trentlogain2,
1 John 5:16
16If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
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Does this say that Christians should not pray for death (however much we desire to give up)??
It is important that we don't interpret one verse in isolation. I John 5:16 comes right after teaching on confidence that we can have in prayer.
It is possible that v. 16 gives an illustration of prayer, but it seems that John could be leading to the climax of his topics in 1 John (being at the end of the epistle).
If you read the 5 chapters of 1 John, you will see a number of warnings against Christians falling into sin, noting that sin characterises those who are not born of God. In this epistle, John clearly shows the demarcation between believers and unbelievers. As John gives assurance that they are children of God, the problem of sin raises its head again.
In v 16, John argues that the prayers of believers can secure life for other Christians who fall into sin. In this verse, John describes a situation where one member sees another committing "a sin not leading to death" (ESV). A Christian who commits such a sin has a Christian who intercedes for him/her and God grants that person life. This applies only to those who have committed "a sin not leading to death".
But there is also another alternative, a person who commits "a sin that leads to death". For such a sin, John is not recommending that a believer engages in intercessory prayer.
Thus, there are two types of sin John describes: (1) the sin that does not lead to death (for which intercession is possible), and (2) the sin that leads to death for which no intercession is possible.
That's my understanding of this verse in context.
