinterpreted God's love, showing unbelief's characteristics.

What is the difference between disobedience and rebellion, and why is rebellion more grievous?

Context: Weaver distinguishes that all rebellion is sin, but not all sin is rebellion; rebellion is a stiff-necked, stubborn refusal.

How should we understand 2 Chronicles 7:14 in light of the message that prayer can be useless?

Context: God requires humbling, praying, seeking His face, and turning from wicked ways before He will hear and heal.

Why does God sometimes not hear the prayer of an unsaved person for salvation?

Context: Proverbs 1 and Isaiah 55 show that there is a time when God may not be found due to persistent rejection.

Applications

Examine motives in prayer

Summary: Believers should ensure they are not praying with selfish or sinful motives, as James 4:3 warns.

Evidence: James 4:3: 'Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.'

Turn from known sin

Summary: Christians must not only pray but actively turn from wicked ways for God to hear and heal, per 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 7:14: 'turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven.'

Cultivate a broken and contrite heart

Summary: God delights in genuine repentance over ritual, so believers should approach Him with humility and sorrow for sin.

Evidence: Psalm 51:16-17: 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.'

Start with personal repentance

Summary: Weaver emphasizes that change begins with oneself; believers should address the most obvious sin in their lives first.

Evidence: Weaver's statement: 'there's only one person by God's grace that I have control over, and that's me.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:59:24Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:14:42Z

