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Despite being one of God's most faithful and obedient servants, Joshua, like all believers, was not immune to poor decision making. This came to light in Joshua 9, where the Gibeonites disguised themselves as weary travelers to gain Israel's sympathy and protection. Verse 14 notes that Joshua, despite consistently seeking God's council in the past, neglected to do so here and hastily made a covenant with the scheming Gibeonites.
This one decision, though seemingly good at the time, was ungodly and had severe consequences. For example, it marked the beginning of Israel's failure to obey God in eradicating all the wicked Canaanites. It also bound Israel to a covenantal relationship with the Gibeonites. In addition, 2 Samuel 21:1 notes that years later, Saul dishonored the covenant and caused a severe three-year famine to occur during David's reign. These serious, long-term repercussions demonstrate the perilous nature of a prayerless life.
As the Israelites learned, neglecting prayer reaps devastating consequences in our lives. For example, it severely limits our intimacy with the Lord. Psalm 145:18 notes prayer's critical role in helping us draw near to Him in fellowship. Also, when our relationship with God falters, so does our reliance on His perfect guidance. Instead, we rely on our own or others' wisdom, which causes us to drift away from Him and make foolish decisions as Jeremiah 17:5 and Proverbs 28:26 warn. Furthermore, this state severely limits our ability to fight temptations. Matthew 26:41 notes that without prayer, we live in our flesh, making us more vulnerable to sin. One other consequence of this horrific lifestyle is spiritual dryness and unproductivity. Rather than enjoying the blessed and fruitful life Jeremiah 17:7-8 describe, the spiritual chains of prayerlessness imprison us in the miserable and unfruitful existence of verse 6. Thus, the prayerless lifestyle produces a downward spiral into isolation from God, reliance on self, weakness to sin, and forfeited spiritual blessings.
Unfortunately, as the famine in 2 Samuel 21:1 demonstrated, the repercussions of not praying also extend to others. For example, a prayerless life spiritually harms our children. Such living disregards our responsibility in Proverbs 22:6 to teach them godly behavior. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are also impacted by our neglect of prayer. Doing so ignores James 5:16's command for us to pray for their healing and spiritual growth. In addition, a prayerless life severely undermines our ministry to unbelievers. This lifestyle constitutes disobedience to Paul's admonition in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 to pray for the lost to receive salvation. Thus, the perils of prayerless living not only detrimentally harm ourselves, but also our children, Christian brethren, and the unsaved.
Fortunately, the Scriptures reveal the solution to escaping this disastrous lifestyle. First, prayer must be made a constant part of our lives. Brief prayers throughout the day can help us obey the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to build this crucial habit. Also, dependence on the Holy Spirit is required to maintain this habit. Romans 8:26 notes His role in giving us the strength and desire necessary to overcome our weakness. In addition, we must seek and agree with God's will when praying. 1 John 5:14 notes that when we do so, we are assured that He will answer us. Finally, godly attitudes must be incorporated into our prayers. Philippians 4:6, Matthew 21:22, and James 4:3 respectively note how thankfulness, faith, and selflessness are mandatory for a successful prayer life. Thankfully, the prayerless lifestyle can be overcome by establishing habitual prayer that is powered by the Spirit, subservient to God's will, and guided by Christ-minded attitudes.
As Joshua 9 and 2 Samuel 21:1 demonstrate, a single prayerless decision can unleash devastating, long-term consequences upon ourselves and others. Likewise, a lifestyle that continually disregards prayer has the potential to damage our relationship with God, imprison us in spiritual dryness, and impede us from spiritually serving our children, Christian brethren, and the unsaved. Fortunately, by surrendering ourselves to a life of habitual Spirit-filled, God-willed, and Christ-minded prayer, not only can these perils be avoided, but the blessed and fruitful life of Jeremiah 17:7-8 will beautifully become ours.
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