There are many things that can be barriers to an effective prayer life. One of the primary reasons why your prayers may not be heard by God is because you are living in habitual, unrepentant sin.
Because we were created by a holy God to worship a holy God, He demands that we be holy as well (1 Pet. 1:16). When we commit sin and fail to repent of it, this creates a barrier in our communication with God. I expand upon this in the following video clip:
[tentblogger-youtube 0KUiTPVuWVc]
The book of Isaiah states the following:
but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. (Isa. 59:2)
Repentance from sin was specifically what John the Baptizer called people unto during his ministry as the forerunner to Jesus:
And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mk. 1:5)
The Apostle James calls us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another, that we may be healed (Js. 5:16).
Many times, the health of a community is dependent upon the spirit of repentance in the community. In order for proper healing to take place, repentance must be perpetually practiced.
Fortunately, because of Jesus, there is hope for us. In his first letter, John says the following:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn. 1:9).
If we have a deep longing to have uninterrupted communication with Jesus, let us not tarry in confessing our sin — both to God and people — so that proper healing may take place.
Question: What do you think the reason is that people do not confess their sin openly to one another? How can you change this in your community of faith?Â
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