Cora was five. Dawson was three. Callan was eight months old. Their mother, Lindsay Clancy, is the defendant in the Massachusetts case I covered in Episode 72, and the question I left hanging at the end of that episode has stayed with me ever since. Should anyone pray for her? And behind that one sits a bigger one that every believer eventually runs into: is anyone beyond our prayers?
What Nobody Disputes
I'll start where I started on the show, with the plain facts. A mother killed her own three children, and her defense did not contest at trial that she did it. The fight in that courtroom was over her state of mind. After seven days of deliberation the jury could not agree, and on September 4 the judge declared a mistrial. When I recorded this episode, nothing had been decided about what comes next.
I understand the legal argument, and as a lawyer I take it seriously. The Massachusetts test asks about one mind, hers. Nothing in it asks about the children. I said it on the show on purpose, and I'll say it here.
"A mother killing her own children. I say it on purpose because someone has to say what it was." (Marc Little, Episode 74)
I'm not softening it, and Scripture doesn't ask me to. Whatever the courts finally decide, what happened in that house is as close to an evil act as I know how to name. That's where an honest answer to the prayer question has to begin.
A Culture That Gets What It Wants
Paul describes what happens when a people decide they are done with God, and he doesn't describe it gently.
"Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done." (Romans 1:28, NIV)
Then he adds the line that has always bothered me more than the first one.
"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:32, NIV)
Doing the thing is one step. Approving of those who do it is the next one down. I have to ask myself honestly what I owe, in prayer, to the person who did it and to anyone who would applaud it.
The Pastor's Struggle
I'll be honest about where I was when I sat down to prepare this episode. I struggled to pray for Lindsay Clancy. I struggled to pray for anyone who would cheer for what was done to those children. I'm a pastor, and I still had to work at it.
A pastor is not a judge. I don't sit above anyone's prayers and rule on them. The jury and the judge have their work to do. Mine is different, and it sent me back to the book to see what it actually says rather than what I feel.
Three Stop Signs
The book tells me to stop in some places. Anyone who says Scripture only ever says "keep praying" hasn't read all of it. There are three passages that seem to say otherwise, and I'm going to give each one its full weight.
The first is God speaking to Jeremiah about Judah.
"So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you." (Jeremiah 7:16, NIV)
The second is Jesus Himself, praying the night before the cross.
"I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." (John 17:9, NIV)
The third comes from John's first letter.
"If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that." (1 John 5:16, NIV)
I'm not certain I can tell you exactly what John meant by a sin that leads to death. Careful scholars disagree, and I won't pretend the question is settled. What I can say is that these three are in the text, and anyone who skips them to get to the comfortable verses isn't dealing honestly with the book.
Three Commands to Pray
Then I turned the page, because the same book tells me to pray in other places, and these three are not hard to find.
"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'" (Luke 23:34, NIV)
That was said from a cross, by a man being killed, about the people killing Him.
"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44, NIV)
And God told His exiles to pray for the very city that had carried them away.
"Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:7, NIV)
Key Takeaways
- Scripture does not say one thing about this. Three passages seem to say stop praying. Three command prayer for enemies and persecutors. Both sets are in the NIV, and both deserve a fair reading.
- A pastor is not a judge. Courts rule on guilt and responsibility. A pastor's job is to tell the truth about what happened and to send people back to the text.
- Calling an act evil is not the same as giving up on a person. I can name what happened in that house for what it was and still ask what Scripture says about prayer.
- The sharpest example is a man who sits in both columns. Saul approved of a killing, and the same man became the apostle Paul.
- The question has a mirror. Romans 2 turns it on the one doing the judging.
One Man in Both Columns
Stephen was the first Christian martyr, and he died praying for the men who were killing him.
"Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts 7:60, NIV)
Now look at who was standing there at the time.
"And Saul approved of their killing him." (Acts 8:1, NIV)
Saul approved. That's the same word Paul would later use in Romans 1:32. And Stephen prayed for him anyway, whether he knew it or not. Years afterward, Paul looked back on who he had been.
"Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief." (1 Timothy 1:13, NIV)
The same Paul who wrote the verdict in Romans 1 received mercy himself. That's the conundrum, and the text leaves it in front of us. Then there's the instruction he gave Timothy, which doesn't leave much room.
"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4, NIV)
"Paul wrote the verdict, and Paul received the mercy." (Marc Little, Episode 74)
A Sober Word About Disobedience
None of this turns sin into something small. The prophet Samuel said something to King Saul that our culture has never wanted to hear.
"For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." (1 Samuel 15:23, NIV)
Disobedience is witchcraft. Samuel does not soften it. Rebellion sits beside divination and idolatry, and the text puts them in the same sentence on purpose. A person can't read the Bible honestly and come away believing God is casual about this.
What Is Your Verdict?
I did not hand the audience a tidy answer on the show, and I'm not going to hand you one here. I put six passages side by side, three that seem to say stop and three that say pray, and I let them stand. A jury is asked to render a verdict, and I think every listener is being asked for one too. What is yours, and what do you do with it when the next headline comes?
Then comes the mirror. Paul turns the question around in the very next chapter after the one that began this whole episode.
"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." (Romans 2:1, NIV)
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4, NIV)
Kindness that leads to repentance has to be shown to someone first. I'm not telling you how that applies to Lindsay Clancy. I'm telling you what the text says, and then I'm asking you to think about who else it might apply to, starting with the person reading this.
Conclusion
Is anyone beyond our prayers? I took the question to the book, and the book would not let me off easy in either direction. It names evil as evil. It also keeps putting a man like Saul in the story and letting mercy find him. If you want the full conversation, including the part where I tell you how hard this was for me, listen to the complete episode of The Marc Little Show.