A Sin Leading to Death<\/a>” reminded me of a question I have struggled with. The lead-in verse I John 5:16-17, if I may paraphrase simply says there is a sin to pray for and not to pray for. What would be an example of a sin not to pray for?<\/p>\n\tAnswer:<\/h2>\n
Sins where the person is unrepentant and has no desire or intention of changing. Asking God to forgive someone who doesn’t think they are wrong or who wants to sin is a fruitless task.<\/p>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
I have adult children who are not faithful but they were taught the truth. I still pray for them even though, at least for now, they have no desire to change. I went through a rebellious time as a young man, but I know my mother never stopped praying for me, and I eventually came back to what I knew was right. I am conflicted, is it just not necessary to pray for those who turn away, like the example in this verse, or is it wrong?<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
You don’t pray that they be saved in their sins, but you can pray that God finds a way to open their eyes to the fact that they are in sins so that they might turn back to Him.<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
OK, that makes complete sense. Thanks.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Your article “A Sin Leading to Death” reminded me of a question I have struggled with. The lead-in verse I John 5:16-17, if I may paraphrase simply says there is a sin to pray for and not to pray for. What would be an example of a sin not to pray for? Answer: Sins…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1510,179],"class_list":["post-37371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-prayers","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8122,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-pray-for-satans-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":37371,"position":0},"title":"Should we pray for Satan’s salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do we respond to someone who asks why we do not pray for Satan's salvation? Answer: While the potential for change is exists, one thing that many people have a hard time accepting is the fact that some people won't ever change; not because they are unable to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37789,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-pray-for-a-non-christian-who-wants-to-have-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":37371,"position":1},"title":"Should I pray for a non-Christian who wants to have children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Mr. Hamilton, I need your guidance, please. I encountered a moment where a non-Christian, who told me that she had been married for a number of years and had no children. She said she really wants to have children. Inside, my heart said something like \"pray for her,\" but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63483,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-sin-leading-to-death-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":37371,"position":2},"title":"A Sin Leading to Death (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I John 5:16-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some sins lead to death, but others do not \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We should pray for those who sin which does not lead to death. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We are not to pray for those whose sin leads to death II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How do we tell which sin leads to death?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51512,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-said-we-can-pray-for-anything-so-why-cant-we-pray-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":37371,"position":3},"title":"Jesus said we can pray for anything, so why can’t we pray for salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can we accept as a general statement the following: \"You are saved through the blood of Jesus, and through His blood only. Because your salvation is not based on your performance, it is based on what Jesus did 2000 years ago on the cross\"? I also would like to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90561,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/compassion-for-the-lost-in-this-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":37371,"position":4},"title":"Compassion for the Lost in This World","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer With so much turmoil in the world, so much chaos and confusion, we should be reminded of how disciples should think of and respond to the world. This passage in Matthew 9:36-38 captures a very important principle. \"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42486,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-appropriate-to-say-a-prayer-in-a-restaurant\/","url_meta":{"origin":37371,"position":5},"title":"Is it appropriate to say a prayer in a restaurant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, Mr. Hamilton! My husband and I have been studying the book of Matthew, and we have a question about Matthew 6:5-6. \u00a0How do these verses apply to saying a prayer of thanks before a meal in a restaurant? \u00a0We have read your answer to the question, \"Must a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}