One-Way Conversations

Jeremiah 37:2-3 "But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah. And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal . . . to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us." Have you ever felt the embarrassment of a one-sided cell phone conversation when you continue to talk but the other person is not connected? One-way conversations are not fun! You can even have a one-way conversation with a person who is standing right in front of you. One person does all the talking while the other person does all the listening! I suppose we are all guilty of the second illustration, but Jeremiah 37 is exactly that kind of conversation. No one "did hearken unto the words of the LORD," but yet they wanted Jeremiah to pray to God on their behalf. You must listen to God if you expect to hear from God.Zedekiah was a man who expected to hear from God when he wasn't listening to God. That is a one-way conversation that is not right and not to be expected. Prayer is meant to be answered! God wants to answer more than we want to ask. But in this chapter, we find two marks of prayer that is pointless. First, the king didn't listen. If I am not listening to God, then I am not going to hear from God. Secondly, the king didn't depend. God was simply "Plan B" when Pharaoh's army couldn't help (verse 7). Later in this story, Jeremiah is accused of being a traitor (verse 13) because he was speaking God's message. Ironically, Jeremiah was the only patriot in the entire country! Again, the king did not listen and had Jeremiah thrown into prison. Still yet, after Jeremiah had spent many days in prison, "Then Zedekiah . . . asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD?" (verse 17) The king cowardly inquired if there was a word from the Lord when he didn't want to hear the first time! The message from God through Jeremiah was still the same-it had not changed just because the king did not like it. The same thing is true with you and me. If you don't like what you get from God the first time, it will not change the second time.The Bible will not change just because you don't like what it says! It is very important to remember that if you want to hear from God, you must listen to God. It is sheer folly to want to hear from God but not listen to Him. Do not fall into the trap that King Zedekiah did. Hearing from God demands listening to God. Prayer Requests: 1. Protection and provision for staff 2. Salvation of Teen, Junior, and Deaf campers this week Camp Quote: "Spiritual decisions plus spiritual discipline equals spiritual growth." -Pastor Jim Schettler Visit our website for more information about our summer camp weeks!

Bill Rice Ranch 627 Bill Rice Ranch Road Murfreesboro TN 37128