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Why No Answers to Prayer?
Once I heard a renowned seminary professor make this statement to his
class, "I have never seen a miraculous answer to prayer." I could
hardly believe my ears! Had this been said by an atheist or an agnostic or
an anonymous Christian it might not be shocking but by a brilliant believer
shocked the socks off us all.
Have you seen a miraculous answer to prayer? You might reply,
"Certainly I pray." But do you receive answers? Have you
recognized a divine intervention of God to meet that need or answer that
prayer? Over the years I have heard hundreds admit to having no answers to
prayer or no answers in a long time. Has the well run dry with you? Do you
wonder why there are no answers? Do you inquire, "Where is the Lord God
of Elijah?" (2 Kings 2:14). Have you even questioned the validity of
prayer?
Some teach and preach that God answers every prayer of His children. Others
feel that sometimes the answer is "wait a while." A reality check
declares He will not even listen to certain people when they pray. The
Psalmist cried out, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will
not hear me" (Ps. 66:18, KJV). There are prayers and people God refuses
to hear, in fact, His face is set against them as stated in 1 Pet. 4:12,
"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to
their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil".
The people of God must recognize there are specific requirements and
restrictions concerning prayer if they are to get their prayers answered.
Let's delve into some issues and see why many "draw a blank" and
seldom or never see answers to their prayers. Whatever you do, do not miss
the last reason of this chapter why your prayer has not been answered yet.
1. No Answers Because You Don't Ask
Go back to this stellar statement, "you don't have because you don't
ask" James 4:2. This isn't just hatched up. The consensus is that most
Christians pray only two to five minutes a day and multitudes never pray at
all. This seems preposterous but very probable! Many pray, but for the most
part, they send up only a few quick emergency calls now and then. They dial
God's "911" number. They pray only when they are in terrible
trouble. Let's look at reasons why many do not pray or do not "keep on
asking" and thus get no answers:
2. They Have Seen No Miracles
Like the prestigious professor, they have not experienced nor seen evidence
of any miraculous answers to prayer, at least not any answers lately. Israel
was mired in that miserable wandering in the wilderness. God tells us,
"When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another
generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the works which
he had done for Israel" (Jud. 2:10). Many second and third generation
believers, as were these, have not beheld "the works of God" so
they fail to pray. They have no feel for God, they have little fire from God
and thus they have little faith in God. Understandably they do not pray.
Think of what they are missing.
3. They see no need to pray.
Quite frankly, some do not pray because, in their insensitive condition,
they see no need to pray. The spirit of the Laodicean church is certainly in
evidence today. Of them the Lord God spoke, "Because you say, I am
rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing..." (Revelation
3:17.) In our relatively prosperous society today many feel "I have
need of nothing." It appears that even professed believers, by their
malaise, presume they can do fairly well without God's help and have no
necessity to pray.
God gave a strong warning about this:
"When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your
God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget
the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and his
statutes which I command you today, lest--when you have eaten and are full,
and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them, and when your herds and
your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold are multiplied, and all that
you have is multiplied, when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the
Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of
bondage;...you shall remember the Lord your God; for it is He who gives you
power to get wealth..." (Deuteronomy 8:10-14, 18).
Yes, even the power to gain wealth issues from God, and a constant reminder
of that fact is necessary. Any one of us could be flat on our backs tomorrow
and never earn another dime. All that happened to Israel was passed on for
our admonition (see 1 Corinthians 10:11), and the application of this
passage today is overwhelming. Many who have prospered have tended to forget
God or their need of Him.
4. They Have No Desire to Pray
A third reason some do not pray is--and this is a shocker--they have no
desire to pray. This may be the saddest reason of all. "For it is God
who works in you both to will [desire] and to do of His good pleasure"
(Philippians 2:13). Isn't that mind-boggling? God has to take the initiative
for believers even to "desire" to do His good pleasure, which
includes praying. God admonishes us to 'Seek the Lord while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).
