HINDRANCES TO PRAYER
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LESSON #1: DISOBEDIENCE
TEXT: ISA. 59:1-2
Isa 59:1-2
1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
One of the biggest hindrances to our prayer is DISOBEDIENCE / SIN
- We cry out to God
- We ask for this or that
- We want our prayers to be heard
- We want our prayers to be answered
But because of unrepented sin
- The heavens are shut off
- Our prayers go nowhere
WE FEEL LIKE DAVID FELT WHEN HE CRIED OUT
“The Heavens are as brass”
Many times, when faced with unanswered prayer
- The first person we want to blame
- The first person we want to point our finger at is God
We look up to the heavens
- We cry out
- God what is the problem
- Can you still hear
- Have you gone deaf
Why are you not answering my prayer?
The truth is, sin is a wall that separates us from God.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden,
there was a curse that was loosed.
A curse that separates us from God.
- No longer was there fellowship with God.
- No longer were they able to walk with him in the cool of the evening.
There was a loss of relationship.
- There was a veil placed between God and man.
Sin separates us from God
This is the reason Jesus came to die
Heb 10:19-20
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
He came that his blood might wash our sins away
- That our relationship with Him might be restored
When we asked Jesus to come into our hearts and wash away our sins
- Relationship is restored
- Fellowship was regained
- There are now open lines of communication
But the moment we begin to fall away
- Harbor sin in our lives
- Backslide
- Have an unrepentant attitude
That connection begins to be severed
Josh 7:11-12
11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
To back up a little
What has taken place here; Israel has just won a tremendous victory
- Marched around walls of Jericho
- Seven times
- Walls came down
- All was to be burnt or sacrificed to God
- The silver, the gold, the brass, all to be his offering
- They were to keep nothing for themselves
But Aken, one of the men, took some gold and silver and hid it under his tent. As a result of his sin, God takes his hand off his people.
- He no longer fights their battles for them
- He no longer gives them strength
- He no longer gives them direction
- He no longer hears their prayers
They are left to fight their battles on their own
As they go up against a small city called Ai, they suffer a terrible defeat.
You need to understand something - disobedience is sin
- God does have grace
- He will work with you
- He will deal with you
- He will convict you
- He will send a sermon your way
- The Holy Spirit will pull on you to repent
There will come a point when God will say
- Enough is enough
- Deal with it now
- Repent
If we refuse to deal with the issue of sin, that sin will build a wall between us and God.
Prov 15:29
29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
If your prayers are not being answered
The first place to look is not at God (to blame him)
- But to our own hearts
- To our own lives
The frightening thing here is that many never realize God has removed his hand from them until disaster hits.
Israel did not know God was not with them until the dead were left on the battlefield.
Many times we think we can disobey God
- Do what we want to do
- Live our life our own way
- Follow our own self will instead of His will
We think this way because
- Every thing doesn’t blow up at once
- Our house doesn’t burn down
- We don’t loose our job
It looks like we have gotten away with it
So time goes by.
We are living our lives.
- Working our jobs
- Going to church
- Raising our families
Then a crisis hits
- God is not there
- We have no defense
- Hell begins to rip thru our lives
The danger is that many times the crisis hits so far down the line that we forget what the issue was that has separated us from God to begin with.
And now we do not understand why
- Why God won’t answer our prayer
- Why the heavens are as brass
- Why God won’t hear us
We stand there with our hands on our heads our face a picture of disbelief and say God.
Why? Why? Why?
Isa 59:1-2
1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
The truth is God’s hand is not shortened
- He is still God
- He is still on the throne
- He is still in power
- He is still in control
But because of the sin in your heart he has had to turn his face from you.
Unless you repent and separate yourself from the accursed thing, you are on your own.
Isa 1:15
15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: ...
If we are to win the battle and finish the course of which Paul spoke we need God on our side.
We need our relationship with Him to be unhindered.
We must not allow
- Sin
- Disobedience
- Unrighteousness
To separate us from God
Ask yourself
Ask God
- Why are my prayers unanswered
- Is there sin
- Is there disobedience
And when the answer comes you have to be willing to separate yourself from it.
Ps 66:18-20
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
