We have gone very carefully into the
positive conditions of prevailing
prayer; but there are some things
which hinder prayer. These God has
made very plain in His Word.
1. The first hindrance to prayer we
will find in James 4:3,
"Ye ask and receive not BECAUSE YE
ASK AMISS, THAT YE MAY SPEND IT
IN YOUR PLEASURES."
A selfish purpose in prayer robs
prayer of power. Very many prayers
are selfish. These may be prayers for
things for which it is perfectly proper
to ask, for things which it is the will
of God to give, but the motive of the
prayer is entirely wrong, and so the
prayer falls powerless to the ground.
The true purpose in prayer is that
God may be glorified in the answer. If
we ask any petition merely that we
may receive something to use in our
pleasures or in our own gratification
in one way or another, we "ask amiss
' and need not expect to receive what
we ask. This explains why many
prayers remain unanswered.
For example, many a woman is
praying for the conversion of her
husband. That certainly is a most
proper thing to ask; but many a
woman's motive in asking for the
conversion of her husband is entirely
improper, it is selfish. She desires
that her husband may be converted
because it would be so much more
pleasant for her to have a husband
who sympathized with her; or it is so
painful to think that her husband
might die and be lost forever. For
some such selfish reason as this she
desires to have her husband
converted. The prayer is purely
selfish. Why should a woman desire
the conversion of her husband? First
of all and above all, that God may be
glorified; because she cannot bear
the thought that God the Father
should be dishonored by her
husband trampling underfoot the
Son of God.
Many pray for a revival. That
certainly is a prayer that is pleasing
to God, it is along the line of His will;
but many prayers for revivals are
purely selfish. The churches desire
revivals in order that the
membership may be increased, in
order that the church may have a
position of more power and
influence in the community, in order
that the church treasury may be
filled, in order that a good report
may be made at the presbytery or
conference or association. For such
low purposes as these, churches and
ministers oftentimes are praying for
a revival, and oftentimes too God
does not answer the prayer. Why
should we pray for a revival? For the
glory of God, because we cannot
endure it that God should continue to
be dishonored by the worldliness of
the church, by the sins of unbelievers
by the proud unbelief of the day;
because God's Word is being made
void; in order that God may be
glorified by the outpouring of His
Spirit on the Church of Christ. For
these reasons first of all and above all
, we should pray for a revival.
Many a prayer for the Holy Spirit is a
purely selfish prayer.
It certainly is God's will to give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask Him—He
has told us so plainly in His Word (
Luke 11:13), but many a prayer for
the Holy Spirit is hindered by the
selfishness of the motive that lies
back of the prayer. Men and women
pray for the Holy Spirit in order that
they may be happy, or in order that
they may be saved from the
wretchedness of defeat in their lives,
or in order that they may have power
as Christian workers, or for some
other purely selfish motive. Why
should we pray for the Spirit? In
order that God may no longer be
dishonored by the low level of our
2Christian lives and by our
ineffectiveness in service, in order
that God may be glorified in the new
beauty that comes into our lives and
the new power that comes into our
service.
2. The second hindrance to prayer we
find in Is. 59:1,2: "Behold, the Lord's
hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save; neither His ear heavy, that it
cannot hear. But YOUR INIQUITIES
HAVE SEPARATED BETWEEN YOU
AND YOUR GOD, and YOUR SINS
HAVE HID HIS FACE FROM YOU,
THAT HE WILL NOT HEAR."
Sin hinders prayer. Many a man
prays and prays and prays, and gets
absolutely no answer to his prayer.
Perhaps he is tempted to think that it
is not the will of God to answer, or he
may think that the days when God
answered prayer, if He ever did, are
over. So the Israelites seem to have
thought. They thought that the Lord's
hand was shortened, that it could
not save, and that His ear had
become heavy that it could no longer
hear.
"Not so," said Isaiah, "God's ear is just
as open to hear as ever, His hand just
as mighty to save; but there is a
hindrance. That hindrance is your
own sins. Your iniquities have
separated between you and your God
, and your sins have hid His face
from you that He will not hear."
It is so to-day. Many and many a man
is crying to God in vain, simply
because of sin in his life. It may be
some sin in the past that has been
unconfessed and unjudged, it may be
some sin in the present that is
cherished, very likely is not even
looked upon as sin, but there the sin
is, hidden away somewhere in the
heart or in the life, and God "will not
hear."
