califlower said:
Oh my gosh! I've never had anybody say that out loud; that we would feel when not to pray for someone? I'm torn on this one! I don't want to agree because it's against my fundamental belief that we should pray for our enemies; but I must admit that sometimes when I'm praying for some backslid people who are just so terribly evil and seem too "hard in their heart" to ever accept the Lord, I get this "message" from the Holy Spirit, and it's very clear, "Don't bother."
I ignore it, I figure it's the Enemy trying to get me not to pray for somebody who is just totally lost - because this is the basic question I think we're asking here - are we ever REALLY "lost" to Jesus?? Really unrecoverable??? I don't want to believe that. I want to believe that God is more powerful than anything,
and can save anybody - at any point - until the end. Tell me, do you honestly think that God ever gives up on people, and that would include Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, since they are all one? God bless all of you seeking the truth in this thread. In the Name of Christ, CaliFlower :rose:
Hi again,
CaliFlower.
This thread is about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which most agree is the unforgivable sin written about in 1 John. In verse 5:16, it is written, "There is a sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that." The Word tells us plainly there is a sin about which not to pray for forgiveness. How can we know? I was stating the paradox about it - that the Holy Spirit reveals it, and our knowledge may manifest in two ways. This has not to do with deciding to or not to pray for someone's salvation. John is speaking primarily to well established believers to keep them growing strong in Christ's love and advise them. It is actually a reinforcement for them to stay established in the Lord in the way they "judge" others. Read the chapter, and perhaps that will be helpful also.
Califlower, praying for our enemies does amazing things to establish our hearts in a state of forgiveness that only Jesus makes possible. As your testimonies show, for most it does take hard knocks and years of seeking solidity in Christ to know when it is the Lord giving directions in our spirits. We know we must test the spirits. But sometimes it is easy to answer ourselves with the name of Jesus or not realize our answers are based upon our own wishes. You are not alone in the struggle to know when it is satan's discouragement, and when it is the Holy Spirit indicating not to waste your energies.
I pray for people that have been branded by Christians as demons incarnate, because I know I do not know whether they are actually irrevocably hardened. I also do not pray for some whose outward appearance causes others want to pray for them. For my personal walk in Jesus, at times the Holy Spirit will in His inexplicable way let me know that there are those who have something hidden that I'm not aware of which makes their hypocrisy currently impenetrable.
The apostle Paul mentions "...some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaius and Alexander whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme." (1 Timothy 1:19b, 20) How did he know whom to give over to Satan? I know of Paul's experiences from The Bible, but I cannot know how the Spirit of God worked within Paul. And none of us know how the Holy Spirit reveals to anyone else what or for whom to pray. Most crucial is that none of us judge how or for whom or in what way the Holy Spirit leads in other Christians' lives.
(P.S. In case this post is now a case of too much instead of too little,
Tonyb in post #51 gave a very easy to understand, fine answer that is without partiality.)
Edit addition: We might note that 1 John 5:18 states, "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him." Again, John was primarily addressing seasoned Christians who had learned to abide in Christ with mature discernment and the mind of Christ. Yet behind "does not sin" is always the meaning that, while some have more immediacy of recognizing sinful inclination, a Christian knows when to give sin to Jesus for forgiveness, accept the cleansing, and thus be protected from evil.