Clean Transcript

When Prayer Is Useless

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

I want you to open your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. We're going to begin reading with verse 35 and read through verse 46. Listen carefully to the title of this message. I will explain it momentarily. Here's the title: "When Prayer Is Useless." When prayer is useless. Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 35: "Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I sware to give unto your fathers, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it."
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"But as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." And then he answered and said unto me, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, "Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you, lest ye be smitten before your enemies." So I spake unto you, and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.
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And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there." May I remind you again, the title of the message is "When Prayer Is Useless." Now, this title may be disturbing to some people, so I want to clarify a few things.
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First of all, this is not an atheistic sermon. I am not denying the existence of God, nor the power of God. I did not say that God did not exist, nor did I say that God does not answer prayer. I just simply said there are times when prayer is useless, when it does no good to pray. Secondly, this is not an agnostic sermon. I am not saying that God cannot be known and that His will cannot be known. I am not indicating in any way that God is unknowable. I certainly believe in God the Father.
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He has revealed Himself in His Son and also in His Word very clearly. So this is not an atheistic sermon. It is not an agnostic sermon. Thirdly, it is not a deistic sermon. Deism teaches that God created the world, but what did He do? He wound this world up like a big clock, and now God just sits back and watches it run down. There is no divine intervention. There is no providence. There is no nothing. God is just simply sitting back watching everything run down.
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That concept certainly is totally and completely unbiblical. I did not say that God would not answer prayer because He wound up the world like a big clock and God does not intervene. I just simply said there is a time when prayer is useless.
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Fourthly, this sermon is not a rationalistic or a humanistic sermon—one that places emphasis upon man, upon his works, his thoughts, and his desires. I am not saying that man must work everything out according to his abilities. All I said was there is a time when prayer is useless. And fifthly, by way of introduction, I want to point out that before I finish I hope you will see this statement is indeed a biblical statement and at times it is useless to pray.
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Now, one cannot deny the plain fact that there are ample commands and exhortations and admonitions in the Bible where you and I are exhorted and even commanded to pray. Let me give you just a few of them. Just listen. In Mark 14 and verse 38, our Lord said this: "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak." In 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 17, he said it like this: "Pray without ceasing." That's a plain command—pray without ceasing. In 1 Timothy 2 and verse 8, the Apostle Paul said, "I will that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and without doubting." In James 5 and verse 16, he said, "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed."
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"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." In Romans 12 and verse 12, he says this: "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer." In Ephesians 6 and verse 18, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." And then in Philippians 4 and verse 6 he said this: "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." And then when you get to Colossians 4 and verse 2 he says, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."
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Now I want you to note, we have been commanded to pray. We've been commanded to pray without ceasing. We've been commanded to continue instant in prayer. We've been commanded to make everything known unto God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Since all of these are plain, obvious commands, how can I say that there is a time when prayer is useless? Well, let me clear the matter up for you by stating this same truth another way. There are times when it does no good to pray. You say, "What?" There are times when prayer will not work at all and it is useless to pray. Now you're going to ask how in the world can I make such a statement since it's very obvious in the Bible that God has ordained prayer. Let me ask you a question. Is it possible to use a lawful truth in an unlawful way? If you take that which is lawful and right and pervert it and corrupt it and use it in a way which it was not intended to be used, should it surprise you that it's useless and will not work?
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Let me show you what I'm talking about. First of all, hold Deuteronomy 1. We're coming right back there. But look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 4. James, chapter 4. And notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1. James, chapter 4, verse 1. Hebrews, James. James 4, verse 1. And we'll read the first three verses. Listen to what James writes. James 4, verse 1. Look at this.
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He says, "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"
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Now look at verse two. "Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not." Well, isn't that amazing? He says you need to pray. You need to ask. But look at verse three. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." What? In other words, here are people who are praying, but they are praying wrongfully and for the wrong reason, for the wrong motivation, and God says you're not getting it.
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I'm not answering that prayer. Why is God going to answer a prayer that is contrary to His law? Think about that for a moment. What if I just said—and I'm not saying this because I'm not, but I'm using this as an illustration—suppose I said, "I'm tired of my wife. 47 years is long enough. My goodness. I'm going to start praying for a younger woman." God help me, I don't want a younger woman, I can assure you, especially today's younger women. But you see what I'm saying? Would I be praying correctly if I asked God to give me another wife, another woman? Would I? Why would God hear that? When God said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." You see what I'm saying? Now, if you don't believe what I'm talking about, go back to Deuteronomy chapter one. Let's let the Word of God settle this, because I want you to see there is a time when it is useless to pray. Look at it, Deuteronomy 1 verse 45, we read it, here it is, stated very plainly, Deuteronomy 1 verse 45, Moses tells these people, "And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you."
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Now if God wouldn't hear them, if God would not listen to them, did it do them any good to pray? Did their prayer work? No. God didn't listen to them. Did these people pray? Yes. They not only prayed, they prayed with great emotion. They prayed with great feeling. They wept before the Lord. Did it do any good? No. Did it accomplish anything? No. And the reason why God would not listen to them, God would not hear them, their cries, their weeping, their praying was in vain. Are you listening? It was useless for them to pray. Because God was not going to hear them. So there is a time when it is useless to pray. And that time is when God will not hearken and God will not listen.
