40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 14 - Devotion 20 - Hindrances to Prayer

Hindrances to Prayer

"That your prayers be not hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).

The greatest hindrance to the life of prayer is sin. "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." God would rather let Israel be defeated at Ai and go into captivity to Babylon, notwithstanding the prayers of Joshua in the one case, or even Noah, Daniel and Job, if they could have interceded, in the other, so long as the answering of these prayers would have countenanced the sin of His people. Yes, even that beautiful and consecrated temple must be consumed to ashes and the very name of Jehovah dishonored by His enemies, rather than sin in the slightest degree be sanctioned by a holy God.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Even the cherished purpose of sin will thus hinder our prayers. The Apostle John most clearly adds his testimony to this heart-searching truth when he tells us that, "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."
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God can hear the prayers of sinners, or else none of us could have access to the throne of grace, but this is a different matter from expecting Him to answer our prayers while we are deliberately committing sin without an honest purpose to abstain from it. This is the coolest insolence and presumption in the face of heaven. The sin may be confessed and put away, and the Lord will freely bless; but while we stand with evil conscience and wrong intent and expect God to countenance our disobedience and presumption, we can only accept the awful message which He gave to the leaders of Israel in the fourteenth chapter of Ezekiel; "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols. . . . For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: and I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord."

This will frequently be found to be the cause of long unanswered prayers and the failure of God's people to enter into the fullness of the blessing they are seeking. God is searching their hearts and bringing to their remembrance long-forgotten sins with which He wants them to deal thoroughly.

By A.B. Simpson (C&MA Founder)

Spend some time today in prayer asking the Lord to search your heart to reveal any hindrance to your prayer. Scripture promises us in 1 John 1:8-9, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 13 - Devotion 19 - He Sees

He Sees

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6 ESV).

What a privilege it is to have such a promise from our Lord.  If we seek Him privately, He promises to meet with us personally and to see us, to focus His attention on us.  We were created for fellowship with our Lord and our hearts long for His attention and nearness, but sin distracts and destroys that connection and the ability to abide in Him.  Abiding in Him, fellowship with Him is meant to be an all day, every day condition, but we easily lose focus and return to following our own wisdom, our own desires, our sin nature.  Meeting with the Lord in secret provides childlike assurance that He is with us and He cares for us.  By focusing our eyes on Him and Him on us in the secret, living in that assurance all day long becomes possible.

Our secret time with the Lord may become filled with a list of to-do’s like reading a devotion or studying Scripture which are good things, but our fellowship, our relationship with Him must come first, must be our foundation.  Secret prayer shouldn’t just be about asking for comfort, or things, or strength; but a giving away of our lives into the sure and safe keeping of our Faithful Father.  When the secret fellowship is secured and maintained, then the reward of strength and wisdom to live an obedient public life of following Him is provided.

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 12 - Devotion 18 - Praying Like Daniel - Scott Gardner

Praying Like Daniel

Daniel 9:3-5 (ESV)

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,  we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.”

 

It seems like the world is falling apart at the seams these days, doesn’t it? People have lost a respect for God and for each other, the legal system seems eager to reward the lawbreaker, and the values that were once a foundation of our society are considered old-fashioned and narrow-minded. How did we ever get to this point?

 

In 721 B.C., the Nation of Israel found themselves in a very similar situation. Their society was falling apart and, eventually, they were forced to leave their land as captives. In his prayer, Daniel describes his people as rebellious, disobedient, and refusing to obey God’s laws. In fact, he says, they wandered so far away from God’s law that they had become a disgrace to all the other nations around them (which is amazing when you consider their neighbors). Daniel’s heart was broken for his own people.

 

1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us our sins. The word “our” refers to all our sins as a group of people, not just our own personal sins as individuals.

 

Daniel was a godly man who took a stand for righteousness, and yet he fully recognized his need to confess the sins of God’s people. He understood that God’s people had broken His law and were experiencing God’s punishment. Daniel confessed his nation’s sins and pleaded for God’s mercy.

 

It is so easy to become discouraged as we watch the evening news. However, instead of complaining, let’s follow Daniel’s example and pray. Let us come to God and confess not only our own sins, but confess the sins of our nation and cry out to God for His mercy.

 

But also, like Daniel, we need to pray for the people of God today - the church that has wandered so far from the truth. May our hearts break for a church that in many ways has lost its power, respect, and significance. Let us pray with Daniel,

 

“O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake.”

 

Paul tells us to “make supplication for all the saints” (Eph 6:18). It is our responsibility to pray like Daniel - to pray for God’s people.

 

Why not spend your prayer time today asking for God to restore His people - for His own sake?

40 Days of Prayer - Tuesday, June 11 - Devotion 17 - Our Confidence in Prayer

Our Confidence in Prayer

There are certain things that often amuse me in life.  By amuse, I mean they often stop me dead in my tracks and cause me to shake my head and ponder.  For instance, in the last year I have seen two groundhogs in two different trees on two different occasions. They seemed so comfortable and confident being in those trees. I was amused! People also amuse me.  Consider peoples' actions in their automobiles. Some people drive like they have all the confidence in the world and then you see them off the side of the road or pulled over by our faithful law enforcement.  Confidence is such an amusing thing. Confidence can be defined as assurance, reliance, trust in self or some other.  With it, we can accomplish great tasks and with out it, we are hesitant and unsure. 

Something else that often amuses me is people's confidence, or lack thereof, in God.  I often wonder why some people have such confidence in God and why others don't.  It is also amusing to consider  the ungodly things people claim to have confidence in. For example, people often quote scripture out of context in order to meet a personal want or desire and they appear to have confidence in their request being heard. An often misquoted verse is Romans 8:28.  Many people confidently say God will work all things for my good. We know God actually says, "He will work all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Jesus says in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

Consider
1 John 3:16-22,
^"16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
¹⁹ By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰ for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; ²² and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him."

Apply
Is our confidence before God right? Are we confident in the right things of God? Sometimes we put confidence in our ability to listen well and to act right. Oh, how detrimental this is to our confidence before God. Our confidence is in Christ and Christ alone.

Read
Hebrews 10:14-22
¹⁴ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.¹⁵ And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” ¹⁷ then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” ¹⁸ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Pray
When you pray today spend time thinking about why you can come to God's throne of grace with confidence.  Is your confidence in you or in Him? 

In Christ, Bryan

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 10 - Devotion 16

Why Pray? Part 2
Sunday's Message

1.     Prayer accomplishes God’s will and Prayer helps us understand God’s will

A.  Prayer accomplishes God's will

Matthew 6:9-10  9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

 1 John 5:14   14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him 

 B.   Prayer helps us understand God's will
Matthew 26:39-46 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

2.     Pray so God is glorified

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12  11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:12-14  12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Psalm 50:7-15  “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you.  I am God, your God. 8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;  your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

 Consider

God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His Grace in any number of situations. Consider the people in the Bible who were healed, they asked to be healed, Jesus recognized their faith and healed them.

Consider Ezekiel 22:30-31  30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. 31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

We should pray in preparation for decisions like Jesus did in Luke 6:12-13  12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:;

We should pray to gather workers for the spiritual harvest like Jesus said in Luke 10:1-2 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

We should pray to gain strength to overcome temptation as Jesus said in Matthew 26:40-41 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

 We should pray to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually  like Paul says in Ephesians 6:18-20  18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.  

Apply

As we pray this week, are our prayers focused on God's will or our will? Are we praying for our glory or God's glory? Are we praying for our Kingdom to come or His kingdom to come? Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."