Jeremiah 23:22
“But if they had stood in my council, then they would have caused my people to hear my words, and would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.”
What does Jeremiah 23:22 mean?
God is saying that the prophets speaking falsely in his name never actually spent time in his presence or listened to what he wanted to say. If they had truly encountered him and absorbed his heart, they would have spoken words that turned people away from harm and toward wholeness, not words that left people stuck in destructive patterns. This speaks to something real in our own lives: authentic spiritual influence flows from genuine connection with God. It's the difference between someone who knows about God and someone who knows God, between borrowed words and lived truth. When we're actually listening to what God is saying to us through prayer and his word, we naturally become people whose presence and words help others move toward healing rather than further into their pain.