HINDRANCES TO ANSWERED PRAYERS (2)

Isaiah 59:1-2

"BEHOLD, THE Lord's hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save, nor His ear dull with deafness, that it cannot hear.

2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."

Dear people of God, at our first post on this topic we identified some uncommon hindrances to answered prayers.

These hindrances are uncommon not because God has hidden them from humans but because majority of Christians do not read their Bible to know the Word of God and its application to their lives.

Even when they read, they misinterpret or fail to pay attention to salient points in the Scripture.

It is as written in 2 Peter 3:16, “Speaking of this as he does in all of his letters. There are some things in those [epistles of Paul] that are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist and misconstrue to their own utter destruction, just as [they distort and misinterpret] the rest of the Scriptures.”

Today, we will look at some other uncommon hindrances to prayers so that we can learn to prayerfully ask God to show us our errors and when we sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness we will receive instant miracles once we adhere to His instructions and break the yoke of satan.

Judging our kids – James 3:10 – there are some parents who say all manner of things about their children either in their conversation with others or in anger. What happens is that satan uses these judgments as a legitimate excuse to hold on to the child’s blessing.

Anyone familiar with Nigeria would see the menace of social miscreants or area boys as they are popularly called. A lot of these boys were frequently cursed/judged as youngsters by their parents and these curses/judgments have become legitimate strongholds of satan over their lives.

I’ve once been told of a mother who was chasing her kid that wronged her and in anger she said by the time she got him, he would be dead. This kid ran and ran into the road where a vehicle knocked him down, killing him instantly!

She did get the boy and he was indeed dead!!

The lesson here is, watch what you say about your kids and learn to use your mouth to bless them always.

Judging our parents – James 3:10 – there are also children whose parents have not lead proper lives (e.g. prostitution, hard drugs, armed robbery, gambling, immorality, drunkenness, etc) and so the kids are ashamed of them and from their hearts make painful statements about their parents.

Again, satan uses this as a legitimate hold against these parents.

No matter how terrible you think your parents are or how painful their past deeds, just remember they are co-creators with God who brought you into this world.

Remember also the Word of God says in Exodus 20:12, “Regard (treat with honour, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.”

Treat your parents with respect, honour and obedience in all that does not constitute sin before God and not only would you live long but you will enjoy the blessing of parents.

Treating God as an equal – 1 Samuel 2:30 – I am always appalled at the irreverence some people accord our Mighty God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ when they pray to ask for a favour.

These same people speak to God as though He were their mate and then misquote the bible verses in Isaiah 45:11 and Matthew 11:12 to support their wrong action.

Put this same people in front of a human governor or minister or president of a country and they will be shaking and unable to utter a complete sentence!

How then can you dare justify speaking to God in irreverence and expect that He would respond?

For instance, someone praying will say “if you are God, prove yourself to me in this matter I have requested.”

Such statement is demeaning of God and He would not respond because He does not have to prove Himself to someone who lacks the common sense to speak to Him in reverence.

Have you seen anywhere in the Bible where the prophets or Apostles or Christians prayed to God in such manner?

If you want God to respond and answer your prayer, then humble yourself before Him, just remind Him of His Word and beg Him to confirm it in your life.

Then thank and praise Him and see if He won’t respond.

Dear friend, the words we speak are important because God has given us authority by the words we speak since we are made in His image and likeness as humans and more powerfully as Christians using the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you have never known these things stated in today’s post, then repent sincerely and ask God for forgiveness and ask for what you want in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

............................to be continued.