First off, I don't mean or wish harm against the ungodly or nonbelievers. Especially mockers. I just want to see God doing what he said he'd do in His Word. He said he'd punish those who don't believe him. He said it, not me, and I expect God to be true to His Word, and I know He is.
So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. [2 Peter 2.9]
In the Greek text, the idea is to "keep the unrighteous being punished" up to the day of judgment. It starts now, it keeps going on and continues to the day of Judgment. That's what I expect God to do, because he said it. And there's not one Word that God says which he never means to and never fulfills. He never carelessly just say things out of whim but doesn't mean them. So when the bible says...
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus,
[2 Thessalonians 1.8]
But if you do not obey me and keep all my commands, 15 and if you turn away from my rules and hate my laws, refusing to obey all my commands, you have broken our agreement. 16 As a result, I will do this to you: I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever that will destroy your eyes and slowly kill you. You will not have success when you plant your seed, and your enemy will eat your crops. [Leviticus 26]
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. [3.36]
Jesus in the same chapter explains to Nicodemus:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. [3.18]
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. [Romans 11.22]
God loves you, but he can send you to hell if you reject Jesus. Sending you there is part of his love. After all the warnings God gives you and you still reject Jesus and choose sin, out of his love he will give you your heart's desire--so you can reject Jesus and sin in hell all you want. God loves all sinners in hell.
Therefore God gave them over in the
sinful desires of their hearts...
[Romans 1.24]
Thus, expecting God to punish sinners is really love for sinners. It's not hatred. I care for sinners so I expect God to punish them as he said in his Word.
God Loves Those He Disciplines
Discipline involves punishments, although a lot of people won't agree. They'd say discipline is not punishment. But discipline is painful, and pain is punishment. Athletes are harshly disciplined to win, and they refer to it as "punishment," though they have done nothing wrong. If they did wrong, they'd still be disciplined to undo the effects of their error. And believe me, it's going to be punishment.
When I need to improve on a martial arts skill I often do wrong, I punishment myself to correct it. This means more workout time for improvement. No pain, no gain.
We cannot pray to spare a brother or sister in Christ from discipline. It runs counter to God's will. We may look good doing it (others who also fail to understand may even applaud us) but we're going against what God wants to accomplish. We also forfeit that person of God's love--God disciplines whom he loves, remember?
Hence, praying for people to be spared of disciplining from God shows either an ignorance about God's real work or misunderstanding what really benefits believers spiritually--or both.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? [Hebrews 12.7]
I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. [2 Samuel 7.14]
God told Jeremiah how he would discipline his people by almost destroying them--perhaps just an inch off total destruction--to wake them up to what was happening--their disobedience and stubbornness in pursuing their own way.
'I am with you and will save you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’ [Jeremiah 30.11]
Hebrews 12 further says:
8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all...10 but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.
But Shouldn't We Intercede?
Intercessory prayers should be done with spiritual discernment. If not, we will often find ourselves working against God. Moses interceded for the Israelites in the wilderness even when God wanted to annihilate them all. God had already clearly stated that it was his will to kill all the generation that left Egypt (except Joshua and Caleb) and replace them with a new generation.
But Moses insisted on interceding for them, thinking it wise. The Lord heard his prayer and spared them from his wrath during that one time but Moses later suffered the consequences, being barred from entering the Promise Land because of this. God killed all that generation anyway in the desert. Useless effort.
And the LORD was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land! [Deuteronomy 1.27]
This was Moses' stubborn intercession:
9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. [Exodus 32]
And God killed them all anyway:
The LORD was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the LORD’s sight had died. [Numbers 32.13]
Also, God told Jeremiah in another incident at another time:
Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. [Jeremiah 11.14]And then Samuel the prophet interceding for King Saul.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, “How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go. I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided Me a king among his sons. [1 Samuel 16]
Conclusion
It isn't bad to expect what God said he would do to mockers, nonbelievers, the ungodly and the wicked. It is right and sound to believe God's Word and expect and wait for it to happen. You don't wish ill against them, but you want to see God doing what he promised.
And what you want is not plain punishment and destruction for the disobedient. It's the hope that with the judgment would come repentance--because many people won't realize their wrong until their flesh is hurt. Only when their flesh is affected will they see what's really going on.
When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
Though grace is shown to the wicked they don't learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness they act unjustly and fail to see the majesty of the LORD. [Isaiah 26.9]
Expecting their punishment from the Lord as He promised means you believe and trust what the Lord is doing and you love the disobedient because you want them to repent. You understand that God's love is his judgment (and wrath), and his judgment is his love.
Seek guidance from the Holy Spirit when to intercede for sinners and when not to.
16 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. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. [1 John 5.16-18]
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