Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you – Jeremiah 29:12

It is often the case that some of the most well-known words in the Bible become the most misapplied. Take for example Jeremiah 29:11:

‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’

Many will take these words as merely a motivational text. They desire God put His stamp of approval on whatever they wish or want in life. However, these wants and wishes are rooted in materialism, not in redemptive blessings. Others, may Jeremiah’s well-cited words and imagine that God’s plan for their lives could never include any trial or calamity. It must always be peaceful and good. While on the other end of the spectrum, there are those who teach that there can be no application of these words to the believer today. Instead of these erroneous views let us see in these words a reminder that every child of God can be supremely confident in the thoughts of God. He knows His thoughts. All of His thoughts, purposes and plans are infinitely wise and perfect. What a safe pillow to rest our weary heads upon each night!

The following verse (v12) becomes neglected in the process. In our week of prayer here in Grace FPC, I began by drawing the congregation’s attention to this verse – to this neglected neighbour. I trust all who read this post will likewise be encouraged to give much thought to it as well. Why? Because the Lord, through Jeremiah, clearly joins the two together – ‘Then shall ye call upon me…’

It seems that prayer had been absent among the people 

Enduring Babylonian captivity was undoubtedly a trying experience for Israel. They were away from home, away from routine, away from the Temple – away from everything. Is it the case that the one thing they were not aware of was their greatest need – they were away from true prayer?

In God’s high and holy thoughts, which only He knew, He brought them low to lift their hearts back to Himself. He had already whetted their appetite in verse 10, ‘I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you..’ And now He brings another part of His plan to light; God will create a praying heart in them again. The need for the Church today remains the same, God’s people must pray.

When God is about to move, He will move His people to pray

‘Then shall ye call upon me’. Many Christians, throughout the years, have drawn a similar conclusion and they are right to do so because it is grounded in God’s Word. The Lord is pleased to stir up a spirit of earnest, believing prayer in tandem with the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. We all know that no Christian or church can manhandle the blessings of God and force the Spirit of God to move in life and power. However, we can confidently believe that the Almighty uses means and one of the means He will employ is to move His people to cry unto Him. Let us be sensitive to such times and long for them in our age.

In such times, particular features of prayer will be manifested

There are several prayer attributes revealed in Jeremiah 29:12,13. For example, there is a ‘going’ in prayer. God tells them, ‘ye shall go and pray unto me’. Furthermore, this ‘going in prayer’ would carry with it much-needed earnestness. Listen again to these precious words, ‘when ye shall search for me with all your heart’. Hearts that were dull and distant. Hearts that were lamenting their present captivity. These hearts will now seek God earnestly.

The one thing which strikes me about these words is this detail, ‘And ye shall seek me’ (v13). It is painfully common for our prayer lives and prayer meetings to entirely miss this need – a passionate desire for God Himself. The Lord promises that He will be found by those who seek Him. It seems simple when we put it that way but we all know that this is where the battle is found to be the most intense.