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Now, if you look in Deuteronomy 28—and you will remember that this passage is the blessings and the cursings; that is, God has promised blessings if we obey His law, He has promised curses if we disobey His law—if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 23, you will notice what God says as part of the curse upon those who disobey. He said, "And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thy feet shall be iron." Now, when God said that the heaven would be like brass, He was not saying the heaven would be there for its clearness and its brightness and its splendor, which was spread out like a molten looking glass in the Old Testament, which was usually made of brass. No, when God is giving this as an illustration for a curse, when He's saying your heaven is going to be brass, He's talking about its dryness, its hardness, that no moisture is able to pass through it, no showers, no rain would fall, no dew from heaven would come upon their crops, and consequently,
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no prayer could penetrate it. When God says, "Thy heaven shall be brass," it was a statement of God's judgment. So, you have to ask yourself, what makes heaven brass for us? What makes it useless to pray? Well, if you will turn—hold Deuteronomy 1, we're coming right back there—but if you will turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 59 verses 1 and 2, I'll give you a very general statement. Here is what will make heaven brass for us. Here is when it is useless to pray. Look at Isaiah 59 verse 1. The Bible says this.
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"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." So it is sins, so to speak, that turn God's face away from us, so that He will not hear.
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Now those of us, like myself, who have hearing problems can really identify with this. You talk to me face to face, I can hear you. But you turn around and walk off and say something, I can hear sound, but I can't hear what you're saying. This is what God's saying: I'll turn My head. You may be making sound, says God, but I'm not listening. I'm not hearing.
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Now let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter one and let's ask: What is it that makes it useless to pray? What is it that makes our heaven brass? Well, in Deuteronomy chapter one, let's go back to verse 27. First, there is the sin of unbelief. Look in verse 27, Deuteronomy 1. He said, "And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."
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"Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went until"
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"ye came to this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God." Unbelief makes prayer useless. I'm sure that each one in this room is able to quote Hebrews 11 and verse 6: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Does it do any good to pray without faith? The answer is no. Even our Lord, in Mark 11, verse 24, said, "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe"
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"that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Now, here's my question. How in the world can one believe when he's filled with unbelief? It is important to note in this passage that I just read that unbelief is not concerned with anything, nor does it concentrate upon anything but its own unbelief. That's what unbelief is concerned with—unbelief. It feeds upon itself. Look what God told Israel in verse 32: "Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God." Note, you did not believe the Lord your God. Facts, reality, evidence, grace, mercy mean nothing to unbelief. Unbelief is ready to take the word of men, but it is not ready to take the word of God. Unbelief will believe man, but unbelief refuses to believe God.
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These Israelites were willing to believe those ten wicked spies who brought up an evil report upon the land. They refused to listen to Joshua and Caleb. They refused to listen to the Lord. Oh, but they were ready to believe wicked, fallen men. Unbelief will always believe wicked men ahead of and before the Word of God. Listen carefully. Unbelief is willing to deny and disbelieve the Word of God so that unbelief may believe in unbelief. That's what unbelief believes in—unbelief. Unbelief does not even consider facts and reality. Look in verse 31. Look what God says. He said, "And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went until ye came to this place." Listen, these people understood God's providence. God sustained them. God nourished them. God took care of them. God carried them in the wilderness as a man carries his own son. He tenderly treated them. He tenderly provided for them. They saw His provision.
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They saw His protection. They experienced all of this firsthand and yet—look in verse 33. Here's God's providence: "Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day." Did God leave them alone at all in the world? No, it was a pillar of fire by night. There was a cloud by day. God led them in every step of the way. God provided for them, God protected them, God nourished them. Did they believe facts? No. Did they believe reality? No. Did they believe truth? No.
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Unbelief is only concerned with itself. Now ask yourself this question: How does unbelief manifest itself? How can you tell whether or not you are falling into unbelief? Well, look in verse 27. Here's a characteristic of unbelief. He said, "And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."
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"Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there." Notice, if you would please, they murmured, they complained. Here's discontent.
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Here is criticism, not only of Moses and Aaron, but now criticism of God Himself. Moreover, they're murmuring, they're complaining. It was not privately, it was publicly. Unbelief always expresses itself in doubt, in ingratitude or ungratefulness, and always a misuse of and misunderstanding of God's providence. Now let me ask you, how do these people interpret God's love, God's providence, God's protection, and God's provision? Here's how they interpreted.
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Look at it, if you would, in verse 27. They murmured and said, "Because the Lord hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us." Their miraculous, marvelous, wonderful deliverance from slavery and the bondage of Egypt has now become to them not an act of love, but an act of hate. It was only because God hated them that He brought them out of that wonderful vacation spot called Egypt. It was because the Lord hated them that He provided for them and protected them. In other words, God's exceeding great love is now measured in the terms of hatred. Wow. They are so dissatisfied with God and His providence and His protection and His deliverance, they said, "Make us a captain, and let us return to Egypt." We will go back into slavery and bondage.
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I want to show you what unbelief says. Unbelief says this: God doesn't know what's best for me. My unbelief knows what's best for me. I'll never trust in God. I will trust in unbelief. I want you to see, folks, based upon verses 27 and 28, how unbelief turns everything upside down and inside out. We should hate unbelief. We should flee from unbelief. We should understand that it's wicked and vile and malicious. Prayer is useless when one is full of unbelief. Unbelief dishonors God. It disbelieves God and it discredits God's truth. You may pray and go through a form and a ritual when you're full of unbelief, but your prayer is useless and worthless because God will not hear you. Secondly, if you look in Deuteronomy chapter one, let's begin with verse 34. There was not only the sin of unbelief, there was the sin of disobedience. Verse 34: "And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I sware to give unto your fathers."
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"Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it."
