What Hinders Our Prayers
Hi Friends,
This is the sequel to the last message about spiritual authority and how the lack of it hinders our prayers. Today I would like to share with you the other things that may keep us from having our prayers answered. The vision the Lord gave me, was of a pair of pants that got stuck under a door that I was attempting to open. The pants were acting as a hindrance to opening the door. The door itself was an opportunity that the Lord was giving me. This was the vision:
The Vision - The Door
I saw a door with a pair of pants hanging from the handle. The pants fell off the handle and onto the floor. As I tried to open the door, the pants became stuck, and kept the door from opening.
The Lord gives us opportunities, or shows us something about his plan for our lives, and then gives us time to consider it. He works in our hearts to understand that there may be a time of preparation before we can go through the door and achieve the purpose for which the Lord is sending us. There may be barriers in ourselves of which we are not aware. Fear is an example. The fear of failure, the fear of speaking in public, the fear of losing respect may stop many people from opening a door of opportunity, or doing the will of God. There are too many fears to count. Pride many be a hindrance to doing something that God would have us do. Self-consciousness, or lack of experience may also present as barriers. But if the door is the plan of God, then he wants us to have faith in him. He will help us open the door and walk through.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Philippians 4:13
There are many things that God has given me the boldness to do that years ago, I would have been too shy or quiet to be able to do. But the apostle Paul found that his weaknesses were not meant to stop him.
He had asked the Lord to heal him, of an affliction, but the Lord did not answer his prayer the way he expected. The Lord told him that he was to suffer this affliction for a purpose. Paul said:
“Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
So we must seek God in all matters, healing, suffering, persecution, difficult situations, and in our everyday problems. God has an answer, but it might not be the one that you are hoping to receive.
Before Paul was blinded by the light of God on his way to Damascus, he was going by his given name: Saul, Saul of Tarsus. He was zealous for the Lord and was well educated in Judaism. He was a Pharisee, and when the Jews began to believe in the Lord after his crucifiction and resurrection, Paul took it as an affront to his faith in God. He believed that “The Way,” as it was called at that time, had to be brought down. So he was given letters of authority to arrest these “defectors” of the faith and bring them to justice.
After he heard the Lord,’s voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4), he was blinded and led to Damascus. A God-fearing man was told to lay hands on Saul to heal him. And he objected, saying:
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 9:13-16
Ananias was obedient, and laid his hands on Saul and prayed for the Lord to receive his sight. And it happened immediately.
As we look at this example. Ananias had faith in God and knew that he had heard the Lord’s instruction, so by Ananias’ obedience, Saul was healed.
Looking at the situation from Saul’s perspective, he heard the Lord’s voice, and spent three days in prayer and fasting in repentance and to gain understanding about the Lord and “The Way.” He knew now that he had arrested innocent people who were following the Lord, had lost their lives because of him. When Ananias said that he had been sent by God to restore his eyesight, Saul believed, and his eyes were healed. Everyone was in agreement: Ananias, Saul and the Lord. The healing had no obstacle or barrier.
“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:19
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” 1 John 5:14
What happened was that Ananias prayed the will of God, and Saul prayed in agreement. The Lord provided the power for this miracle.
The Lord told Ananias, that he would show Saul, how much he would have to suffer, for his name. Saul was very vulnerable without his sight. He immediately knew that the Lord had total power over his life, but he was happy to do his bidding simply because God is love, and the Lord showed him mercy by getting him to stop his further destruction of the Jews. He was forgiven and restored by the love of God, and in return he showed his love for the Lord with an obedient heart.
“If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:14-15
Because of Saul’s misinformed zeal, his intense persecution of the believers brought him to feel great remorse. He was grateful to be able to suffer for the name of Jesus. That is why he could be beaten and thrown into jail with chains and in stocks and still manage to sing the praises of God.
Peter, James and all the other apostles and disciples also felt great joy that they could suffer for the Lord’s name.
