“He that turneth away His ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination” (Proverb 28:9)
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto His cries” (Psalms 34:15)
“For the eyes of the Lord are intently watching all who live good lives, and he gives attention when they cry to him”. (TLB)
“The eyes of the Lord are on the upright, and his ears are open to their cry”.(BBE)
“God keeps an eye on his friends,his ears pick up every moan and groan”.(MBCL)
A crooked way cannot be straight at the sametime. A mind cannot partake in the Lord’s and devil’s table at the same time. The truth is that there is no way you can pray correctly when you are not living aright. When you are not at peace with God,you should not approach His presence boldly. God told Cain, “Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?”(Genesis 4:6-7)
Sin takes man away from the presence of the Lord!
Sincere daily living quickens an answer to your prayer. So, there should be no way you will please the Lord with the words of your mouth when you live wrongly. What matters is not how long you pray but after the whole exercise,how do you live your life? Do you not know that God’s eyes are over the righteous while He dislikes the ways of the unrighteous.
The Word of God says;
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto his prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Peter 3:12)
Now, let us examine how St. Paul said that you, as a Christian should live your life.
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God...Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication,uncleanness,inordinate affection,evil concupiscence,and covetousness which is idolatry....But now ye also put off all these ; anger,wrath,malice, blasphemy,filthy communication out of your mouth,lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds...”....Put on therefore as the elect of God,holy and beloved,bowels of mercies,kindness,humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering,forbearing one another and forgiving one another...And above all these things, put on charity(love) which is the bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:3-14)
Christians should understand that prayer works in consonance with their daily lives, conducts, communications and practices. The way you live determines how God should answer your prayer. This may hinder or quicken the result. Your promotion and progress in your spiritual life becomes real when you learn how to live according to what the Lord said in His word. So, despising His law makes your prayer to be an abomination in His sight.
God is holy. He is God of holiness and also wants His children to be holy! (1 Peter 1:15-16)
God demands from you a life of honesty,sincerity,faithfulness,obedience,discipline and truthfulness in all manner of conversations. This includes sharing love towards one another which is the bond of perfectness.
Furthermore, you should search your heart continually, to ask for the grace of God to live holily in His presence. With righteous living, you are living for Him. You are assured of victory when you live righteously in His sight. He will direct your path daily and make you to receive solution in your situation and circumstance. This is possible especially when you walk in obedience to His word. You should abide in Him and cherish His word always. You should equally remember that sin is a great hindrance to every of your success and progress.
The prophet, Isaiah declared many a times, the problem is from you. The Lord is ever-ready to save you.
“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” For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness” (Isaiah 59:1-3)
“Look! Listen!
God's arm is not amputated — he can still save.
God's ears are not stopped up — he can still hear.
There's nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you.
Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God.
Your sins got between you so that he doesn't hear.
Your hands are drenched in blood,
your fingers dripping with guilt,
Your lips smeared with lies,your tongue swollen
from muttering obscenities”.
(MBCL)
When you read this portions of the Scripture and know that sin is an insanity and a barrier to your progress and promotion in life, then what have you done to come up to the standard that the Lord wants you to be so that He will hear and help you?
Sin kills!
However, because sin is a separator from your God,you should ask for His grace always and strive to live righteously both in secret and public. It is only the holy life that can communicate to God because he stands victoriously whose life challenges. You must abandon every negative habit and lifestyle that fights against your new nature and embrace ones that are in consonance with the revealed life of Christ. At this point, you should confess every sinful deeds and thoughts in your life. Sin destroys!
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us”
(1 John 1:8-10)
More so,Sin can make you to lose God’s favour in your life like the people of Israel in Judges Chapter 6:1-10. This means that your enemy may prevail against you. You may hide in dens of the mountains, caves and strongholds looking for security and protection. But all of these would fail you. When you cultivate, your enemy will reap. When you sow, the enemy will not leave any substance for you. Gideon did exploit and defeated his enemies and rescued the people of Israelites when he dealt with the Satanic altar of his father. This hindered and closed the doors to their victory and favour from God.(vs 27-28)
Sin is a hinderer of all good and deliverance from God. As you confess your sins now, God will help you in your situation because He is mighty in battle. His ears listen to the cry of the faithfuls and His hands does valiantly. He breaks down the strenght and bow of the oppressors while He makes the way of the righteous to flourish (Psalm 92:12)
Finally, when you live righteously and believe in Him with all your heart, the work is half done. A life of righteousness in Him should make a considered- short prayer to be effective and work marvellously. At this time, people around you will be surprised to see the result immediately. Moses prayed one of the shortest prayer in Numbers 12 verse 13. Though short, but effective. God heard him and restored the health of Miriam. The prophet, Elijah was able to prevail at the Mount of Carmel against his opposers with the result of sixty-three worded prayer. After his prayer; fire fell, the victory was won and the people shouted, “The Lord, He is the God;the Lord, He is the Lord”(1 Kings 18:39). All these were possible because he was a holy prophet who also lived a life of faith in God.
So, prayers offered to God in good sincere living and faith in the name of the Lord yields fruitfully. It has power to destroy every chains of poverty, frustration and disappointment. It can set the captive free, deliver the oppressed and restore Godly favour.