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"But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." I want you to understand something. Unbelief always leads to disobedience. The reason we disobey is because we don't believe. If we believe, we would not disobey. When God commanded the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land, they refused. They said, "Man, we're not going to fight those giants. We're not going in that land." Instead of believing God, they chose to believe the men who brought up the false report, and consequently they disobeyed God. God commanded them to fight. God commanded them to go into the land. God commanded them to possess the land. They refused. They disobeyed. They refused to enter in by faith and to trust the Lord to give them victory. So what does God do? God, in His righteous judgment, in His holy anger, pronounces judgment upon them and says, "Look, because of your disbelief, because of your disobedience, you're not going into this land. You're going to die in this wilderness."
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Look in verse 40. He says, "But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." By the way, they were at the place, Kadesh-barnea, ready to enter into the promised land. Sin and disobedience might allow you to see it, but it'll certainly keep you out of it. So God says, "You turn and go to the wilderness." You know what the people say?
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Now listen, God's told them to go in. "No, we're not going to do it."
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Now God says, "All right, you're right, you're not. You turn to go to the wilderness." "No, no, no, no, no, no. We're not going to do that. Now we're going to gird on our weapons and we're going to go fight." God says, "No, don't do it." "Yes, we are." What is disobedience? It is sin. I want you to hold Deuteronomy 1, but I want you to turn, first of all, to Jeremiah chapter 3. Let me show you how sin is defined. Jeremiah chapter 3 and look at verse 25. Look what Jeremiah writes, Jeremiah 3 verse 25. He says, "We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God." Now, notice if you would, he says we've sinned against the Lord. In what way did they sin against the Lord? "We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord." Now look in Jeremiah 9 and verse 13.
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Jeremiah 9 and verse 13. Notice what God says. "And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein." Now it's called a forsaking of the law. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 44 and verse 23. Jeremiah 44 verse 23. Here he says this: "Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in His law, nor in His statutes, nor in His testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day." So in Jeremiah 3 and verse 25, sin is described as not obeying the voice of the Lord. In Jeremiah 9 and verse 13, again, it's called not obeying the voice of the Lord, violating His law. Jeremiah 44, verse 23, it goes further and says now that disobedience and sin is a refusal to walk in God's law, God's statutes, and God's testimonies. You know what disobedience is? Disobedience is a refusal not only to hear, but also to obey God's Word.
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Now, let me remind you of a couple of passages. We're talking about when it's useless to pray. It's useless to pray when you're full of unbelief. God's not going to hear you. It's useless to pray when you're disobedient. Help me out now. What did David say in Psalm 66 and verse 18? "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." What? "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." You know what iniquity is? Iniquity is sin. It's a violation of the law of God. You want to know what sin is?
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Let me just quote it. 1 John 3:4: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." So if I harbor in my heart that which is contrary to God and contrary to His law, and if I do that which is contrary to God and contrary to His law, is God going to hear me? No. David said He's not going to listen.
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You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28 verse 9? Let me just quote this one. Listen. Proverbs 28 verse 9: "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." The word abomination literally means a stench in God's nostrils. God said, if you turn your ear away from hearing My law, even your prayer is a stench in My nostrils.
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I'm not going to put up with it. I'm not going to have it. I'm not going to listen to it. And God said in Jeremiah 44 and verse 4, listen carefully, He's talking about sin: "Howbeit I sent unto you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate." God calls sin that abominable thing which He hates. What is sin? It's disobedience to God. It's a violation of God's Word. It's a violation of God's law.
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These people in Deuteronomy chapter 1, they were full of unbelief. They were disobedient. God plainly commanded them to do something and they refused to do it. In fact, they did just the opposite. Here's my question. What good does it do to pray when you're full of unbelief and you're disobedient? What's the answer? It does not do any good. It's useless. Because God will not hear it. Your prayer is an abomination to God. It's a stench in His nostrils. When is it useless to pray? Not only because of unbelief, not only because of disobedience, but go back to Deuteronomy 1.
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And let's begin reading there with verse 26. When there is the sin of rebellion. Look in verse 26. God says, "Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God." Rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God. Now skip down to verse 41. "Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us."
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"And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies." Now watch. "So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill."
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Now I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. We've talked about the sin of unbelief, the sin of disobedience. Now we're talking about the sin of rebellion. It is possible to be disobedient without being rebellious. Just because you're disobedient in some things does not necessarily mean that you're rebellious. For instance, if I were to ask you—don't answer out loud, I already know the answer—if I were to ask you, how many of you prayed yesterday the way that you should have and the way God has commanded you?
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Now, you probably prayed some, but you didn't spend any great deal of time in prayer. Who's going to say, "I prayed every day the way God has commanded me to pray"? You've sinned. How many of you studied yesterday the way God has commanded you? You didn't. So what does that mean? That means you were disobedient. But it does not necessarily mean that you were rebellious. It is true that usually sin or disobedience and rebellion go hand in hand. It is also true that disobedience often leads to the sin of rebellion. Rebellion is usually associated with deliberate, premeditated disobedience. Now listen, rebellion is sin. But not all sin is rebellion. You say, "How do you know that?" Well, Job 34 verse 37, listen carefully. The Bible says, "For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God." And he's already sinned, but now he's adding rebellion to his sin. So, all rebellion is sin, but not necessarily all sin is rebellion. You can sin and not be rebellious, but usually your sin leads to rebellion.
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Rebellion is usually associated with being stiff-necked, hard-headed, stubborn, and hard-hearted. Look in Deuteronomy 31. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. Look what God says to Israel through Moses. Deuteronomy 31, verse 27. God says, "For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?" What did He say? "I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck." You're hard-headed, you won't listen. You know, in the book of Nehemiah—you don't have to turn there, I'll quote it—but Nehemiah 9, verse 17, the Bible says, "And they refused to obey, neither were mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage." Oh, what in the world did they do? In their rebellion, they hardened their necks, and they said, what?
