Lord, Teach Us To Pray! Part 117

Hindered Prayer continued...

So what is the will of God? This is the million dollar question after all. If God hears those who worship Him and do His will, then knowing what the will of God is, is the key that unlocks this particular mystery.

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Since the word ‘prove’ means to establish the truth or validity of something by presentation of argument or evidence, by not being conformed to this world and being transformed by the renewing of our mind, not only are we doing the will of God, we are proving what the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God is.

‘So does this mean we can’t act as the world acts, speak as the world speaks, love what the world loves and do what the world does? Because if this is the case, it will really hamper my weekend plans.’

Yes, that’s what it means. That is exactly what it means. We must be transformed by the renewing of our mind, and not be conformed to this world. The least God expects of us as His children, is that we present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him. The least He expects of us is that we be vessels of honor, and bring glory to Him in all that we say and do.

Deuteronomy 32:18-20, “Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you. And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them, because of the provocation of His sons and daughters. And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them. I will see what their end will be. For they are a perverse generation, children in whom there is no faith.’”

God is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His hand is not short, his ear is not heavy, He is still able to extend blessing, protection, comfort and joy, but when sin is abundant and evident and persistent, when even those calling themselves His children have no faith and give their hearts over to iniquity, He shuts up His hand, and no longer pours out.

God makes the conscious choice to hide His face. He makes the conscious choice to withhold blessing due to the iniquity and sin of His people.

Any sin not repented of, acts as a stumbling block between us and God, effectively blocking our prayers.

There is reason and purpose for every word found within the pages of Scripture, and when the word of God admonishes us to confess our sins and trespasses, it does so because it is important and has ramifications beyond what we can see with the naked eye.

Even though Jesus came to tear down the wall that separated us from God, even though through Christ we can be reconciled to the Father, we industrious human beings continue building the wall that was once torn down, creating separation between ourselves and God through iniquity and sin.

So what are some of the more common sins that build a wall between us and God?

Because of its wide ranging implications, the sin that should be at the top of everyone’s list is the sin of disobedience.

The moment we choose disobedience, the moment we disregard the voice of God, the word of God, or the will of God, heaven itself is closed off to us.

Deuteronomy 28:15, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

For the next fifty-three verses the word of God goes on to enumerate all the curses which would fall upon those who do not obey the voice of the Lord, or observe carefully His commandments and statutes.

One curse in particular that I’ve always found intriguing, and contextually speaking is worth noting due to the topic we are currently discussing, is that the heavens which are over you will be bronze, and the earth under your feet iron, if you choose disobedience and rebellion.

Deuteronomy 28:23, “And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.”

There are consequences to disobedience, just as there are consequences to everything we do in life. Yes, this present generation has attempted to strip the very notion of consequence from the general consciousness, but just as a fool denies the existence of the sun even though it burns him without affecting the sun itself, so it is with those who continue to deny the reality of consequence of action even though they are suffering the consequences of their actions on a daily basis.

God is unaffected by man’s insistence that there is no consequence to disobedience, and though man continue to vehemently deny it, reality itself testifies to the contrary.

Be an obedient child, and God will treat you like an obedient child. Be a rebellious child, and God will treat you like a rebellious child. Choose disobedience and your heavens shall be bronze, and no matter how loud you might yell, all you will hear in return is the echo of your own voice. Choose obedience, and you will know beyond doubt that God hears your prayers, that He sees your tears, and that He will answer accordingly in due season and in the best possible way.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea jr.