11 Bible Verses about Unwise Prayers

So then Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou really sweep away, the righteous with the lawless? Peradventure there are fifty righteous, in the midst of the city, Wilt thou really sweep away, and not spare the place, for the sake of the fifty righteous which are therein? Far be it from thee! to do after this manner. to put to death the righteous with the lawless! Then should righteous and lawless be alike, Far be it from thee! Shall, the Judge of all the earth not do justice?read more.
And Yahweh said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then will I spare all the place for their sake. And Abraham responded and said, - Behold I pray thee I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, though I am dust and ashes: Peradventure there may lack, of the fifty righteous, five, Wilt thou destroy for five all the city? And he said, I will not destroy, if I find there forty and five. And he added, yet once more, to speak unto him, and said, Peradventure there may be found there - forty. And he said - I will not do it, for the sake of the forty. And he said Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak, Peradventure there may be found there - thirty And be said, I will not to it, if I find there - thirty. And he sad Behold, I pray thee, I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, Peradventure there may be found there - twenty. And he said I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty. And he said, Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak only this once, Peradventure there may be found there - ten. And he said, I will not destroy it , for the sake of the ten!

And Jacob was left alone, - and there wrestled a man with him, until the uprisings of the dawn. And when he saw, that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, - and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he wrestled with him. Then said he - Let me go, for uprisen hath the dawn. And he said: I will not let thee go, except thou have blessed meread more.
Then he said unto him - What is thy name? And he said - Jacob. Then he said - Not Jacob, shall thy name be called any more, but Israel, - For thou hast contended with God and with men and hast prevailed. Then asked Jacob and said, Do, I pray thee, tell me thy name! And he said - Wherefore now, shouldest thou ask for my name? And he blessed him there, So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; For I saw God face to face; and my soul was delivered,

Then entered King David, and tarried before Yahweh, - and said - Who am, I, My Lord, Yahweh, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me, hitherto; and hast yet further made this seem little in thine eyes, My Lord, Yahweh, in that thou hast spoken, even of the house, of thy servant, for a great while to come? This, then is the law of manhood, O My Lord, Yahweh! What more, then, can David yet further speak unto thee, - seeing that, thou thyself knowest thy servant, O My Lord Yahweh?read more.
For the sake of thine own word, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this great thing, - making it known unto thy servant. For this cause, hast thou magnified thyself, O Yahweh Elohim, - for there is none like unto, thee, yea there is no God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. Who, then, is like thy people, like Israel, a nation alone in the earth? whom God went to redeem for himself as a people, so to make himself a name, and to do for you the great deed, fearful things also for thy land, to make way for thy people, whom thou hadst redeemed for thyself, out of Egypt, dealing with nations and their god's; and hast established for thyself thy people Israel - for thyself as a people, unto times age-abiding, - thou thyself, also, O Yahweh, becoming their God. Now, therefore, O Yahweh Elohim, the word which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, confirm thou, unto times age-abiding, - and do, as thou hast spoken: that thy name may be age-abidingly magnified, saying, Yahweh of hosts, is God over Israel, and so, the house of thy servant David, be established before thee. For, thou, O Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, hast unveiled the ear of thy servant, saying - A house, will I build for thee. For this cause, hath thy servant found in his heart, to pray unto thee, this prayer. Now, therefore, O My Lord, Yahweh, thou, art God, and, thy words, shall prove true, - therefore hast thou spoken unto thy servant this goodness. Now, therefore, be pleased to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue age-abidingly before thee, - for, thou, O My Lord, Yahweh, hast spoken, therefore, with thine own blessing, shall the house of thy servant be age-abidingly blessed.

And Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh, in the presence of all the convocation of Israel, - and spread forth his hands towards the heavens; and said - O Yahweh, God of Israel! Not like thee, is there a God, in the heavens above, or upon the earth beneath, - keeping Covenant and Lovingkindness for thy servants who are walking before thee, with all their heart; who hast kept for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, - in that thou didst promise with thy mouth, and, with thy hand, hast fulfilled, as it is this day.read more.
Now, therefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep thou for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not be cut off to thee a man from before me, to sit upon the throne of Israel, - if only, thy sons take heed to their way, by walking before me, as thou hast walked before me. Now, therefore, O God of Israel, - verified be thy word, I pray thee, which thou didst speak to thy servant, David my father. But, in very deed, will God dwell, upon the earth? Lo! the heaven, yea the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built? Yet wilt thou turn unto the prayer of thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Yahweh my God, - to hearken unto the cry, and unto the prayer, wherewith thy servant doth pray before thee to-day; that thine eye may be opened toward this house, night and day, toward the place of which thou hast said, My Name shall be, there; hearkening unto the prayer which thy servant shall offer toward this place. Wilt, thou, therefore, hearken unto the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whensoever they shall pray toward this place, - yea wilt, thou thyself, hear, in thine own dwelling-place, in the heavens, and, when thou hearest, then wilt thou forgive? When a man shall sin against his neighbour, and there shall be taken up against him an oath, to put him on oath, - and he shall come in and swear before thine altar, in this house, then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, and act, and judge thy servants, condemning the lawless, by setting his way upon his own head, - and justifying the righteous, by giving to him, according to his righteousness? When thy people Israel are smitten before an enemy, because they have been sinning against thee, - and they turn again unto thee, and confess thy Name, and pray and make supplication unto thee, in this house, then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back unto the soil, which thou gavest unto their fathers? When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have been sinning against thee, - and they shall pray toward this place, and confess thy Name, and, from their sin, shall return, because thou hast been afflicting them, then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou mayest teach them the good way, wherein they should walk, - and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people, for an inheritance? When there shall be, famine, in the land, when there shall be, pestilence, when there shall be, blasting, mildew locust, caterpillar, when their enemy shall besiege them in one of their own gates, - whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness; any prayer, any supplication which, any son of earth, may have, of all thy people Israel, - who will certainly know every man the plague of his own heart, and so he shall spread abroad his hands towards this house, then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, in the settled place of thine abode, and forgive and act, and give unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou wilt know, - for, thou thyself alone, knowest the heart of all the sons of men; to the end they may revere thee, all the days which they do live, upon the face of the soil, - which thou gavest unto our fathers? Moreover also, unto the stranger, who is, not of thy people Israel, - but hath come in out of a far country, for the sake of thy Name, - (for they will certainly hear of thy great Name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched-out arm, - and so will come in and pray towards this house), wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, and act, according to all for which, the stranger, shall cry unto thee, - to the end that all the peoples of the earth may truly know thy Name, so as to revere thee, like thy people Israel, and to know that, thine own Name, hath been given unto this house, which I have built? When thy people go forth to war against their enemy, whithersoever thou mayest send them, - and shall pray unto Yahweh, in the direction of the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy Name, then wilt thou hear, in the heavens, their prayer and their supplication, - and maintain their cause? When they sin against thee - for there is, no son of earth, that sinneth not, and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them up before an enemy, - who shall carry them away as their captives, into the land of the enemy, far or near; and they come back to their right mind, in the land whither they have been taken captive, - and so turn and make supplication unto thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely, we have been lawless; and so they turn unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who have carried them away captive, - and pray unto thee in the direction of their own land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy Name, then wilt thou hearken in the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, unto their prayer, and unto their supplication, - and maintain their cause; and grant forgiveness to thy people, who have sinned against thee, even as to all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, - and grant them compassion before their captors, so that they may have compassion upon them; because, thy people and thine inheritance, they are, - whom thou didst bring forth out of Egypt, out of the midst of the smelting-pot of iron; that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, - to hearken unto them, in all their crying unto thee; because, thou thyself, didst separate them unto thee, for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, - as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest forth our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Yahweh. And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying unto Yahweh all this prayer and supplication, that he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees, with his hands outspread to the heavens; and stood and blessed all the convocation of Israel, - with a loud voice, saying: Blessed, be Yahweh, who hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised, - there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. Yahweh our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, - let him not leave us, nor forsake us; but bow our heart unto himself, - to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his regulations, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near unto Yahweh our God, day and night, - that he may maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as any need ariseth: To the end that all the peoples of the earth may know, that, Yahweh, is God, - there is none else. So shall your heart be sound with Yahweh our God, - to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

And it came to pass, when he was in a certain place praying, as he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him - Lord! teach us to pray, as, John also, taught his disciples. And he said unto them - Whensoever ye are praying, say - Father! Hallowed be thy name, Come may thy kingdom, Our needful bread, be giving us, day by day;read more.
And forgive us our sins, for, even we ourselves, forgive every one indebted to us; And bring us not into temptation. And he said unto them - Who from among you, shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him - Friend! supply me with three loaves, forasmuch as, a friend of mine, hath come off a journey unto me, and I have not what I can set before him; and, he, from within, shall answer, and say - Be not disturbing me, - already, the door hath been fastened, and, my children, with me, are, in bed: I cannot rise and give thee? I say unto you - Even though he will not give him, rising because of his being a friend of his, because, at least, of his importunity, he will rouse himself, and give him as many as he needeth. I, therefore, unto you, say - Be asking, and it shall be given to you, Be seeking, and ye shall find, - Be knocking, and it shall be opened unto you. But which is the father, from among yourselves, whom the son will ask for, a fish, who, instead of a fish, will give him, a serpent? Or shall also ask, an egg, who will give him, a scorpion? If therefore, ye, being, evil, know how to be giving, good gifts, unto your children, how much rather, will, the heavenly Father, give Holy Spirit unto them that ask him!

