"1And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah." (Jeremiah 37:1,2)
When Israel entered into the promised land, they slew great kings through God's power. These were kings that did not know God or follow His way or do right. The king of Judah must have forgotten about the kings God cast out of the land of Canaan before Israel came in to possess it, because neither Zedekiah nor the people of Judah would hear the words of the LORD which He spoke by His prophet Jeremiah.
"And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us." (Jeremiah 37:3)
Although Zedekiah refused to hear and obey God's word, he asked Jeremiah to pray for him and for the people of Judah. Even though Zedekiah did not want anything to do with God, he expected God to get him out of trouble.
King Zedekiah is no different from many people today. Many do not want anything to do with God, and they certainly do not want to hear and obey His word. However, when they get into trouble, they want God's people to cry out to God and ask God to deliver them.
God makes no promise to hear and deliver those who reject Him and His word. He gave this warning many years ago through King Solomon, "24Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." (Proverbs 1:24-31)
We cannot despise God and His word and then expect God to help us when we are in trouble. If we did not want anything to do with Him when things were going well, we cannot expect Him to come to our aid when things have gone wrong. We need to humble ourselves before God and call on His mercy now, we need to seek Him while there is still time.
"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." (Isaiah 55:6) Do not wait until it is too late.