Jeremiah 29:11-13

Jeremiah writes a prophetic letter to all the captives in Babylon (after the second deportation in 597BC). He writes it to both encourage and instruct them. He encourages them by affirming that God will restore them to Israel in precisely 70 years, and he instructs them to live as if they had a long wait (70 years is a pretty long time!), and to be at peace in the land of Babylon. He instructs them not to listen to the false prophets who were telling lies (such as they would be delivered in less than 70 years – which would have caused the people not to settle down). Overall it is an encouraging letter, because of what God says to them:

‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.’ (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Gods plans for them are all for their good. In that they can completely trust. Their problem (which led them to captivity in the first place) was that they would not repent. But God says that after 70 years they would repent, and they would turn to Him, and they would find Him.

John Macarthur Jr. writes: ‘What God had planned, He also gave the people opportunity to participate in by sincere (v. 13) prayer.’

It is the same for us. God has so many plans for us, but we must seek Him ‘with all our heart’ for them to come to fruition (sometimes – other times He will just do them anyway). It is an uncanny paradox – that He has it planned to happen all along, and yet it is up to us to see it happen. But what an encouragement to faithful prayer! He has already planned to answer our heartfelt prayers! This should not make us feel like we have to pray less, but we should feel the need to pray more, because we know He will answer them!