An obstacle to the prayer (continued)

I remember well a time in my life when I prayed for two things which I thought it necessary to obtain because it was the honor of God ; but the answer did not come.

One night, I awoke in the grip of great physical suffering and great moral distress. I cried to God for these things, pleading for the necessity of obtaining them immediately but no answer came. I asked God to show me if there was anything wrong with my life. Then there came to my mind a specific fact which I had already thought of several times, but which I was not determined to recognize as a sin. I say to God :

"If it hurts, I want to give it up" ; but still no answer. In the depths of my heart, although I would never have admitted it, I knew it was wrong. Weary of war, I exclaimed : "This is bad. I have sinned, I want to give it up." Immediately I found peace and after a few moments I slept like a child. In the morning I woke up and the money that was so necessary to the honor of God arrived.

Sin is an appalling thing, and even more frightening is the way it obstructs prayer, the way it cuts off all communication with the source of all grace, power, and blessing.

Whoever wants to have power in prayer must be merciless to his own sins. "If I had conceived iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear me" (Psalms 66:18). As long as we remain attached to sin or contend with God, we can not expect him to be on our guard.

If anything ever comes to mind in your moments of close communion with God, it is this thing that stands in the way of prayer : reject it.

Jeremy Sourdril