The Roadblock of Sin

The good news is: Jesus provided access to God through prayer. Oh, but the bad news is: For too many, the way is still blocked; or, at least it seems to be that way. But, why? Why do so many people have such difficulty with prayer? We have this great invitation in Hebrews 4:16 to “come boldly.” And we have these nifty, awesome promises like in 1st John 3:22 that God will answer. And we even have the testimony of great men like George Meuller, Hudson Taylor, and David Brainard who have experienced it. So, what is our problem?

Can the problem really be with prayer? Or could the problem be with us? Well, let’s think about it: Have you ever felt like your prayers bounced back at you off the ceiling and never got out of the room? Did your prayers echo hollow in your ears? Did you feel all alone as though God’s presence wasn’t even there? What could be wrong? Well, a lot of things could be wrong. So let’s look at some possible answers. Perhaps one of them fits your particular situation.

The first thing that could be wrong is sin in your life. This is perhaps the most common problem. This is what the Old Testament says about it: Isaiah 59:2 – “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

“Yeah, but that was back in the Old Testament, a time of law and all that,” some of you will say, “Back when God wasn’t so gracious and loving. Certainly, it isn’t that way in the New Testament, is it?”

Let’s see: 1st Peter 3:12 says, “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” Isn’t that the same principal?

Is this simply a matter of God being intolerant and vindictively refusing to listen to those who won’t abide by his rules? Is it like our kids who cover their ears and say, “I’m not listening! I’m not listening!” Of course not! God isn’t petty.

The rationale is simply this: In Habakkuk 1:13, the prophet says truthfully to God: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.” The fact is, our sin hurts God. It wounds His heart. It injures His perfect holiness.

Ephesians 4:30 confirms that: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Our action can cause the Holy Spirit to grieve - to mourn in His heart.

How do we do this? Check out the immediate context. Ephesians 4:31 explains, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Why, that is all about how we treat one another – that is what either pleases or grieves the Holy Spirit. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we treat each other with a lack of love and respect. That fits right in with the arguments of 1st John, doesn’t it? We can’t treat people like that and expect God not to be upset.

Rather, this is what we need to do: Ephesians 4:32 – “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Those are the acts that love would foster

The moral is found in Ephesians 5:1-2, which says: “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

Do you see? When you walk in love, that makes God happy; when you act more like Him, He is pleased. Are you getting the picture?

Ephesians 5:3-4 continues, “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”

Now, there’s a thanksgiving sermon. Don’t be messing around with all those vile sins we’ve been talking about, but rather, give thanks.

But, do you see? Sin hinders our prayer life. Here’s a verse that might crystallize your thinking: Psalm 66:18 – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”

First of all, this doesn’t say, “If I have sinned, God won’t hear my prayers.” We’ve all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So if that was true, God would never hear any of us. 1st John 1:8 made it clear: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” So this can’t be the simple fact of sin.

What Psalm 66:18 is saying is: “If I regard iniquity in my heart.” That’s entirely different. To regard iniquity means to hold onto a particular sin in my heart. It means to love it, to excuse it, to make excuses for it, to cover it up. It’s not the fact of sin, but the love of sin that hinders our communication with God.

So what sins are you cherishing?