How often have you felt like your prayers never left the room you were in...how often have you felt like you were just talking to yourself? Be honest...there are times when it feels like praying is of no use! Hey, calm down...I said it feels like! Beyond the spiritual warfare and attacks to keep God's children's from praying there are a number of instances in God's Word where we learn that the prayers of the Saints are hindered. One of those is mentioned in our reading in Zechariah today. Let's take a few minutes to look at several others and then we will camp out on Zechariah for a few minutes. In Psalm 66:18 we see that if we regard iniquity in our hearts God will not hear our prayers...is there unconfessed sin in your life or areas where you are unrepentant? In Matt. 6:5 we see the religious leaders rebuked because they prayed for show to be noticed and recognized by people...bad idea! James 4:3 rebukes God's children for asking with the wrong motives, carnal motives. In James 1:5–6 God's people are told to ask for wisdom and to ask in faith...asking and not believing will hinder your prayers! Dan 10:10–13 references the demonic activity mentioned above. In 1 Pet. 3:7 husbands are commanded to live with their wives according to understanding so that their prayers will not be hindered. I believe that Luke 18:10–14 teaches us that the prideful will not be in heaven and that the prayer of the broken and humble gets God's ear! Mal. 3:8–10 does not specifically pertain to prayer, but it does say that those who rob from God in withholding their tithe and offerings will not be blessed like those who do. I desire the windows of heaven opened and pouring down blessing in my life and in the lives of those I minister to...Mal 3:10 "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." Matt. 5:23–24; 12, 14 teaches us to quickly reconcile with our brothers and that we must forgive one another. In Prov. 21:3; 1 John 3:16–17 we see that if we who profess to be God's children do not love and help the poor, not that our prayers will be hindered, though they will, its a bigger issue...we are not saved! God's true children will love what God loves!
This brings us to Zechariah...one way of saying this is that if you refuse to listen to and obey God's Word HE will not listen to your prayers...check out these three passages.
Zec 7:11-14 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”
Proverbs 1:24-28 Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25 because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, 27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Pr 28:9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
I really don't want my prayers to be an abomination to my Lord, to the Lord of Hosts, Yahweh! From one perspective it seems like a lot to keep up with, but I believe that there is an easy answer...well, easy and not so easy:)
John 14:21 teaches us something beautifully profound! "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Really our only job is to follow and love Jesus! If that is our hearts passion, burn and desire then we will be Spirit filled and the Holy Spirit will tell us when we go out of bounds. Our mission is to know HIM and make HIM known if we press hard after HIM...HE will bring our lives joyfully into alignment with HIS precious Word! If this is our heart's desire we will not refuse to listen to HIM and we will not ignore HIM...we will long to listen attentively and HE will hear our cries!
Pursuing HIM together!
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