Psalm 66:18 – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

Have you ever talked on the phone and struggled to hear what the other person was saying because of poor reception? Whenever we have poor reception, its said that we have “static in the line.” In other words, we are struggling to communicate because something is causing interference between the two phones. “Static in the line” can be very frustrating as we try to communicate with others. Sometimes when we pray, we may feel the same way with God. We are trying to communicate, but our prayers don’t seem to be reaching Him and He doesn’t seem to be answering back. If this continues, we tend to give up on prayer because we feel that God is not hearing anyway. We could say that static exists in the line between us and God. What do we do when we sense this?

The first thing we should not do is blame God. The Bible states in a number of places that God graciously welcomes us before His throne. He desires to converse with us anytime & anywhere. The problem isn’t on God’s end, we must understand that. The problem actually lies on our end. In our text, God identifies the problem, iniquity (or sin). Sin will very quickly disrupt our communication with God. Isaiah 59:1-2 states, “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that is 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.” If we want the “static” removed from our line with God, then we must be ruthlessly honest about our sin through personal confession. God will abundantly forgive if we willingly come clean. But if we choose to retain sin in our hearts, our prayers won’t go any higher then the ceiling. May God help us remove the “static” out of the line between us and Him!

Home

Isaiah 64:4 – For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

Many Christians struggle with their prayer life for a variety of reasons. One reason centers on the fact that God often requires that we “wait” for the answer. In our society, the idea of waiting does not sit well with the average individual. As a result, we, who are tainted with that mentality, get disillusioned with prayer because nothing seems to be happening or worse, what we are praying for seems less likely to be obtained. We want answers and we want them right now. However, that isn’t how God works. All over the scriptures God commands His people to wait patiently as He works in ways often unseen by us. Unfortunately, sometimes Christians get discouraged and just give up on prayer. As a result, victories are not obtained that could have happened.

The Bible tells us that we will be blessed if we wait on the Lord to answer. Waiting, though difficult at times, is designed to test and strengthen our faith. The longer we wait, the great the faith needed to see the blessing at the end. Our text verse indicates we have yet to see all that God has for us and certainly that includes the prayers that He’ll answer. The Bible says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” We can’t even begin to dream what God can do in answered prayer. To see those extra special blessings, we have to be willing to wait and persevere in prayer till the answer comes. Too often, we may have stopped too soon and missed God answering our prayers. God has promised to answer our prayers and if the answer hasn’t been obtained yet, just keep praying until the answer is known. God’s best blessings come to those who wait on Him. May God help us to embrace that truth as we seek answers to our prayers.

Home

Acts 4:31, 33 – “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness….And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”

Peter & John had performed a great miracle which opened an opportunity to preach the Gospel to a large crowd. However, not everyone appreciated their witness. The Jewish religious council felt their teaching was very problematic and dragged these men in for questioning. The council went further and before letting the men go, vehemently threaten them with the hope of silencing their witness. Afterwards, Peter & John brought back word to the church regarding the hostilities they experienced. Instead of being silenced through these fear tactics, the church began a prayer meeting, asking God for boldness to proclaim the Gospel. Our text picks up with God’s answer; the sending of the Holy Spirit and the power they received to witness and maintain their faithfulness to Christ.

Regardless if we are facing the pressures of persecution or the pull of our sinful nature, we need God’s power upon our lives to remain faithful and steadfast for the Lord. The Christian life cannot be lived right without the assistance of God’s power. Christians cannot be fruitful for the Lord without God’s power enabling their service. How do we get God’s power? Take the example from our text and other passages that clearly communicate that we must seek it through prayer. We must ask God to strengthen us to fulfill His will and obey His precepts. Without a consistent prayer life, we are going to have an inconsistent Christian life. Have you “powered up” today by spending time with God in prayer?

Home

Matthew 11:28-30 – Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

I Timothy 2:1-2

Isaiah 59:1-2 – “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.”

Sometimes a sense of discouragement and unbelief sets into the hearts of God’s people when they hear about the subject of prayer. Prayer, “though it seems to work for some, doesn’t seem to work for me” is the underlying attitude too many of God’s people take. According to scripture, prayer is the one of the most potent things we can do as it stirs God to action. James 5:16 states, “The effectual fervent prayer availeth much…” But why does that seem like an “idle tale” to so many?

We must first understand one thing, the issue is never with God, period. The issue is always with us. Our text verse tells us that God certainly isn’t lacking in ability to accomplish anything. But why isn’t He answering my prayers some wonder? Though many reasons could exist, including God’s timing, God’s will, etc, one thing is often overlooked, that’s our own sin. Verse 2 of our text shows us what puts “static in the line” between us and God. To get access to the throne of God, we must clean our hearts through personal confession and repentance of sin. Psalm 24:3-4 states, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” If we want access to the throne, we must remember who we are approaching, the Almighty Creator God! Sin will stonewall any attempt to speak with God. We need to examine our hearts today and come clean with any sin God brings to mind whether it was a word, thought or action. We’ll have all the access we want to the throne room of God with the sin in our lives cleaned up through personal confession and repentance. We need our prayers answers, but before that happens, we have to get clean. Will we do so?

Home