An obstacle to the prayer

"No, the arm of Jehovah has not become too short to save, nor his ear too hard to hear, but it is your sins that have separated you from your God, your sins are yours that have hidden and prevented him from listening to you" (Isaiah 59: 1-2).

Sin hinders prayer. More than one man prays, prays, prays and obtains absolutely no answer. Perhaps he is tempted to think that it is not God's will to answer ; perhaps he thinks that the times when God answered the prayer, if it ever did it, are gone. That's what the Israelites seemed to think. They believed that the hand of the Lord had shortened so that he could no longer save, and having become hard of hearing he could no longer hear.

"No," says Isaiah, "God's ear is just as open as ever to hear, his hand just as powerful to save; however, there is an obstacle. This obstacle is your own sins. Your faults have put a separation between you and your God and your sins have hidden you from it, and prevented you from listening to you".

It is the same today. So many men cry to God in vain, it is simply because of the sin that is in their life. It may be some past fault that has not been confessed or judged, or a current sin that we cherish. Most likely it is not even considered a sin anymore, but it is there, hidden somewhere in the heart or in life, preventing God from listening.

Whoever finds that his prayers are ineffective should not conclude that the thing he asks of God is not according to his will, but he should withdraw, alone with God, and pray like the psalmist : "Examine me, O God, and know my heart, put me to the test and know my thoughts ! See if I am on a wrong path and lead me on the path of eternity !" (Psalms 139: 23-24), and wait before him until he puts his finger on the thing that displeases him. Then he should confess that sin and reject it.

Jeremy Sourdril