Psalm 54:2
"Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth."
When prayers are not answered we need to examine ourselves in
the light of God's Word. Is there something in your life
that is not pleasing to God?
- "Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
- But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
When we pray, we need to go to God in humility, asking
Him to reveal anything in our lives that is not pleasing to
Him. Then we need to confess it and forsake it, believing
God for forgiveness.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Let's look at a few things that can hinder our prayers and keep
them from being answered.
Here God speaks to the wife about her duty to the husband. She
must be subject to her husband, or her prayers will be
hindered. He may even be an unsaved man, one who will not
obey the Word of God but regardless, a Christian woman is to be
subject to such a husband, that her prayers be not hindered. It
is even inferred that the wife's prayer for the salvation of her
husband may be blocked by her own disobedience.
Husbands should take their place accorded them in the Scriptures
as heads of the home. They are responsible for the home, the
wife and for the children. A man is to remember that he is
stronger than his wife and his life should be an example to
her. Heavy responsibilities fall on the husband's shoulders
and if he shirks and avoids them, leaving them for his wife,
he sins before God and his prayers will be hindered.
Anything you can offer to God is hateful in His sight if you will
not go and be reconciled to others you have wronged. There
is hypocrisy in any attempt at worship or service
by those who do not honestly forsake sin and make an effort to
undo the wrong that has been done: to pay debts that have
been made, to ask forgiveness for sins committed against
others. Many cannot get their prayers heard because the cry
of others whom we have wronged has been heard by God.
Here it is clearly taught, all our praying is useless unless we
forgive others who may have wronged us.
God wants to answer our prayers and give us the desires of our
heart, but if we are praying for selfish reasons, He will not
hear or answer us.
Covetousness is a sin that God hates. It is literally
idolatry and the covetous man is an idolater. This sin will
most definitely hinder our prayers.
If your heart is turned away from the Bible, if you don't have a
desire to read it, if it is not interesting to you, if you do
not meditate on it, then your prayer is an abomination to God.
If we hold any particular sin in our hearts and love it,
make excuses for it and cover it up, then it becomes a cause of
controversy between us and God and He will not hear our prayers.
If we doubt when we pray, we should not expect that our prayers
will be answered or we will receive anything from the Lord. WE
have to pray in faith, believing God has heard our prayer, and
the answer is on the way.
How many times have we gone to God asking Him to take care of a
problem and even still we continue to worry about it? We need
to know God has our best interests at hand and when we pray and
give a problem to Him, we are not to worry about it. As the
old saying goes ... Let Go and Let God.
God makes it very clear to us that when we pray according to
His will he hears and answers us.
To pray "in the name of Jesus" means you are making your request
to God by the authority of His Son to whom all authority has
been given. When we pray "in the name of Jesus" God the Father
is being glorified in His Son. Prayers that are answered
are those that bring glory to the Father.
Some are receiving answers that are not from God. They get
them from Astrology, Ouija Boards, Tranendantal Meditation,
Yoga, Palm Readers, Seances, etc. Our Father in heaven, to
whom we address our prayers is very jealous. Any attempt to
find guidance from other sources will cause God to turn His face
away from us. Even reading your Horoscopes for the fun of it
will hinder your prayers.
Attempts to find healing by use of New Age medication, charms,
folklore superstitions, witchcraft medicines, pilgrimages to
holy places, will make God jealous and He will not listen to
your prayers. That is not to say we should not seek the
advice of a doctor when we are sick, but He expects this
to be used with liberal amounts of prayer. There are also
times when we are ill that we need to call for the Elders of the
church to come and pray for us, annointing us with oil.
"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands;
that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the
word be won by the conversation of the wives;"
"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving
honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs
together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."
"But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,
that ye may consume it upon your lusts."
"For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person,
nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance
in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer shall be abomination."
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:"
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
How to Remove Hindrances to Prayer
Confession and repentance is the remedy for our sins. When we are conscious of our sins, judge them and takes sides against them with a repentant heart, we have a perfect right to trust the Lord for instant, complete forgiveness and for perfect cleansing. With a clean, repentant heart, God can and will answer our prayers, but we must remember that we have to pray for His will in our lives.
P.U.S.H.
Pray Until Something Happens
© 2004 -
Cathy