Many people, too late and to their sorrow, have found that they did not
respond to God while He was near and thus now have no desire to pray. You
simply do not shove God into your mold or timetable. You must respond to Him
while He is near. Some have so "quenched" or "grieved"
the Holy Spirit that they have no desire, prompted by Him, to pray or do
anything else for God or for His glory.
These people are probably worse off than any. "Draw near to God and he
will draw near to you" (James. 4:8). Take the first step and rediscover
that yearning to pray. Isaiah expressed it poignantly: "There is no one
who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You"
(Isaiah 64:7). Why don't you be the exception right now?
5. They are Worldly
A fourth reason people fail to pray is because of worldliness in their
lives. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John. 2:15).
Loving the attractions, allurements, and possessions of this world will
cause your love for God and His kingdom to diminish. You will never discover
a worldly Christian who has a pressing burden to pray. Worldly pleasures to
the weak Christian are like candy to an immature child. When he eats candy,
he loses his appetite for meat and potatoes. The attitudes and philosophies
of the lost world can kill one's appetite for prayer. The media our of
control--television, movies, magazines, audio and videotapes, you name
them--have probably deadened more appetites for God than all else in
present-day society.
Has your appetite for prayer been lessened by some worldly habit, pleasure
or companion? Maybe you should pay attention to 2 Corinthians 6:17,
"Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch
what is unclean and I will receive you." Or maybe you need to "put
off, concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts" (Eph. 4:22).
6. They are Too Sleepy
A fifth reason why many do not pray is not only spiritual but also physical
sleepiness. "Then He came to the disciples, and found them asleep, and
said to Peter, What, could you not watch with Me one hour?" (Matt.
26:40.
Those who stay up watching the "Late Night" movies, and then fall
asleep in prayer or in preaching services, have no one to blame but
themselves. More than likely the preacher isn't dull. They are.
There is a genuine risk in not taking care of one's body and thus being too
sleepy to watch and pray. Lately many articles concerning Americans'
"sleep deprivation" have appeared, indicating that perhaps 75% of
adults in the U.S. are staggering around like zombies for lack of proper
rest. More and more I am aware I have to exercise and have enough rest and
sleep. Why? So I can be alert and have my body respond in service to God.
How important it is to "Exercise yourself rather to godliness" (1
Tim. 4:7) and to "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him"
(Ps. 37:7).
7. No Answers Because of Sin
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Ps.
66:18) bears repeating. You will never be sinless in this life, but you must
be blameless. If there is known sin, unconfessed sin, covered sin, or
unforsaken sin you are aware of, you are "regarding" it in your
heart. God not only will not answer your prayers, He will not hear your
prayer.
What shall you do then? God has the ever-ready answer: "My little
children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone
sins, we have an Advocate [an attorney to plead our case] with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 Jn. 2:1).
Filled with your guilt, do not run from God. Father, run toward God for the
cleansing and forgiveness he readily extends. Confess your sins. Call sin
what it is. Do not alibi your attitudes or thoughts. Do not rationalize your
actions. Do not try to cover your sins before God. You know better anyhow.
Confess your sins. Forsake them -- else sin will eat you alive.
The promise is, "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 [because
He promised] and just [because Jesus suffered and died for our sins] to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us [He forgets them, cannot see them]
from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:8-9).
The devil tries to persuade people that their sin is too awful and that God
could never forgive them. What a lie! Satan's the father of lies, you know
(see Jn. 8:44). God cleanses the repentant sinner from all unrighteousness.
What about adultery? Remember the woman caught in the very act of
adultery;? What did Jesus do with her? He forgave her. What about murder?
Think about the sorrowful thief on the cross. While He Himself was nailed to
His cross, He forgave the man. In His interview with Nicodemus, Jesus spoke
these consoling words for sinners, "For God sent not His Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be
saved" (John 3:18 RSV).
There is no excuse for sinning, but there is also no excuse for not
accepting God's extended forgiveness. Yet, if the sin has not been confessed
and forsaken, the believer will often feel forsaken of God. l Confess the
sin and claim by faith the promise of God that it is forgiven and forgotten.