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"Let us make us a captain, and let us return to Egypt." What? Here's a stiff-necked, hard-headed, rebellious people. And they are going to appoint them a captain and return to Egypt.
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Now let me tell you, unbelief is sin and it's bad. Disobedience is sin, and it's bad, but usually unbelief and disobedience lead to rebellion, and rebellion is even far more grievous to the Lord than just what you and I would call unbelief and disobedience, although they're all sin. Do you remember what Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 15 and verse 23? He said, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." Now, you know, what was the penalty for witchcraft? Death. What was the penalty for idolatry? Death.
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Now, what did he say? "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." So rebellion merits the death penalty as well. When you think of rebellion, it's not just one sin. It's not just one act of disobedience. When you think of rebellion, you think of someone who is so hard-headed, so stiff-necked, so stubborn, they refuse to listen. They will not listen.
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And by the way, if you look back in verse 43 in Deuteronomy chapter 1, that is exactly what God said to these people. Look at it. Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 43. We read it, but He said, "So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord."
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Now watch this next word. "And went presumptuously up into the hill." In order to demonstrate the perverseness and the malignancy of rebellion, consider the fact that God commanded these people to enter the promised land. They refused. Next, He commanded them to turn and go into the wilderness, and they refused. Next, they determined they were going to go up as God initially commanded them, and then God commanded them not to go up.
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Well, look at it, Deuteronomy 1. Verse 44, verse 43: "So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah." Now note, if you would please, the Bible says they disobeyed and went presumptuously up the hill. The word "presumptuously" in the Hebrew means to boil, to boil up, to seethe, to act proudly, to act presumptuously, to act rebelliously, to be arrogant, to act insolently, and to be rebelliously proud.
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I want to tell you something, folks. It is very difficult for me to put up with an insolent, rebellious, arrogant teenager. You've no doubt seen that little sticker that says, "Teenagers: Act now. Run away from home while you know everything and can do everything," you know. If you cannot tolerate an arrogant, stubborn, hard-headed, insolent child, think of what it must be like toward God with our rebellious attitude. You know what a rebellious attitude is? Here's a rebellious attitude.
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"I'll do whatever I please. Nobody's going to tell me what to do. I am in charge of my life. I don't care what God says. I don't care what the Bible says. My life is my own. I live it the way I please." You've never heard those statements before, I'm sure. But that is an attitude of rebellion. You see, rebellion is not just simply one act. Rebellion is not just one sin. Rebellion is not just one disobedience. Rebellion is a hard-headed, stiff-necked, stubborn determination that you're not going to listen, and you're not going to learn, and you're going to do whatever you want to do. It doesn't matter about God. It doesn't matter about anyone else. You will do what you're going to do.
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That's what these people believed. "Nobody's going to tell us what to do. Not Moses. Not God. We're going to go up." God says, "Don't go up. I'm not among you. It's useless to fight against your enemies without God. Go not up." Now watch. Here's the result of their rebellious attitude and action. First, they were chased and destroyed by their enemies. God said, "They're going to chase you like bees." Now, Rebecca can tell you about being chased by bees.
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She bumped a hive one time with a lawnmower. They were after her. Allison gave Alice a butterfly box. We have it on the porch. Someone called me on the cell phone. I walked over to the butterfly box because, you know, I hadn't seen it in a while and wanted to see if there were any butterflies. Well, there weren't any butterflies, but there were red wasps. And I got news for you. I dropped my cell phone and I ran like a scalded dog getting away from them. Of course, two or three got me, but I'm just saying I know what it's like to be chased by hornets, bees. That's what God said. They're going to be all over you before you know it. They're going to chase you, they're going to destroy you. You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 29 in verse 1? Now listen carefully.
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"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Who has a hardened neck? Who has a stiff neck? Who is stubborn? Those who are rebellious. God said they shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
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Secondly, I want you to note these people failed to conquer, and they were condemned by God. So here is the overall picture. They're full of unbelief. They're murmuring. They're complaining. They're bellyaching. They're criticizing Moses. They're criticizing God. They're misinterpreting God's love. They're thinking evilly of God. Consequently, they disobey. Their sin of unbelief and disobedience leads them to pure rebellion. And when they find out now they're not going in that promised land, and when they attempted to do so in their own strength,
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they were chased like bees by their enemies and destroyed. Look what happens in verse 45: "And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you." Here's my question. What did their weeping and crying avail? Nothing. Why? God refused to hear them. God would not hearken to them. God would not listen to them. Proverbs 28:9 said, "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Remember, David said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Were these people harboring iniquity? Were they turning their ear away from hearing the law of God? You better believe it. Their prayer was useless. I want you to turn
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to Hebrews chapter 12. Let me show you another instance. Hebrews chapter 12, beginning there with verse 16. Everyone knows this story. Hebrews 12. You know about old Esau who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage? The Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 16, "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." How much crying and praying of Esau availed him? None. Could Isaac change the blessing that he'd given Jacob? No. Had Jacob already received the blessing? Yes. Esau can cry and weep and pray all he likes. It's to absolutely no avail.
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There's a time when prayer is useless. Now, I ask that you turn to Proverbs chapter 1. I want to read this in light of a common statement that you hear from preachers. I've heard this all my life. And I want to ask you if this statement is correct based upon the Word of God. OK. Here's the statement.
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Now, remember, we've been talking about unbelief. We've been talking about disobedience. We've been talking about rebellion. OK. I've heard preachers say, "Well, I know that God doesn't hear the prayer of unsaved people because they're sinful, they're disobedient, they're rebellious. But now there's one prayer that God will always hear from an unsaved person, and that's the prayer of salvation." OK. Let's see. Proverbs chapter 1, beginning with verse 20. God says, "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets." Proverbs 1 verse 21: "She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"
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"Turn you at My reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." No. Here's the pleading. "Turn at My reproof. Listen to Me. Now is the time. Listen right now. Repent right now. Come right now. Turn you at My reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." Watch.