“The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.” Acts 5:41
James wrote these words:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
Paul’s heart was conformed to God’s. The suffering that he faced was in obedience to Christ and his testimony in spite of persecution, was a sign to show others that his message of Christ was genuine. His teachings and witness were confirmed with miracles of all types.
So we must appreciate what God is doing in us. If we suffer with trials, we need to see that they are there to prepare our hearts, our minds and our bodies for the work of God, and to bring him honor and glory. If we do not see the answers to our prayers right away, it may be that the Lord is doing a work in us to prepare us for what may be ahead. Every believer is expected to lay hands on the sick, and see people recover. And as Jesus suffered and was obedient to the Father, we are learning obedience through what we suffer.
“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” Hebrews 5:8-9
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38
You can see that Jesus was focused on pleasing the Father, and doing his will. If we are to be the Lord’s disciples, then pleasing him has to be our focus as well. Jesus was able to endure the pain on the cross, because his heart was aligned with the Father’s.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every hindrance, and sin which so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrew 12:1-2
So in the passage above, the writer of Hebrews tells us to run our race to win. He tells us to separate ourselves from the things that hinder us and sin that ensnares us. We are to focus on the Lord who will give us the faith that we need to persevere.
So, what else hinders our prayers and God’s work? In a word, sin. The Bible is full of examples of sinful things that hinder our prayers. If there is sin in our lives, then we need to confess the sin, and repent. Otherwise, we are just fooling ourselves, and wasting time and energy. God is not apt to answer our prayers, when there is unconfessed sin in our lives.
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16
What is sin? Sin is rebellion against God and his authority. Everything that is contrary to the Spirit of God is sin. The unregenerate or natural man is subject to the desires of his flesh, his body. The natural man is self indulgent and self absorbed. Everyone is given freewill, and we are allowed to use it to satisfy our own pleasures. But that same freewill, if submitted to God, and controlled by the Holy Spirit, can bring glory to God and be edifying to our own spirit. It is a matter of who is in control.
Our bodies are mortal; they will pass away. But our souls which comprise the mind, the will and the emotions, will live forever. The spirit which is also eternal is the part of our being that communes with God. When we surrender to the lordship of Jesus, acknowledging that he is God incarnate, that he died on a cross for our sins and rose from the dead, and that by living in obedience to his word, we will be raised to life, and live with him for all eternity.
However it is necessary to know that the spirit has a desire to worship and serve God, but the body wants to serve itself. So they oppose each other.
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:16-17
Now the man who lives to please himself, cannot please God, because his spirit is dead. It is only by becoming born again, born of the Spirit of God, that our spirit becomes alive. And the Holy Spirit is given to us at the time of new birth. When our spirit is in union with the Holy Spirit, we are able to pray and commune with God. As we walk in the spirit, we are able to acknowledge the truth. In fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we have the power to overcome our flesh, and please God.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21
One pastor years ago said, regarding the body and the spirit, “whichever one you feed will be the greater.” If you indulge the flesh your spirit will be weak, then you will have no desire or time to spend with God. If you feed the spirit on the word of God, and spend time in the presence of God, your spirit will want more and more of Him.
Sometimes believers get distracted with the things of the world and start to fall away from God. They fail to read the Word, or spend time with him in prayer. The spirit grows weak, and they succumb to the desires of their flesh, giving into temptation and sin. Our thoughts and attitudes change. The mind begins to entertain thoughts of doubt, fear, and unbelief. Without realizing it, they fail to take these thoughts captive and their minds return to earthly pursuits. They become “carnally minded,” and seek to find others like themselves rather than repenting.
Carnally minded people cannot trust God because they put their trust in other things and in other people. They find it difficult to submit to God. There is always something that they love in the world more than him.
Jesus said some rather harsh words, but we must accept them as truth:
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37-38
There can be nothing in the world that we desire over the Lord, for to love anything in the word makes us enemies of God.
“Do you not know that love of the world results in enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4
“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:16
Sin and unbelief put a damper on prayer and God’s power to perform miracles, healing, and deliverance. Someone may desire to be healed, but if they are unwilling to surrender to God, then they may be hindering their own healing.
