by Jay Morgan, lead pastor of New Life Church, West Virginia, Wesley Seminary Course CONG520, May 2014.
It seems that sometimes God waits to see how serious you are about a request before He intervenes. If God said YES to everything that you asked for, in no time you would be praying to counteract the requests you previously made!
In his book, Too Busy Not To Pray, Bill Hybels refers to “Prayer Busters,” i.e. things that hinder our prayers from being answered (InterVarsity Press: 1988). Following are some adaptaions I have made.
Many times, you might incorrectly assume that God isn’t intervening because it is not His will. However, Scripture teaches that God can actually desire something for you but the condition of your heart can block it!
Following are verses that explain how the condition of your heart can limit God’s intervention in your life.
Wrong Motives: When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives. But you spend what you get on your own pleasures. James 4:3
Unconfessed Sin: There is a problem, your sins have cut you off from God, because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. Isaiah 59:2
Insensitivity to the needs of the poor. those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need. Proverbs 21:13
Lack of Faith. When you ask, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as the waves of the sea, that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds, they waiver back and forth in everything they do. James 1:6-8
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