“Hindrances to Answered Prayer”

“HE SHALL CALL ME, AND I WILL ANSWER.” Psalm 91:15 NKJV 

Clearly the problem to answered prayer, has absolutely nothing to do with God’s inability to hear or answer! However, there are a few obstructions in the way to our prayers being answered. And since WE are the ones responsible for the hindrances in the way, it is therefore our responsibility to remove them out of the way! So, what are some hindrances to answered prayer that WE need to remove:

The First Hindrance to Answered Prayer is – ‘PRAYERLESSNESS’. Sounds simple enough, but our prayers are not answered When We Don’t Pray!  I know that’s real deep right? NO! You see, saying we believe in prayer, is not the same as Praying. James writes: “You do not have BECAUSE YOU DO NOT ASK” (4:2). As simplistic as it sounds, we must learn to take the time out and ASK of God in prayer. Why? Because the Bibles says, “ASK, and it WILL be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who ASKS RECEIVES, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV). Sometimes we process situations in our minds, or talk about them with our family and friends, or bosses and coworkers, or varying levels of clergy, or we wish, or hope, But Unfortunately What We Don’t Do is PRAY! Thinking, wishing, hoping, and talking with others, Is Not Prayer; as crazy as it sounds, Only Prayer—Is Prayer! When we have a need or a situation that concerns us, we’re only praying when we talk to GOD about it. And God is waiting for us to make requests of Him in Prayer. Listen to the Bible: “When you are in trouble, CALL OUT TO ME. I WILL ANSWER  and be there to protect and honor you.” (Psalm 91:15 CEV). God never gets tired of us coming to Him! He is able, willing, and ready to act on our behalf, but only if we PRAY! And yet even while we KNOW this, we are still stagnant in our prayer lives. God can’t wait to bless us, and all we need to do is ASK in PRAYER! It doesn’t matter if the request is big, difficult, hard or even seemingly impossible, God is sitting ever so patiently just waiting on His children to ask Him for what He desires to give them in the first place. Today, make sure that amidst all of the conversations you have with people, you don’t forget your most valuable conversation of all, and that’s prayer with your Father. Why? Because the Bible says: “For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].” (Mark 11:24 AMP); “I have called upon You, O God, for You will hear me; incline Your ear to me and hear my speech.” (Psalm 17:6 AMP); “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29 TLB); “One day Jesus told His disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes.” (Luke 18:1 TLB) People of God, Prayerlessness is a Hindrance to Your Answered Prayer, Remove That Hindrance Today!

The Second Hindrance to Answered Prayer is – ‘LACK OF CONFIDENCE’! “Let us then approach the throne of grace WITH CONFIDENCE.” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV) When we understand that as God’s redeemed children we have the Right to approach Him at any time, we are able to overcome the enemy’s attempts to make us feel condemned. Romans 8:1, encourages us with these words: “Therefore there is now NO CONDEMNATION [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].” (AMP). But when we fall for Satan’s lies accusing us of condemnation, we suffer by Lacking Confidence in approaching God in prayer. We then begin to say to ourselves, “I know God can do it, but I find it hard to believe He will do it for me.” We think such thoughts because we don’t think we’re worthy. But Jesus has made us worthy! The Bible informs us: “Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham’s blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.” (Galatians 3:13-14 MSG). And an additional blessing is when we come to God, we can count on Him to be merciful to us. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive MERCY and find GRACE to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Grace means God will give us what we Don’t Deserve – if we’re Confident enough to ask for it. However, we must remember to ask in Jesus’ name, not in our own. We’re presenting to the Father all that Jesus is, not all that we are. Truth is, we’re nothing without Jesus! But with Jesus, God is willing to do more than we could ever ask or think: (Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]” AMP). So we need to exercise faith, and avail ourselves of all He can do by asking Confidently. Helen Poole writes: “My four-year-old daughter would always pray before she went to sleep. One night she prayed and prayed, her voice getting softer, until only her lips were moving. Then she said, ‘Amen.’ I said, ‘Honey, I didn’t hear a word you said.’ She replied, ‘Mum, I wasn’t talking to you.’” When you understand that you have the Right to talk to God, and that He Listens to every word, you Pray with Greater Confidence. People of God, Lack of Confidence is a Hindrance to Your Answered Prayer, Remove That Hindrance Today! 

