SCRIPTURE
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
SPOTLIGHT
In the 19th century, there was a very powerful man of God named Dwight L Moody. Through his preaching and teaching many people became believers. He was also one of the founders of the YMCA.
D.L. Moody once said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart and am not willing to give it up, I need not pray, for there is no room in my life to receive the blessing I seek. Take a bottle and cork it up tight and put it under Niagara Falls and not a drop of that mighty volume of water will enter the container. If any unconfessed sin remains in my heart and I am not willing to abandon it, the channel is blocked between the soul and God.”
Are you corked? Have you ever been corked? I am not speaking about being intoxicated. Instead, I am speaking about the one major hindrance to your prayers being answered by God. Unconfessed sin is being corked. Being corked causes powerless prayer. Please note! I did not say powerful prayer. The Bible states in Psalm 66:18, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord could not have listened…” If you sin in mind, word or deed and you intentionally refuse to ask God’s forgiveness, you are regarding or cherishing sin in your heart. That results in powerless prayer.
By cherishing that sin, you open yourself up to grave danger. Psalm 107:17 states, “Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.” Why become a fool? Why rebel against the Holy Spirit convicting you of sin? Why refuse to pray as Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray, “forgive us this day our trespasses…”
Here is the key to praying powerful prayers. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God makes a great promise to people who will confess their sin. A time of great blessing is in store when people humble themselves and pray. Please note that God answers the prayers of people who; #1 Humble themselves; #2 Seek Him; #3 Repent. God gives full attention to people who have this prayerful attitude. 2 Chronicles 7:15 states, “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”
Why not get uncorked? Keep your prayer channel open to God and in turn receive God’s blessings. If you have experienced the power of prayer, then you will not want to intentionally cherish sin. Instead, you will do as the Psalmist, who stated, “I cried out to Him with my mouth, His praise was on my tongue… but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me” (Psalm 66:17,19,20).
SOMETHING TO DO
5 key questions that need to be asked:
1. Am I a humble person?
2. Am I seeking God?
3. Am I quick to repent and confess my sin?
4. Am I holding back from confessing sin that the Holy Spirit is convicting me of?
5. Am I wanting to ask myself these questions often so that I can pray powerful prayers?
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I do not want to pray powerless prayers but powerful prayers. Teach me how to be humble, show me how to seek You, alert me to unconfessed sin in my life and remind me to ask myself these questions very often, in Your Son’s name I pray, AMEN.