What is a Makes-No-Sense Prayer?

What is a Makes-No-Sense Prayer?

by Violet Nesdoly

The Prophet Jeremiah - Michelangelo
“Jeremiah” – Michelangelo (Sistine Chapel fresco)

And You have said to me, O Lord God, ‘Buy the field for money and take witnesses’!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 32:25, NKJV).

Has God ever asked you to do something that made no sense?

That was Jeremiah’s situation on this day.

If we look at the context of our reading, we see the incident that sparked his this-makes-no-sense prayer.

God had asked him to buy back the family farm in the village of Anathoth (Jeremiah 32:7) though he was a prisoner in a city surrounded by the Babylonians (Jeremiah 32:2). It was a symbolic gesture—a sort of down payment on the future. It was his act of obedience and faith in God’s words, “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in the land” – Jeremiah 32:15.

Jeremiah did what God told him to do, but he didn’t understand.

In his prayer, he unburdened himself to God.

  • He starts out with praise – Jeremiah 32:17-19.
  • He recounts how God has been faithful in keeping His promises to Israel – Jeremiah 32:20-22….but…Israel has been unfaithful at every turn and, to Jeremiah’s mind, deserves the fate that seems imminent – Jeremiah 32:23-24.
  • He ends – ‘And you’re asking me to buy land in this place, when the city is on the brink of falling to a foreign power?!’ – my paraphrase of verse 25.

To read the rest of this post please visit Violet’s Blog – and see how this is important for us in our prayer lives.

Violet Nesdoly

Violet freelances in several genres and has been published in a variety of print and online publications.

Her articles, stories, and activities have appeared in Keys for Kids, Devotions for Girls, Devotions for Boys, Clubhouse, Guide, Primary Treasure, Partners, Pockets and others. She has also published two books of poetry and is an avid blogger. She is a member of Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship and a professional member of The Word Guild.

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