Have you ever thought about what hinders your prayers? I'm sure that's not what we think when we are pounding on heaven's door and waiting for an answer from our heavenly Father. Even though God may make us wait for His answer or even say no by not giving us what we want, do we ever consider what might be hindering our prayers?
In Psalm 66:18 the psalmist said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear." It's not the unconfessed sin. It's the love of it. You may confess you have sinned but haven't turned from it. Instead you "regard" it in your "heart."
“We must remember that the goal of prayer is the ear of God. Unless that is gained, the prayer has utterly failed. The uttering of it may have kindled devotional feeling in our minds, the hearing of it may have comforted and strengthened the hearts of those with whom we have prayed, but if the prayer has not gained the heart of God, it has failed in its essential purpose”. – Charles Spurgeon
As you pray, consider whether you're holding on to your sin or whether are entertaining those "closet" sins that you don't deem as serious as others. Repent and lay them down at Jesus' feet. This is what He carried on the cross. Think about it.
One of the reasons God saved us is that we might be fruitful Christians. He has not saved us merely that we might be free from judgment and go to heaven when we die. He saved us that the "character of Jesus Christ might be reproduced in us while...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