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"Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer;"
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"they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of My counsel: they despised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."
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Now, does that sound like God's going to hear the prayer of an unsaved man anytime the unsaved man prays? No. I want you to understand something, folks. Salvation is of the Lord. That's what Jonah 2:9 says. That's what Galatians 1 says. That's what all the Bible says. Since salvation is of the Lord, it is not in man's hand, nor is it in man's time. It is in God's hand and it is in God's time. And if a man is not saved by God in God's time and by God's hand, he will not be saved now.
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Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 55. Let me just show it to you. Here it is, black and white. Isaiah 55. Look at verses 6 and 7. A verse or two that's quoted very frequently. Isaiah 55 verse 6: "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Now look. "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found."
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What are the implications of that statement? There are times when He cannot be found. "Call ye upon Him while He is near." What are the implications? There are times when He is not near. And when God cannot be found and when God is not near, it's useless to pray. Because God's not going to hear you because of your rebellion and your wickedness and your sin.
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Now, let me make just a couple of applications, and I think you'll see where I'm going with this message. The first one is this: We need to learn to pray when God will hear us. If we do not hear Him, He will not hear us. We must hear His Word. There is a time when prayer is useless. If you don't believe that, look in Revelation chapter 6. Let me read this passage and then you tell me if this prayer avails anything. Revelation chapter 6 and verse 15. Look carefully. Revelation 6 and verse 15. Tell me now if this prayer is useless or not.
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"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come;"
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"and who shall be able to stand?" Do you think their prayer was answered? Do you think the mountains are going to fall on these wicked men and hide them from God's judgment? It's useless to pray when God is not near and when God will not hear. We can see that in relationship to the unsaved. Now let me put it in relationship to we who are saved. I hear this verse quoted constantly. You may quote it. You can quote it. 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
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I want you to know something. Please note carefully, it is not just prayer. It is not just seeking God's face. There are plenty of Christians who pray, plenty who seek God's face. But here is what God said: "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face"—help me out now—"and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven." Is God going to hear our prayers while we're still in sin and disobedience and rebellion to Him? No. Is He going to forgive our sin and heal our land while we still refuse to turn from our sin? No. There are so many people that pray so hypocritically, and yet they pray regularly. They pray faithfully. They ask God to bless us. They ask God to bless this land. They ask God to heal our land.
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But I got news for you, folks. God is not going to heal our land nor forgive us until we turn from our sins. Period. And it's useless to pray, even as a Christian, while we're harboring sin and iniquity and disobedience and rebellion in our lives. For "if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Here's the second application: Pomp, ceremonies, and rituals mean nothing to God.
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They have no effect upon Him whatsoever. I want you to turn to Psalm 51. I want you to see this one last verse with me, Psalm 51. If I had time, I could take you through the book of Isaiah, the book of Amos, and I could show you where God says literally, "I hate, I despise your feast days. I will not have them. I won't listen to you. Take away from Me the noise of thy songs." Did not God appoint those feast days and that music? Yes, He did. Did not God appoint the burnt offerings and sacrifices? Yes, He did.
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But the people had turned them into a mere ritual, to a mere ceremony. Pomp and circumstance. You know what we've done in our modern day churches? Our modern day churches are either pomp and circumstance, where everything is so high and so pompous, the average man wouldn't go to it. It's cold and dead as a mausoleum. Or, on the other hand, most folks turn the average church into a circus, and nothing but entertainment and recreation. God could care less for pomp and circumstance and ritual and ceremony and entertainment. I'll show you what God is interested in.
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Look in Psalm 51 in verse 16. David had sinned. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. He had killed Uriah, her husband, with the sword of the children of Ammon. Here's what David said in Psalm 51, in verse 16: "For Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."
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You can go through all your rituals and all your ceremonies and all your good deeds and all your humanistic, rationalistic performances, and it just nauseates God. But you come to God with a broken heart that's genuinely sorrowful for their sin and repentant over those sins, and that's God's delight. That's what God wants. Folks, we have to understand we're not dealing with some God of our imagination. We're dealing with a sovereign, holy, majestic, just, and righteous Judge of heaven and earth.
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And if we want His blessings, if we want His help, we must not only pray and seek His face, we must turn from our wicked ways. Anything and everything in our life that is contrary to God's Word needs to be changed. You say, "Brother Weaver, I can't change everything overnight." You can't. But there's one place that you can start, and that's on the most obvious sin in your life. You can start there.
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I tell people I've done far more repenting after I was saved than I did when I got saved. I repented of sin in general when God saved me, and one or two sins specifically that I was convicted of. I didn't know I was so wicked till I started reading the Bible. Of course, Alice tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen to her. But you know, the more you study the Bible, the more you find there's things wrong in your life and you need to change the attitudes. You need to change your actions. You need to change your conduct. You need to bring them into greater conformity to the Word of God. And let me tell you, folks, I can't control you. I can't control the wicked. There's only one person by God's grace that I have control over, and that's me.
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And if I don't start with myself, I can't expect anyone else to start with themselves. When is it useless to pray? When we're full of disbelief, when we're full of disobedience, when we're full of rebellion, God will not hear our prayers. We may pray, and we may weep, and we may show great emotion, but that's worthless in the material. God says, "I will not hear. I won't answer it." There are times when prayer is useless.
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Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We ask You to help us. Lord, change us. Enable us, Lord, to have Thy grace and Thy gift of repentance in our lives. May we bring our lives into greater conformity to Your Word. May we not only just pray and seek Your face, but turn from our wicked ways. And until we do, Lord, I pray that You will convict us even more so. Make it harder for us until we realize we cannot go on in our sin, our iniquity, and our rebellion. We do pray for grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:59:24Z