Remember when Joshua and Israel won that smashing victory at Jericho? Then
they turned around and got the socks beat off them at little Ai. Joshua
began to intercede for Israel in prayer, but "The Lord said unto
Joshua, Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel hath
sinned..." (Josh. 7:10, 11). Sometimes we have it backwards. We try to
pray when there is "sin within the camp." There is no point in
praying until the sin is pinpointed and dealt with, forgiven and forsaken.
So it is with each of us, if we want our prayers answered.
Please realize I am not being judgmental, but...since I have preached for
over fifty years and have seen hundreds of professing Christians fall by the
wayside because of "secret" sins they thought they could get away
with, it is hard not to be suspicious of those who do not have their prayers
answered. So I would fail God and you if I did not beg you to confess and
repent of those "hidden" sins, those bugaboos that are keeping you
from the joy and blessing of God.
8. No Answers Because of Broken Vows
Surely all of us have gone through the pain of a friend or loved one who
did not keep their word to us. Maybe your spouse reneged on the wedding
vows, or a person made a solemn promise he has already broken, or you made a
major purchase and the merchant failed to follow through on a guarantee.
Years ago there was a TV program "Who Can You Trust?" If you can
count on the fingers of one hand the people you can trust, you are
exceedingly blessed.
When a vow is broken, the closer the friend or loved you, the worse the
hurt. Yes, you become angry--but worse than that is the gnawing pain in your
soul. How often I have counseled people (usually wives) whose wedding vows
have been shattered and they have wept, "How could he possibly do this
to me? How could he hurt the children and me like this?" Worst of all,
how could he hurt God? Ultimately, all sin is toward God Almighty Himself.
David in his most passionate "penitential psalm" confessed,
"Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy
sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when
thou judgest" (Ps. 51:4).
It always frightens me when I hear someone during a crisis make all kinds of
dramatic and drastic vows to God. "Oh, dear God, if You'll only get me
out of this, I'll serve You all the days of my life." He gets them out
of it, and how soon they forget. How well I remember hearing about
multitudes of servicemen and their families who promised God how they would
serve Him if only He would let them come home safely. Most of them returned
home safe and sound, but what happened to their vows?
You often see in the media how someone was rescued from a seemingly
impossible predicament--a fire, a near-drowning, a hostage situation, you
name it--and they made grandiose vows. Where are most of them now?
God cautions, "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it, for
He has no pleasure in fools. l Pay what you have vowed.. It is better not to
vow than to vow and not pay" (Eccl. 5:4-5). The psalmist sang to God,
"I will pay You my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth has
spoken when I was in trouble" (Ps. 66:13, 14) Many have made vows when
they were "in trouble" and have not paid those vows. Until they
begin keeping the vow and confessing their failure to keep it, they will not
be inundated in a flood of answered prayers. Do you have an unfulfilled and
unkept vow that, like David you say, "My sin is ever before me?"
Why not do something about it right now?
9. No Answers Because of Family Relations
"Likewise, you wives, submissive to your own husbands.
Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to
the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace
of life, that your prayers be not hindered" (1 Peter 3:1-7.
Undoubtedly, that is most revealing! Are your prayers being hindered? If
family relations are not in order, your prayers will be hindered,
ineffective, and unanswered. Why is the marriage relationship so strongly
emphasized? Because the husband-wife relationship is a picture of the
relationship of Christ to His bride, the church.
For a Christian man not to love his wife as Christ loved the church is a bad
image of Christ's love for His bride, you and me. If a wife is not
submissive to her husband, it is a faulty picture of the church's submission
to Christ. If each one in the family does not perform properly in the home,
it can hinder prayer. Over the past fifty years I have done enough marriage
counseling among Christians to recognize that too many Christian marriages
are hurting and hindering prayers.