Any one who finds his prayers
ineffective should not conclude that
the thing which he asks of God is not
according to His will, but should go
alone with God with the Psalmist's
prayer, "Search me, O God, and know
my heart: try me, and know my
thoughts: and see if there be any
wicked way in me" (Ps. 139:23,24),
and wait before Him until He puts
His finger upon the thing that is
displeasing in His sight. Then this sin
should be confessed and put away.
I well remember a time in my life
when I was praying for two definite
things that it seemed that I must have
or God would be dishonored; but
the answer did not come. I awoke in
the middle of the night in great
physical suffering and great distress
of soul. I cried to God for these things
, reasoned with Him as to how
necessary it was that I get them, and
get them at once; but no answer
came. I asked God to show me if there
was anything wrong in my own life.
Something came to my mind that had
often come to it before, something
definite but which I was unwilling to
confess as sin. I said to God,
"If this is wrong I will give it up"; but
still no answer came. In my
innermost heart, though I had never
admitted it, I knew it was wrong.
At last I said:
"This is wrong. I have sinned. I will
give it up."
I found peace. In a few moments I
was sleeping like a child. In the
morning I woke well in body, and the
money that was so much needed for
the honor of God's name came.
Sin is an awful thing, and one of the
most awful things about it is the way
it hinders prayer, the way it severs
the connection between us and the
source of all grace and power and
blessing. Any one who would have
power in prayer must be merciless in
dealing with his own sins. "If I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will
not hear me." (Ps. 66:18) So long as we
hold on to sin or have any
controversy with God, we cannot
expect Him to heed our prayers. If
there is anything that is constantly
coming up in your moments of 3close
communion with God, that is the
thing that hinders prayer: put it away.
3. The third hindrance to prayer is
found in Ez. 14:3, "Son of man, these
men have taken their idols into their
heart, and put the stumbling block of
their iniquity before their face:
should I be inquired of at all by them
IDOLS IN THE HEART CAUSE
GOD TO REFUSE TO LISTEN TO OUR
PRAYERS.
What is an idol? An idol is anything
that takes the place of God, anything
that is the supreme object of our
affection. God alone has the right to
the supreme place in our hearts.
Everything and everyone else must
be subordinate to Him.
Many a man makes an idol of his wife.
Not that a man can love his wife any
too much, but he can put her in the
wrong place, he can put her before
God; and when a man regards his
wife's pleasure before God's pleasure
when he gives her the first place
and God the second place, his wife is
an idol, and God cannot hear his
prayers.
Many a woman makes an idol of her
children. Not that we can love our
children too much. The more dearly
we love Christ, the more dearly we
love our children; but we can put our
children in the wrong place, we can
put them before God, and their
interests before God's interests.
When we do this our children are
our idols.
Many a man makes an idol of his
reputation or his business.
Reputation or business is put before
God. God cannot hear the prayers of
such a man.
One great question for us to decide, if
we would have power in prayer is, Is
God absolutely first? Is He before
wife, before children, before
reputation, before business, before
our own lives? If not, prevailing
prayer is impossible.
God often calls our attention to the
fact that we have an idol, by not
answering our prayers, and thus
leading us to inquire as to why our
prayers are not answered, and so we
discover the idol, put it away, and
God hears our prayers.
4. The fourth hindrance to prayer is
found in Prov. 21:13, "WHOSO
STOPPETH HIS EARS AT THE CRY OF
THE POOR, HE ALSO SHALL CRY
HIMSELF, BUT SHALL NOT BE
HEARD."
There is perhaps no greater
hindrance to prayer than stinginess,
the lack of liberality toward the poor
and toward God's work. It is the one
who gives generously to others who
receives generously from God. "Give,
and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, shaken
together, running over, shall they
give into your bosom. For with what
measure ye mete it shall be measured
to you again." (Luke 6:38, R.V.) The
generous man is the mighty man of
prayer. The stingy man is the
powerless man of prayer.
One of the most wonderful
statements about prevailing prayer (
already referred to) 1 John 3:22, "
Whatsoever we ask we receive of
Him, because we keep His
commandments, and do those things
that are pleasing in His sight," is
made in direct connection with
generosity toward the needy. In the
context we are told that it is when we
love, not in word or in tongue, but in
deed and in truth, when we open
our hearts toward the brother in
need, it is then and only then we
have confidence toward God in
prayer.