When Prayer Is Useless

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines Deuteronomy 1:35–46 to show that there are times when prayer is useless—when God will not hear. He clarifies this is not an atheistic, agnostic, deistic, or humanistic sermon, but a biblical truth. The Israelites' unbelief, disobedience, and rebellion made their weeping and prayers ineffective. Weaver explains that unbelief dishonors God, disobedience violates His law, and rebellion is a stiff-necked refusal to listen. He applies this to both unsaved and saved people, emphasizing that God does not hear prayers offered while harboring sin. True repentance and turning from wicked ways are required for God to hear and heal.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

"Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I sware to give unto your fathers, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it." "But as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea."

And then he answered and said unto me,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

"We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us."

And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

"Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you, lest ye be smitten before your enemies."

Introduction: Clarifying the Title

Weaver explains that the title 'When Prayer Is Useless' is not atheistic, agnostic, deistic, or humanistic, but a biblical statement that there are times when prayer does no good.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:35-46

And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there."

Biblical Commands to Pray

Despite the title, Weaver acknowledges the many biblical commands to pray without ceasing, showing that prayer is ordained by God.

Scripture Reading — Mark 14:38

"Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak."

Lawful Truth Used Unlawfully

Prayer becomes useless when a lawful truth is perverted or used in a way God did not intend, such as praying with wrong motives (James 4:3).

The Sin of Unbelief

Unbelief makes prayer useless. The Israelites believed the evil report of the spies rather than God's promises, despite experiencing His provision and protection.

The Sin of Disobedience

Disobedience to God's commands renders prayer ineffective. Scripture defines sin as not obeying God's voice, and God does not hear those who harbor iniquity.

Jeremiah 9 and verse 13. Notice what God says.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:25

"And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein."

Now it's called a forsaking of the law. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 44 and verse 23. Jeremiah 44 verse 23. Here he says this:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:25

"Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in His law, nor in His statutes, nor in His testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 66:18

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

What?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 66:18

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

You know what iniquity is? Iniquity is sin. It's a violation of the law of God. You want to know what sin is?

Let me just quote it. 1 John 3:4:

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:4

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

The Sin of Rebellion

Rebellion is a stiff-necked, stubborn refusal to listen to God. It is more grievous than simple disobedience and leads to destruction.

Examples of Useless Prayer

Esau's tears and the wicked in Revelation 6 illustrate that emotional prayer without repentance is useless when God has rejected it.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 12:16-17

"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 55. Let me just show it to you. Here it is, black and white. Isaiah 55. Look at verses 6 and 7. A verse or two that's quoted very frequently. Isaiah 55 verse 6:

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

Now look.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found."

Applications for Believers

Christians must not only pray but also turn from wicked ways. God desires a broken and contrite heart, not mere ritual or ceremony.

When Prayer Is Useless

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	105091136470
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2009-07-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 042: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: God's Answer to America's Problems — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	81

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: Clarifying the Title: Weaver explains that the title 'When Prayer Is Useless' is not atheistic, agnostic, deistic, or humanistic, but a biblical statement that there are times when prayer does no good.
Biblical Commands to Pray: Despite the title, Weaver acknowledges the many biblical commands to pray without ceasing, showing that prayer is ordained by God.
Lawful Truth Used Unlawfully: Prayer becomes useless when a lawful truth is perverted or used in a way God did not intend, such as praying with wrong motives (James 4:3).
The Sin of Unbelief: Unbelief makes prayer useless. The Israelites believed the evil report of the spies rather than God's promises, despite experiencing His provision and protection.
The Sin of Disobedience: Disobedience to God's commands renders prayer ineffective. Scripture defines sin as not obeying God's voice, and God does not hear those who harbor iniquity.
The Sin of Rebellion: Rebellion is a stiff-necked, stubborn refusal to listen to God. It is more grievous than simple disobedience and leads to destruction.
Examples of Useless Prayer: Esau's tears and the wicked in Revelation 6 illustrate that emotional prayer without repentance is useless when God has rejected it.
Applications for Believers: Christians must not only pray but also turn from wicked ways. God desires a broken and contrite heart, not mere ritual or ceremony.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Prayer can be useless when offered with wrong motives.