Too many are also just "enduring" their marriages and not
"enjoying" them. This hinders prayers and no miraculous answers
come. "Happy marriages do not happen, they are worked at". Couples
must talk to each other, open up and work at making their marriages what
they want them to be and what God intended them to be--so their prayers will
not be hindered.
Husband, do you love your wife even as Christ loved the church? You are the
head of the home which gives you an awesome responsibility to lead out
scripturally to a spiritual and joyful relationship. Wife, are you in
submission to your own husband socially, spiritually and physically. If you
are rebellious and not submissive, you are hindering all of your prayers for
your husband, your children, your lost loved ones and friends. Confessing
your faults to one another and ask God to remove the barriers to your lives
and prayers can help change the world. Do not be impotent spiritually.
For a year my son practiced and played golf in amateur tournaments with a
view toward becoming a professional golfer. He was able to make it and
became a professional golfer. He and another fellow who turned pro at the
same time were in the top ten in their first tournament. This other pro has
won over $600,000 so far this year. My son found out he was too much of a
family man and quit the pro tour to become an associate pastor and
"full-time" family man.
He is working even harder to be a godly husband and father as he did to
become a golf pro. He listens to tapes, reads books, and goes to seminars as
he learns how to be a better husband and father. I am a thousand times more
proud of him for his role as a husband and father than for all his
accomplishments as a golfer. Do you, kind sir, work as hard at being a man
of God as you do golfing, bowling, fishing or whatever? Do you, kind lady,
work as hard at becoming a woman of God as all else you try to accomplish?
We must be, above all things, men and women of God.
10. No Answers Because of No Response
Turn at my reproof, Surely I will pour out my Spirit on you, I will make y
words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched
out my hand and no one regarded. Because you have disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity, I
will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and
your destruction comes as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon
you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer, They will seek me
diligently, but they will not find me (Prov. 1:23-28).
Candidly put, God is warning, in essence, "Hear Me, I called you, and
you refused to listen" (v. 24a). "I have reached out to you, and
you didn't pay any attention" (v. 24b). "You set aside my counsel
(v. 25a). "You wouldn't respond to My reproof" (v. 25b). "Now
when your calamity and fears some, you will call on Me, but I won't
answer" (v. 27, 28). To me this is one of the most terrifying passages
in the Bible. It sends shivers up and down my spine for those who forsake
God. The tragedy is many people are living in the dire circumstances the
writer of Proverbs describes. You cannot ignore God without paying for it.
Over the years I have talked to many who once were faithful in church, sang
in the choir, and taught Sunday School classes, and then they turned their
backs on God. This is no idle threat but merely the naked truth. One cannot
do that to God and expect to escape. He is the Lord God of the universe. He
is sovereign, all-knowing, all-seeing, and ever-present.
Now when backsliders fall into "dire straits", they often cry out
to God, obtain no answer, and discover no peace. "The law of the
harvest" is just as true as the law of gravity, "be not deceived,
God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal.
6:7). You cannot ignore God, brush Him off, or snub Him. If you do, your sin
of neglecting Him and His cause will return, even as did Ebenezer Scrooge's
ghosts, to haunt you. The consequences will devastate you.
While there is time, pay attention to God when He speaks through His written
Word or through the Holy Spirit. Respond to Him, and to use a King James
Version expression, "and that right early". You can
"grieve" the Holy Spirit and you will receive His cutting
conviction and chastening. You "quench" the Holy Spirit and He
will leave you feeling forsaken and with no desire for God and spiritual
life. What an empty life that is!
Many have no answers from God because in the past they have ignored Him and
His commandments are now reaping the monstrous consequences. God sums it up:
"one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall
be an abomination" (Prov. 28:9). Some people must have radical surgery
before they will obtain answers to their prayers.