This is a short list of Sins that hinder our prayers:
Complaining - It shows our lack of faith in God. We think we deserve better. There is a sense of entitlement. And frustration and anger present when they don’t get an answer. They treat God as a vending machine. “I put in my quarter, but I got nothing.”
Unbelief - It shows that we cannot trust God with our future, our health, or our finances. Usually people who don’t believe, just want to tell you their problems, they like to complain to get sympathy and attention. I spoke of this in the last post “Spiritual Authority — Faith and Obedience”
Unforgiveness - “If you do not forgive men their sins when they sin against you, then your heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins.” (Matthew 6:15) This is a hindrance to prayer because we do not appreciate what Christ did on the cross to save us and forgive us. We show contempt for God’s mercy by being unmerciful to someone else.
Cowardice - It shows our unwillingness to stand up for our faith, and how we undervalue our salvation. “But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:33
Adultery - This flies in the face of the Lordship of Jesus. We cannot expect to be blessed if we muddy the water with him. Adultery is the sin of fornication with a married person. We are not to commit sin in the body when we are to be temples of the Holy Spirit.
Covetousness - If our hearts show that we desire the things in the world more than God, then we have become idolaters and unfaithful to him. The Lord considers covetousness synonymous with adultery. Because the thing or person that we admire is in direct competition with God. By choosing to set our hopes of success, on material possessions, on worldly treasures, on money and the things that money buys, on beauty and luxurious items, then we have chosen the world and its values over God. By doing so, we become an enemy of God.
Stealing - When covetousness is in full bloom it leads to taking what is not ours. Stealing is putting action to thoughts. We can steal someone’s physical property. We can steal a person’s heart. We can steal a friend or spouse’s devotion to God. We can steal a person away from their own spouse. We can steal thoughts, and research and claim it as our own work. And we can steal from God.
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse— the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3:8-10
Lying - People lie for many reasons: to get themselves out of trouble, to hide what they did to someone else, to defraud a person of their money etc. Lying with no desire to repent, and having no remorse opens the door to the devil. Lying shows that we have no fear of God. When we lie, we become a partner with the devil.
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
Killing - some people want to justify abortion. But this is killing; it is murder. There is no way to justify it. But God is merciful. When we have a repentant heart filled with remorse, and godly sorrow, the Lord will forgive our sins— even the sin of abortion.
There are lesser things that hinder our prayers as well:
Dishonoring our husbands or wives can hinder our prayers.
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7
“Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” 1 Peter 3:1-2
We cannot afford to dishonor our spouses, for this hinders our prayers and renders them ineffective. If there is sin in any of its forms, we must make a correction, turn to God in repentance and keep our hearts in right standing with him.
Our attitudes also affect our prayers. Fear, doubt, unbelief, worry, anxiety, and wavering between two opinions all affect our prayers.
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all he does.” James 1:6-8
Doubting - If we doubt God’s ability or his desire to help us, or heal us, we are demonstrating a lack of faith in God. It points to an inability to place our trust in him for the solution to a problem. We cannot expect God to help us if there is doubt in our hearts or our minds. Our thoughts, speech and actions will show what are our true feelings about God. It is the lack of faith that keeps him from doing all that he would like to do in our lives. It undermines and deters God’s plan for us.
Unbelief - If you remember, Jesus was not able to perform many miracles when he came to his hometown, simply because of their unbelief.
“When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. ‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things? And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.’ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Matthew 13:53-58
Curses - The following is a real life example of praying with the wrong attitude:
This is a story that Pastor Kilpatrick of the Brownsville Assembly of God, in Pensacola, Florida told about why his church had such a powerful revival. (I am telling the story as I remember him describing the events.)
Every morning he would come to church to pray in the sanctuary. One day while he was praying for his church, He heard God interrupt him and said, “Will you stop cursing what I am trying to bless?”
