Overcoming Hindrances To Powerful Prayers.

Let us pray.

Let me ask you guys a question before we get right to our topic. How many of you are waiting on God to answer a specific prayer? Okay, how many of you are wondering why these prayers haven't been answered yet?

Well this session is to explain and explore hindrances to our powerful prayers and how we can overcome them.

Like many of us, most Christians are also struggling with the question; why my prayers remain unanswered?

So we will look at several scriptures and dive deep into its teachings.

First reason why some prayers remain unanswered is that :

1. We pray with the wrong motives.

James 4:3

New International Version

3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Well this may come as a shock to some of you that One of the reasons prayers are unanswered because of wrong motives. See GOD knows what is in our hearts. Maybe you are asking for things with a hidden agenda. How easy it is to forget that God weighs the motives of the heart, and our motives are never hidden from His sight.

There's a story about a man in his 50's who approached a pastor and asked for prayers. He told the pastor to pray for him as he was not in good standing with his father for 10 years now. So he asked the pastor to pray that God moves in the heart of his father to forgive him. So basically he was asking for a prayer of forgiveness. Ofcourse to the eyes of the pastor; this is a powerful prayer and he was moved to ask the man. You know many come to me for prayers about increase in wealth, increase in belongings and property's and I was really moved with your prayers about forgiveness. I was just wondering what prompted you to ask for this prayer?

The man replied to him that his father was dying and his father was a billionaire. He wanted to make sure he was part of his inheritance will and so he asked to pray that his father forgives him.

So it was clear to the pastor that the man was seeking forgiveness for selfish gain instead of a restored relationship. He couldv'e also asked for prayers for longer life for his dad right? Or healing for his dad. Buit no, he had his own agenda and God knows the motives of our heart. It is never hidden from him.

Have you ever wondered why prayers about winning the lotto never comes to pass. Even if we say that LORD, if I win this lotto, I will give all the winnings to my church, so that we can fund missionaries to go around the world. On the surface' this looks and sounds like good motivations right. But what we think is right; is not right in the eyes of God. God is more interested in your

2. WE HARBOR Bitterness, rage, anger and unforgiveness.

Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Again this pierces through the heart. Many prayers are being hindered because of the condition of our hearts.

Think of bitterness, rage and anger and unforgiveness against someone like a solid wall that hinders your prayers from passing through. At the root of it all really, is unforgiveness.

Verse 32 of the same chapter that we just read says:

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Also Jesus said in Mark 11:25, NLT: "But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.'"

Unforgiveness hinders your prayers. Unforgiveness clouds your heart and mind and perhaps even mires your motives. Perhaps some of you are thinking. Amar, how can I forgive someone who is not even asking for forgiveness? How can I forgive when he or she doesn’t even feel sorry for what he did to me! Or how can I forgive someone when clearly they think the have done nothing wrong to me.

Well if you read the verse again, it does not say forgive ONLY when they ask for forgiveness. No, it say FIRST FORGIVE - be the first. First forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against. This word Grudge holds many meanings. It's resentment, you have resentment or hatred, animosity or even injustice, bad blood, sama nang loob. All of these are wrapped around the word grudge. So before praying; First forgive regardless if the person didn’t ask forgiveness.