And he was speaking a parable unto them, as to its being needful for them always to pray, and not be faint-hearted; saying - A certain judge, there was in a certain city, - having, for God, no reverence, and, for man, no respect. And, a widow, there was, in that city; and she kept coming unto him, saying - Vindicate me from mine adversary!read more.
And he was unwilling for a time; but, after these things, he said within himself - Although, neither God, I reverence, nor man, I respect, Yet, if only because this widow annoyeth me, I will vindicate her, - lest, persistently coming, she wholly wear me out. And the Lord said - Hear ye what, the unrighteous judge saith; - And shall, God, in any wise not execute the vindication of his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, although he beareth long with regard to them? I tell you - He will execute their vindication, quickly! nevertheless, though, the Son of Man, do come, will he, after all, find the faith on the earth?

These things, spake Jesus, and, lifting up his eyes unto heaven, said: - Father! The hour is come! Glorify thy Son, that, the Son, may glorify, thee, - Even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that, as touching whatsoever thou hast given him, he might give unto them, life age-abiding. And, this, is the age-abiding life, That they get to know thee, the only real God, and him whom thou didst send, Jesus Christ.read more.
I, glorified thee on the earth, The work, finishing, which thou hast given me that I should do. And, now, glorify me - thou, Father! with thyself, with the glory which I had, before the world's existence, with thee. I manifested thy name, unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: Thine, they were, and, to me, thou gavest them, and, thy word, have they kept: Now, have they come to know, That, all things, as many as thou gavest me, are, from thee; And, the declarations which thou gavest me, have I given them, and, they, received them, and came to know in truth, that, from thee, came I forth, - and they believed, that, thou, didst send me forth. I, concerning them, make request: not, concerning the world, do I make request, but concerning them whom thou hast given me, because, thine, they are, - And, all my possessions, are, thine, and, thy possessions, mine, and I have been glorified in them. And, no longer, am I in the world, and, they, are, in the world, - and, I, unto thee, am coming. Holy Father! Keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, as, we. When I was with them, I, kept them in thy name which thou hast given me, - And I kept watch, and, none from among them, went the destruction, - save the son of destruction, that, the Scripture, might be fulfilled. But, now, unto thee, am I coming; and, these things, am I speaking in the world, that they may have my own joy fulfilled in themselves. I, have given them thy word, and, the world, hated them, because they are not of the world - even as, I, am not of the world. I request not, that thou wouldst take them out of the world, but that thou wouldst keep them out of the evil: Of the world, they are not, even as, I, am not of the world. Hallow them in the truth: Thine own word, is, truth: Even as thou didst send me forth into the world, I also, send them forth into the world; And, on their behalf, I, hallow myself, that, they also, may have become hallowed in truth. Not however concerning these alone, do I make request, but, concerning them also who believe, through their word, on me: That they, all, may be, one, - even as, thou, Father, in me, and, I, in thee, - that, they also, in us, may be; - that, the world, may believe that, thou, didst send me forth. And, I, the glory which thou hast given to me, have given to them, that they may be one, even as, we, are, one. - I, in them and, thou, in me; That they may have been perfected into, one, - That the world may get to know, that, thou, didst send me forth, and didst love them even as thou didst love, me. Father! As touching that which thou hast given me, I desire - That, where, I, am, they also, may be, with me, that they may behold my own glory which thou hast given me, - because thou lovedst me, before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father! And so, the world, came not to know thee; but, I, came to know thee, and, these, came to know that, thou, didst send me forth: And I made known unto them thy name, and will make known, - that, the love wherewith thou lovedst me, in them, may be, and, I, in them.

But if, in this way, thou art going to deal with me, slay me, I beseech thee, slay, if I have found favour in thine eyes, - and let me not see my grief,

But, he himself, went into the wilderness a day's journey, and came and sat down under a certain shrub, - and asked for his life, that he might die, and said - Enough, now, O Yahweh! take away my life, for, no better, am, I, than, my fathers.

Now, therefore, O Yahweh, take, I pray thee, my life from me, - for it were better for me, to die, than, to live.

And, he, said to her - What desirest thou? She saith unto him - Bid, that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left, in thy kingdom.