11. No Answers Because of Selfishness
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss [from wrong motives]
that you may spend it on your pleasures: (James 4:3). If the main reason for
asking is your own selfish desire, God replies that you will not receive. If
a wife prays for her husband to be saved only so life will be easier for
her, she may not see him saved. Sometimes a Christian loves possessions and
prays for a raise in order to buy a boat, a fancy car, designer duds or a
palatial home. Prayers with wrong motivation will not be answered. Elijah
gave the supreme example when he prayed for the fire to fall, and said,
"Hear me, O Lord, hear me. That this people may know that You are the
Lord God" (1 Kings 18:37). This gets God's attention. This is the right
motive for asking.
12. No Answers Because Not the Will of God
Even the Lord Jesus prayed, "Father, all things are possible for You.
Take this cup away from Me, nevertheless, not what I will, but what You
will" (Mark 14:36). The will of God was for Him to take the cup, go to
the cross and He submitted. God did not answer the Savior's prayer for the
Father to take the cup away from Him! Moses could have asked God all day
long to let him enter the promised land and would have gotten a no all the
time. It was not the will of God for him to enter. "Do not be unequally
joined together with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Do not pray
about joining with unbelievers in marriage or business. It is not the will
of God. This is rudimentary, but many miss it.
13. No Answers Because of Pride
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward" (Matt. 6:5). Their total reward is the praise of men or a pat on the back. All of us have heard people present an oration to the people in the audience in the name of prayer. That displeases God, but don't worry over them. Don't criticize them or you sin with them. Leave it all up to God, to straighten them out. Our public prayers must be to God as though no one else were around. We must be totally oblivious to people. Just talk to God or you will have your only answer, the plaudits and praise of people.
14. No Answers Because of No Faith
"And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matt. 13:58). Where could Jesus not do many mighty works? His own home town of Nazareth. Those who had seen the most of Him, missed the most of His miracles because of their unbelief. That is why it is so vital, first of all, to pray for the very things God commanded. You know you are praying in the will of God when you do. You can pray "believing" and you will see answers to prayer in wonderful ways. This will fortify your faith to pray for other requests as well. "And all things whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. 21:22).
15. No Answers because of Selfishness
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss ["from wrong
motives"] that you may spend it on your pleasures" (Jas. 4:3). If
the main reason for asking is your own selfish desires, God replies that you
will not receive. If a wife prays for her husband to be saved only so life
will be easier for her, she may not see him saved. Sometimes a Christian
loves possessions and prays for a raise in order to buy a boat, a fancy car,
designer duds or a palatial home. Prayers with wrong motivation will not be
answered. Elijah have the supreme example when he prayed for the fire to
fall and said, "Hear me, O Lord, hear me. That this people may know
that You are the Lord God" (1 Kings 18:37). This gets God's attention.
This is the right motive for asking.
16. No Answers, Not the Will of God
Even the Lord Jesus prayed, "Father all things are possible for You.
Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You
will" (Mk. 14:36j)J. The will of God was for him to take the cup, go to
the cross and He submitted. God did not answer the Savior's prayer for the
Father to take the cup away from Him! Moses could have asked God all day
long to let him enter the promised land and would have gotten a no all the
time. It was not the will of God for him to enter. "Do not be unequally
joined together with unbelievers" ( 2 Corinthians 6:14). Do not pray
about joining with unbelievers in marriage or business. It is not the will
of God. This is rudimentary but many miss it.
17. No Answers because of No Reverence
One of the most intriguing and instructive accounts in the Word of God is in
Matt. 15:22-28. In that passage a woman of Canaan (a Gentile) pled to Jesus
on behalf of her daughter who was beset by a demon. Jesus' answer, to put it
mildly, was strange. He answered the woman that He had come for the lost
sheep of the house of Israel, adding, "It is not good to take the
children's bread and throw it to the little dogs" (v. 26).
Jesus unusual statement could have infuriated her but instead of losing her
cool she meekly replied, "True, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the
crumbs which fall from their master's table" (v. 27). What humility she
had of herself and what reverence she had of the Lord. "Then Jesus
answered and said unto her, O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you
as your desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour" (v.
28).
"What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and
to walk humbly with your God?" (Mic. 6:8). We neither command God nor
demand Him to answer prayer, but rather we should consistently call on Him.
