The Hebrews writer tells us that we can approach God’s throne boldly (Hebrew 4:16) and with the full assurance of faith (Hebrew 10:19-22).  We do this through the powerful privilege of prayer.   Prayer can give us strength, comfort, joy, and courage, all at once.  There are very few blessings from God that can compare with it.  Prayer is a source of power that brings us in touch with the Creator of all things.

We should never forget what it costs to bring us the blessing of prayer.  Jesus died on the cross to make it possible.  Considering this, prayer should never be taken lightly.  Jesus once said that we should always pray and not faint (Luke 18:1).  We must be aware, however, that there are some things that can hinder our prayer life.  This week, let us think about some of these things with the hope of avoiding them.

Let us begin with the most obvious hindrance to prayer—sin.  This is probably the single greatest hindrance.  In fact, although we will talk about them separately this week, most of the things that hinder our prayers could be categorized as some kind of sin themselves.  Why is sin such a hindrance to prayer? It is because of the nature of the God to whom we pray.  God is morally perfect, making it impossible for Him have fellowship with those living in sin.

1 John 1:5-6 (ESV)
⁵  This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Knowing that there is no darkness in God at all, it should not surprise us that practicing sin puts an end to our fellowship with Him.  Isaiah said that our iniquities separate us from God, and our sins hide His face from us (Isaiah 59:2).  John said that God does not hear sinners (John 9:31), and Peter said that the Lord’s face is against those that do evil (1 Peter 3:12).  I think we can all agree that sin hinders our prayers.

We sometimes hear of a practice in denominational circles called the “sinner’s prayer.”  It involves one coming forward and praying for the forgiveness of sins, and for Jesus to come into his life.  They believe this is God’s plan of salvation; however, the so-called “sinner’s prayer” is not found in the Bible.  We have no example of one being saved by simply uttering a prayer.  The truth is, the “sinner’s prayer” is a practice that is in direct opposition to the passages cited above, as well as passages that speak of repentance, confession, and baptism as a part of God’s plan of salvation.

Sin not only stops non-Christians from having a praying relationship with God, but it also hinders the prayers of God’s children.  The passages above would apply to a child of God just as much as they do to those outside the body of Christ.  When you forsake the assembling of the saints it hinders your prayer life.  When you misuse the tongue by gossiping or speaking unkindly of others, it hinders your prayer life.  When you fail to keep any of the commandments of God, it hinders your prayer life (1 John 3:22).  To reestablish our relationship with God after being overcome by sin, we must first repent and, then, we can pray for forgiveness (Acts 8:22).

Let us not allow sin to get in our way of practicing prayer.  Instead, let’s live faithfully before our God, and enjoy the wonderful blessing of being able to call upon His name.               

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.