The Third Hindrance to Answered Prayer is – ‘SIN’! “If I regard INIQUITY in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalm 66:18) The Contemporary English Version says it like this, “If my thoughts had been SINFUL, he would have refused to hear me.” Lillian Pearsall says: “When I was a telephone operator, a customer talked overtime on a long-distance call from a pay phone. Even with my friendly reminders, he refused to deposit his overtime coins. Instead he slammed down the phone, irate and verbally abusive. A few seconds later he was back on the line – somewhat calmer. ‘Operator, please let me out of the phone booth – I’ll pay, just let me out!’ Apparently he had locked himself in and mistakenly thought that I had control over the phone booth’s doors. He gladly paid the overtime charge and, with my advice, gave the door a hefty kick and set himself free.” As comical as that may sound, the truth is, un-confessed sin locks us in and shuts God out. If we have hidden sin in our hearts, we cannot pray with confidence that God will answer. However, if we ask Him to reveal our sin, He will. And when He does, we must deal with it if we want to keep the lines of communication open. If God reminds us of a situation in which we didn’t do the right thing, we can’t just sweep it under the rug; we have to acknowledge it and receive His forgiveness. What we call ‘little things or little sins’, grow into destructive sinful habits and lifelong patterns. So when God reveals our sin we need to repent and stop what we are doing. We need to take Him seriously – immediately! This means doing everything within our power to make sure our relationship with Him is unobstructed. That way our prayers will be Heard and not Hindered. Remember James’ Warning: “Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.” (1:13-15 MSG) Don’t Let Sin Kill Your Prayer Life! Romans 3:23-26, “since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, and are being justified [declared free of the guilt of sin, made acceptable to God, and granted eternal life] as a gift by His [precious, undeserved] grace, through the redemption [the payment for our sin] which is [provided] in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly [before the eyes of the world] as a [life-giving] sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation (propitiation) by His blood [to be received] through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness [which demands punishment for sin], because in His forbearance [His deliberate restraint] He passed over the sins previously committed [before Jesus’ crucifixion]. It was to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus [and rely confidently on Him as Savior].” (AMP); Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (AMP); 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.]  If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].  If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.” (AMP) People of God, Sin is a Hindrance to Your Answered Prayer, Remove That Hindrance Today! 

The Fourth Hindrance to Answered Prayer is – “PRAYING OUTSIDE OF GOD’S WILL”. The Bible says: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, He hears us and… we know… that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15 NKJV). One of the best ways to make sure we are praying according to God’s Will is to pray according to His Word. Use a verse, a passage or a principle from Scripture to back up what you’re praying, for God says, “…I am ready to perform MY WORD” (Jeremiah 1:12 NKJV). Sometimes there are things we want to pray for, but we aren’t sure whether those things are God’s Will for us according to Scripture. In this case, we simply need to ask God to give it, IF it’s His Will to do so – and to help us to be satisfied with His decision, either way. D.L. Moody said, “Spread out your petition before God, and then say, ‘Thy will, not mine, be done.’ The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s school, is to let the Lord choose for me.” When we pray in harmony with God, we will have what we ask for. We may have to wait, because God’s timing is part of His Will, but it will come. We can say, “I may not see it yet, but God has promised it to me, so it’s on the way.” Habakkuk 2:2-3, “And then God answered: “Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn’t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It’s on its way. It will come right on time. (MSG). And if God doesn’t give us what we ask for, He will give us something better, if we walk in faith and keep a good attitude. Surely you remember what happened to the last set of folks who murmured and complained, “GOD spoke…“How long is this going to go on, all this grumbling against me by this evil-infested community? I’ve had my fill of complaints from these grumbling Israelites. Tell them, As I live—GOD’s decree—here’s what I’m going to do: Your corpses are going to litter the wilderness…this whole generation of grumblers and grousers (“petty complainers”)…Not one of you will enter the land and make your home there, the firmly and solemnly promised land…” (Numbers 14:28-30 MSG). Don’t Make the Mistake of Murmuring if God says ‘NO’ to What You’re Praying for, Especially if It’s Outside of His Will for Your Life! People of God, Praying Outside of God’s Will is a Hindrance to Your Answered Prayer, Remove That Hindrance Today! 

