When it comes to responsibility, we are not to pray our way around our responsibilities...

This week, we are talking about a temptation that we can all face when it comes to the whole issue of responsibility. And this temptation flows from a tension that we experience as followers of Jesus between a fundamental aspect of our relationship with Jesus and responsibility. The tension I am talking about is the tension between prayer and responsibility.

Wednesday, we looked at a prayer that Joshua prayed to God after the Jewish people experienced and unexpected defeat. However, God responded by telling Joshua to “get up. Get off your knees and stand up! Why are you praying to me? You shouldn’t be praying right now”. Now you might be thinking “well that’s kind of harsh. I thought we were supposed to pray. Why is God telling Joshua not to pray?”

Today, as the story continues, we see God answer this question and provide for us another timeless principle when it comes to the issue of responsibility:

"Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. "Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.

God explains to Joshua that he needs to stop praying because Israel has sinned. Israel has not been responsible. Instead, Israel has been irresponsible. You see, Joshua did not need to pray because this was not an issue with God; this was an issue with the Jewish nation. Now imagine yourself as Joshua. You did not sin; you and your leadership team were not irresponsible, so why is the nation being punished?

Here we see revealed for us the reality that there is no such sin as personal and private sin. Our selfishness and sin, our irresponsibility, affects and impacts all who are in our sphere of influence. And Achan, as a part of the Jewish army responsible for taking possession of the Promised Land, his selfish rebellion and irresponsibility when it came to following God’s commands affected the entire Jewish nation.

And it is here that we see another timeless principle revealed for us when it comes to the issue of responsibility. And that timeless principle is this: When it comes to responsibility, we are not to pray our way around our responsibilities. There are some things that you do not need to pray about. There are some things that do not require prayer.

Let’s just take a minute to look at some examples of things that you do not need to pray about when it comes to responsibility. For example, you do not need to pray about whether or not you should rob the local bank. You do not need to pray about whether or not you should kill your neighbor. You do not need to pray those prayers because God has already answered those prayers. You do not need an answer from God because He has already provided the answer hasn’t He? Do not steal; do not kill.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “Dave those examples are ridiculous and obvious. I would never pray that kind of prayer”.  Yes they are ridiculous and obvious. And most of us would probably never pray that kind of prayer to God. But how often do we use prayer as a crutch to avoid taking responsibility in our lives? How often do we use prayer to attempt to rationalize irresponsibility?

You know prayers that look something like this: “God, I really like this guy and he doesn’t go to church and he wants me to come spend the night. Please help this relationship work out”. Or “God I really like this house and I know it is expensive and will require going into dangerous amounts of debt, but please bless us as we purchase this house”.

How often do we prayer prayers that look like this because we are trying to rationalize and justify our irresponsibility as though God is somehow going to approve? How often do we pray prayers that look like this in order to delay and put off doing what we know we need to do in order to be responsible? How many prayers do we pray around the issue of responsibility that God has already answered, but we either do not like the answer or do not take the time to see if God has already provided the answer in the Bible? And as this story continues, we see God continue to direct Joshua to stop praying his way around his responsibilities and instead take responsibility in Joshua 7:13:

"Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, "There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." 'In the morning then you shall come near by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes by lot shall come near by families, and the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households, and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man. 'It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.'"

God commands Joshua to stop praying and to start dealing with the irresponsibility and sin. The Jewish people were to set themselves apart and come before the Lord at the tabernacle, where the Lord would reveal and expose who the guilty party was. And once the guilty party was revealed they would suffer the consequences for their irresponsible selfishness and rebellion.

And for the rest of Joshua chapter 7, we see Joshua and the Jewish people follow God’s command and take responsibility for their lives and their community. And we also see the timeless reality is that our irresponsibility and our selfishness and rebellion bring consequences to all of those who are in our sphere of influence. Just like Achan, our irresponsibility has devastating and destructive consequences for all that are around us. And praying our way around our irresponsibility does not remove the consequences of our irresponsibility.

So here are some questions for us to consider: Are you praying your way around your responsibilities? Are you using prayer as an excuse for your irresponsibility? What do you need to do this week in order to stop hiding behind your prayer life to avoid responsibility? Where do you need to stop praying and start doing in order to start taking responsibility?