You're right NV, most want to be doing his will but fail miserably. We pray and ask for things, but many forget we were taught by His Son, to pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Now I just wanted to point out what the OP was reading was referring to something found in Jeremiah.
Also to answer this:
What does the asserter mean by the word 'plan'? Does this individual mean God 'hopes' this human will choose a specific path? Or, does this mean God created this human with full intent to enforce this plan, no matter what, and the human is just along for the ride?
The passage reads as follows:
This is from a letter sent from the prophet Jeremiah from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon were they were captured and taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.
7 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.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.
9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says:
“When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
They were banished and allowed to be captured by Nebuchadnezzar because they did not keep the land laws. The amount of time required was in direct response to the amount of years they had not keep the Sabbath of the land.
For 490 years ( 7x70) they had not allowed the land to rest (have it's own sabbath from producing) so this needed to be made up for.
The land was to rest every 7th year. Nothing was to be planted, nor harvested, this was a way for the land to rejuvenate. It is similar to the rules given about gathering manna in the wilderness.
When the rules about this were laid out ( in Leviticus) they were warned what would happen if they did not do this:
"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD. 3‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, 4 but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard…
33‘You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. 34‘Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35‘All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it."
So it should have come as no shock when this happened.
But God kept his word, and his plans and brought them back after the seventy years had expired. This is when the wall and the temple were rebuilt, not as grand as King Solomons Temple but it was what was standing when it was greatly improved upon in Herods day.