Pastor Kilpatrick, felt horrible, for his prayers to God were nothing but a string of complaints. He would say to God, “Oh God, I have built an orchestra pit, and I don’t even have a horn! Oh, God, I have a choir that can’t sing on key!” And on, and on he would pray with a very negative tone. A tone of complaining, and unbelief. He was speaking words that cursed his church. His words impeded what the Lord wanted to do to build his church. How could God bless what he kept cursing?
The pastor said that he left the church with a heavy heart because he knew that his complaining was sin. So the next day, he came in with a new resolve, and a new attitude. He was going to bless what the Lord wanted to bless. And no longer hinder the Lord with his complaints and his bad attitude.
He began by blessing his church. “Lord, in your name, this orchestra will be filled with talented people whose hearts are filled with the love of God. The sounds that they produce will reach heaven above and bring glory to your name. The choir will sing with the angels of God, and their music will reach the nations of the world. They will carry God’s very heart to open the eyes, the ears and hearts of the congregation, so that they would be able to hear the voice of God. I bless the congregation. Everyone who walks through these doors will seek God and find him. I pray that the nations of the world will come here to experience the presence of God and be healed, restored and reconciled to him…”
He declared with his mouth the things that were not as though they were. He prophesied to the “dead bones,” expecting that God would touch them with life. And God did. The Lord brought a bonafide revival. The power of God was so immense, so great, so awesome. I could write so much about what happened at the revival. I was able to visit twice for a few days each time, and the things that I witnessed were tremendous. We brought the revival and the Spirit of God back with us to New Jersey. The power of God was being displayed in so many ways. We would go to church and not want to leave. Miracles, signs and wonders were happening all around us.
The Lord has asked me to pray for revival to come here, so for the last 20 years I have been anticipating that there will be a “suddenly.” God, send your fire! Holy Spirit come and revive the hearts of your people once again!
The devil - We should also consider the fact that the devil, our adversary, does not want our prayers to be fruitful. He wants his plans to go forth and our prayers to be hindered. Let’s look at this example from the book of Daniel:
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.” Daniel 10:12-14
Even though Daniel did nothing wrong, there was a delay in the answer to his prayer because of the battle taking place in the heavenlies. Whenever we are working for the Lord, we should not be surprised when there is opposition. However:
“Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
So, if God has said it, we can believe it!
I hope I touched on a few things that might point to what seems to be hindering your prayers. And of course you can ask the Lord why there is a delay.
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13
Perhaps you are cursing what God is trying to bless, as Pastor Kilpatrick did. He corrected his error, by declaring blessings over his circumstance. You can too. Declare out loud something like this:
“I am healed in the name of Jesus. By his stripes I am healed. Healing is the children’s bread, and I am a child of God. No weapon formed against me will prosper. My ___ is healed. It is sound, whole and well. There is nothing in me that is broken or non-functioning in the name of Jesus! I am the Lord’s healed! I am a child of God, and I have the authority to bind and to loosen. So I bind up sickness and disease and every evil spirit that works against me. I come out of agreement with the experts who have spoken negative words over me. I choose to believe the word of God that says I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I choose to believe God for my miracle, for my provision, and for my health in the name of Jesus.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21
So, do not agree or speak negatively about your situation. Speak only words of faith and blessing over your body, your mind and your spirit. Speak blessings over your family, your finances, your well-being, and your relationships. Bless your leaders, the good and the bad. Bless and do not curse.
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:27-31
However, you can curse a sickness or disease like cancer, so that it shrivels up and dies. Just like Jesus, who cursed the fig tree that bore no fruit. You can curse man’s ideologies that are exalted above the knowledge of God. But we are to never to curse people or spiritual beings! We do not curse what God has established!
And one last note:
Be aware that some trials that we face come from God. He will give us challenges and trials to test our faith and to build our character. Some trials come because the Lord wants to develop our faith to perform miracles. The trial may be necessary to prepare us for ministry. And, sometimes a trial in our life is there to bring glory to the name of the Lord as we overcome, or give testimony to a miracle of healing. So we should all expect some trials and painful experiences because they serve a purpose.
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