The Fifth Hindrance to Answered Prayer is – “WRONG MOTIVES”! “You do not receive, because you ask with WRONG MOTIVES.” (James 4:3 NIV). At a birthday party, it came time to serve the cake. A little boy named Brian blurted out, “I want the biggest piece!” His mother scolded him: “Brian, it’s not right to ask for the biggest piece.” The little boy looked at her in confusion and said, “Well then, how else do I get it?” As comical as that may sound, the truth is, if you have the wrong motives, your prayers won’t be answered. A motive is the WHY behind the WHAT. In prayer, the REASON we pray is much more important than the words we say. Having a pure heart that loves God and loves people is always an acceptable motive to the Lord. However, a few Unacceptable Motives are: SELFISHNESS (“The acts of the sinful nature are…SELFISH…” Galatians 5:19-21 NIV); REVENGE (“…VENGEANCE is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19); MANIPULATION (“…the tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or MANIPULATION, but they are for demolishing…corrupt culture…” 2 Corinthians 10:3 MSG); JEALOUSY (“…crowds…went wild with JEALOUSY and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.” Acts 13:44 MSG); PRIDE (“…the Lord hates…a PROUD look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others]…” (Proverbs 6:15-17 AMP). In fact, anything Uncharacteristic of God’s Nature is Unacceptable! That’s why to pray effectively we must Purify our Hearts on a Regular Basis, especially when we find ourselves wanting “the biggest piece of cake”. We need to examine our motives. Taking a look at them will be painful, but it must be done if we desire to see our prayers answered. People of God, Wrong Motives is a Hindrance to Your Answered Prayer, Remove That Hindrance Today! 

Lastly, God longs to be “BELIEVED”! The Bible says: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him MUST BELIEVE that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV) Faith is a Powerful Spiritual Force. It’s the thing God Responds to. But we must Expect our Faith to be Challenged. Satan will cloud our mind with doubts and fears. When he does, we need to examine our heart and see what it says. We can believe God’s Word in our heart even when our mind questions it. “How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my HEART so I won’t sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you’ve done it. I relish everything you’ve told me of life, I won’t forget a Word of it” (Psalm 119:9-16 MSG) So we need to stand on what’s in our heart, not on what’s in our head! We must not believe our doubts; we must challenge them and believe God by faith! Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, PRAY. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into PRAYERS, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (MSG). Listen: Doubt often begins with Distraction! When we’re distracted from God’s promises, we start to doubt. As we think more and more about our problems, our faith begins to waver. However, we must focus like a laser on God’s promises, His power and His willingness to work on our behalf. We don’t deny the existence of our problems, but we do refuse to pay too much attention to them. James writes: “But let him ask in faith, WITH NO DOUBTING, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8 NKJV). We must be anchored in what God says, and not drift all over the place when our circumstances begin to change. People of God, Doubt is a Hindrance to Your Answered Prayer, Remove That Hindrance Today! 

Saints, Today, Fortify Your Prayer Life By: Avoiding a Prayerless Lifestyle; Refusing to Lack God-Confidence; Removing All Sin From Our Lives; Determining to Remain In the Will of God; Maintaining Pure Motives and Intentions; and No Matter What… CONTINUING TO BELIEVING GOD! And even as you put in the time and hard work into removing these hindrances, still I encourage you to also obey   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (MSG) Prayer is More Than a Believers Lifeline, it is Their Lifestyle! Today, Remove What’s Hindering Your Answered Prayers, So You Can Finally Be Heard!

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine #EnjoyTheRead #BeInspired #BeEncouraged #BeEmpowered #BeChallenged
Feel free to also join us at: http://www.selfcarewithdrshermaine.blogspot.com Today’s Lesson: “Prayer is the Cure to Heal the Land!”