In an irreverent age, when the secular world considers nothing sacred, there
is a drastic need for reverence toward the Lord God of Glory. "God
resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time" (1 Pet. 5:5-6). Isn't it unusual that effective prayer is
experienced by believers who humbly, yet at the same time boldly, approach
God's throne of grace? Humility and boldness--what an amazing combination.
18. No Answers Because of Pride
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward"
(Matthew 6:5). Their total reward is the praise of men or a pat on the back. All of us have heard people present an oration to the people in the audience in the name of prayer. That displeases God, but don't worry over them. Don't criticize them or you sin with them. Leave it all up to God to straighten them out. Our public prayers must be to God as though no one else were around. We must be totally oblivious to people. Just talk to God or you will have your only answer, the plaudits and praise of people.
19. No Answers Because of No Faith
"And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief"
(Matthew 13:58). Where could Jesus not do many mighty works? His own home town of Nazareth. Those who had seen the most of Him, missed the most of His miracles because of their unbelief. That is why it is so vital, first of all, to pray for the very things God commanded. You know you are praying in the will of God when you do. You can pray "believing" and you will see answers to prayer in wonderful ways. This will fortify your faith to pray for other requests as well. "And all things whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive"
(Matthew 21:22).
20. No Answers Because of the Spiritual
Daniel, the "man greatly beloved" to whom God sent Gabriel in answer to his prayer earlier now prayed and fasted and agonized for "three whole weeks" and heard nothing at all from God. He wasn't backslidden, he wasn't out of the will of God, he wasn't insincere but he heard nothing. He did not vacillate, but kept on praying. Finally, after three weeks Daniel "hears a voice," "a hand touched me," and a "voice spoke to him" until "he stood trembling." He was scared to death and who wouldn't be? Who it was we do not know but then he said to me, "Do not fear, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia" (Dan. 10:12-13). Who this person was we do not know for sure, but it was obviously one of the heavenly host. "The prince of the kingdom of Persia" was no mere man, but one of the demons who hindered him from coming with the answer to his prayer for twenty-one days. Michael, the arch angel, imagine this, came to help this messenger get through. All of this took place without Daniel having a clue as to why he had not heard from God.
This is scary. This is eerie. This is satanic. There are demons as active in this age and in this country as there ever has been or as there are in any place in the world. The war is on. The battle is fierce. The stakes are high. You and I are in the very middle of it. Now listen and listen carefully. If you really get serious and aspire to enter the big leagues of prayer, you will stir up the hosts of hell. That is why you must pray night and day. "Deliver us from the evil one." You begin to influence the leaders of the world through prayer, you rob Satan of his kids by praying "for all men," you pray for Israel, whom Satan hates, by praying "for the peace of Jerusalem" and you just might see your prayers hindered as well! Does that make sense? You had better believe it.
By now do you realize how important you are to the kingdom of God? Do you realize the power and influence you wield through prayer? Does this give meaning to life like nothing else ever could? The heads of the mightiest corporations of the world, the wealthiest people on earth, the most powerful leaders of the world do not hold a candle to your importance to God and good around the world. Prayer is more powerful than all the atomic bombs ever made. Now use it to God's glory!
Summary:
Key: Let's be realistic. There are hindrances to prayer. Do you have any hindrances to your prayers?
Let Us Reason Together: The majority of believers are not seeing specific answers to their prayers. Don't you be one of the. Let's "judge ourselves" (1
Corinthians 11:30). Let's "purge ourselves" (1 Timothy 2:21). Let's "sanctify ourselves"
(Joshua 3:5). Let's "humble ourselves" (2 Chronicles 7:14). Let's do whatever is necessary to allow God's intervention into every area of our lives to His glory and honor.
Decision Time: What are you going to do about it? "Multitudes in the valley of decision" (Joel 3:14). Confess any hindrances and commit yourself to "Keep on asking and you will receive". Do it daily for the rest of your life on this earth.
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