Many a man and woman who is
seeking to find the secret of their
powerlessness in prayer need not
seek far; it is nothing more nor less
than downright stinginess. George
Muller, to whom reference has
already been made, was a mighty
man of prayer because he was a
mighty giver. What he received from
God never stuck to his fingers; he
immediately passed it on to others.
He was constantly receiving because
he was constantly giving. When one
thinks of the selfishness of the
professing church to-day, how the
orthodox churches of this land do
not average $1.00 per year per
member for foreign missions, it is no
wonder that the church has so little
power in prayer. If we would get
from God, we must give to others.
Perhaps the most wonderful promise
in the Bible in regard to God's
supplying our need is Phil. 4:19, "And
my God shall fulfill every need of
yours according to His riches in glory
in Christ Jesus." (R.V.) This glorious
promise was made to the Philippian
church, and made in immediate
connection with their generosity.
5. The fifth hindrance to prayer is
found in Mark 11:25, "And when ye
stand praying, FORGIVE, if ye have
ought against any; that your Father
also which is in heaven may forgive
you your trespasses."
An unforgiving spirit is one of the
commonest hindrances to prayer.
Prayer is answered on the basis that
our sins are forgiven; and God
cannot deal with us on the basis of
forgiveness while we are harboring
ill-will against those who have
wronged us. Any one who is nursing
a grudge against another has fast
closed the ear of God against his own
petition. How many there are crying
to God for the conversion of husband
children, friends, and wondering
why it is that their prayer is not
answered, when the whole secret is
some grudge that they have in their
hearts against some one who has
injured them, or who they fancy has
injured them. Many and many a
mother and father are allowing their
children to go down to eternity
unsaved, for the miserable
gratification of hating somebody.
6. The sixth hindrance to prayer is
found in 1 Peter 3: 7, "Ye husbands, in
like manner, dwell with your wives
according to knowledge, giving
honor unto the woman, as unto the
weaker vessel as being also joint-
heirs of the grace of life; to the end
that your prayers be not hindered. " (
R.V.) Here we are plainly told that A
WRONG RELATION BETWEEN
HUSBAND AND WIFE IS A
HINDRANCE TO PRAYER.
In many and many a case the prayers
of husbands are hindered because of
their failure of duty toward their
wives. On the other hand, it is also
doubtless true that the prayers of
wives are hindered because of their
failure in duty toward their
husbands. If husbands and wives
should seek diligently to find the
cause of their unanswered prayers,
they would often find it in their
relations to one another.
Many a man who makes great
pretentions to piety, and is very
active in Christian work, shows but
little consideration in his treatment
of his wife, and is oftentimes unkind,
if not brutal; then he wonders why it
is that his prayers are not answered.
The verse that we have just quoted
explains the seeming mystery. On the
other hand, many a woman who is
very devoted to the church, and very
faithful in attendance upon all
services, treats her husband with the
most unpardonable neglect, is cross
and peevish toward him, wounds
him by the sharpness of her speech,
and by her ungovernable temper;
then wonders why it is that she has
no power in prayer.
There are other things in the
relations of husbands and wives
which cannot be spoken of publicly,
but which doubtless are oftentimes a
hindrance in approaching God in
prayer. There is much of sin covered
up under the holy name of marriage
that is a cause of spiritual deadness,
and of powerlessness in prayer. Any
man or woman whose prayers seem
to bring no answer should spread
their whole married life out before
God, and ask Him to put His finger
upon anything in it that is displeasing
in His sight.
7. The seventh hindrance to prayer is
found in James 1:5-7, "But if any of
you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of
God, who giveth to 6all liberally and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him. But let him ask IN FAITH,
NOTHING DOUBTING: for he that
doubteth is like the surge of the sea
driven by the wind and tossed. For let
not that man think that he shall
receive anything of the Lord." (R.V.)
Prayers are hindered by unbelief.
God demands that we shall believe
His Word absolutely. To question it is
to make Him a liar. Many of us do
that when we plead His promises,
and is it any wonder that our prayers
are not answered? How many
prayers are hindered by our
wretched unbelief! We go to God and
ask Him for something that is
positively promised in His Word, and
then we do not more than half expect
to get it. "Let not that man think that
he shall receive anything of the Lord..
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