James 4:3 shows that asking amiss to consume on lusts results in unanswered prayer.

James 4:3: 'Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.'

Unbelief feeds on itself and ignores God's works.

The Israelites saw God's miracles yet believed the spies' evil report, demonstrating unbelief's irrationality.

Deuteronomy 1:32-33: 'Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God.'

Disobedience makes prayer an abomination.

Proverbs 28:9 states that turning away from hearing the law makes one's prayer a stench to God.

Proverbs 28:9: 'He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.'

Rebellion is presumptuous and leads to destruction.

The Israelites went up presumptuously against God's command and were chased by their enemies.

Deuteronomy 1:43-44: 'went presumptuously up into the hill... and destroyed you.'

God does not always hear the prayer of the unsaved.

Proverbs 1:24-31 shows that God will not answer when sinners refuse His reproof and call upon Him in calamity.

Proverbs 1:28: 'Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 1:35-46: The primary text showing Israel's unbelief, disobedience, rebellion, and God's refusal to hear their weeping.
Mark 14:38: Command to watch and pray lest entering into temptation.
1 Thessalonians 5:17: Command to pray without ceasing.
James 4:1-3: Prayer asked amiss to consume on lusts is not received.
Deuteronomy 28:23: Heaven as brass as a curse, symbolizing prayers not penetrating.
Isaiah 59:1-2: Iniquities separate from God so He will not hear.
Hebrews 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Mark 11:24: Believing when praying is required to receive.
Psalm 66:18: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
1 John 3:4: Sin is the transgression of the law.
Proverbs 28:9: Turning away from hearing the law makes prayer an abomination.
Jeremiah 3:25: Sin defined as not obeying the voice of the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:13: Forsaking God's law and not obeying His voice.
Jeremiah 44:23: Sin as not walking in God's law, statutes, and testimonies.
1 Samuel 15:23: Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, stubbornness as iniquity and idolatry.
Proverbs 29:1: He that hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy.
Hebrews 12:16-17: Esau found no place of repentance though he sought it with tears.
Proverbs 1:20-31: Wisdom calls but when refused, God will not answer when they call in calamity.
Isaiah 55:6-7: Seek the Lord while He may be found; there are times He cannot be found.
Revelation 6:15-17: Wicked men pray for mountains to fall on them, but their prayer is useless.

Historical References

Israel's refusal to enter Canaan (Kadesh-barnea): The Israelites believed the ten spies' evil report, disobeyed God's command to enter the Promised Land, and were condemned to die in the wilderness.
Esau selling his birthright: Esau sold his birthright for a meal and later could not regain the blessing despite tears, illustrating useless prayer after willful sin.

Important Quotes

And ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

The key verse demonstrating that emotional prayer is useless when God refuses to hear due to sin.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Shows that wrong motives make prayer ineffective.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

David's statement that harboring sin blocks God's hearing of prayer.

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Prayer becomes a stench to God when one refuses to obey His law.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Highlights the severity of rebellion in God's eyes.

Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.

Implies there are times when God cannot be found, making prayer useless.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.

God desires genuine repentance over ritual, which is the condition for acceptable prayer.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean for prayer to be 'useless,' and how does this align with the biblical commands to pray?

[Context]

Weaver clarifies that prayer is useless when offered in unbelief, disobedience, or rebellion, not that prayer itself is invalid.

[Question]

How does unbelief manifest itself in our lives today, and how can we guard against it?

[Context]

The Israelites murmured, complained, and misinterpreted God's love, showing unbelief's characteristics.

[Question]

What is the difference between disobedience and rebellion, and why is rebellion more grievous?

[Context]

Weaver distinguishes that all rebellion is sin, but not all sin is rebellion; rebellion is a stiff-necked, stubborn refusal.

[Question]

How should we understand 2 Chronicles 7:14 in light of the message that prayer can be useless?

[Context]

God requires humbling, praying, seeking His face, and turning from wicked ways before He will hear and heal.

[Question]

Why does God sometimes not hear the prayer of an unsaved person for salvation?

[Context]

Proverbs 1 and Isaiah 55 show that there is a time when God may not be found due to persistent rejection.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:14:42Z