IT is a lamentable fact that, although all Christians pray (for prayer is indeed the believer’s “vital breath”), yet there are many who seldom record in actual experience a definite answer to the cry of their hearts. And because of this there is a tendency, as previously mentioned, to think of prayer as of value only because of its reflex action upon the souls of those who thus wait on God, rather than because of any possible answer.
It is important to hear in mind that there may be, and often are, certain hindrances on our part that cause God to withhold the gift we ask. To Israel He said, “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” (Isa. 59:1, 21Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:1‑2)). And the Psalmist plainly declares, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psa. 66:1818If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: (Psalm 66:18)). Are not solemn words like these often forgotten? Do we not come carelessly into the Lord’s presence beseeching Him to undertake for us, only to get no answer from heaven because of our careless ways or unjudged sin?
Let me give a typical incident out of many that have come to my notice. A young lady who had, when converted, turned from the world and its follies, was afterwards persuaded by carnal friends to break down that wall of separation which at first had been reared between her and the frivolous society out of which grace had called her. To the grief of those who watched for her soul, she absented herself from the appointed gatherings of the Lord’s people, and instead was found in the world’s halls of refined pleasures, which nevertheless are enmity against God. To any who pleaded with her as to these things she had but one answer: She detested narrowness, and could site no harm in the things that godly saints shrank from as dishonoring to Christ.
Some months went by, and her loved father was stricken with a severe illness necessitating a serious operation from which he never rallied. His death was to her a great shock, but instead of turning her back to God it seemed rather to harden her against. Him. Meeting her some months afterward I sought to help if possible, but when I inquired as to her spiritual state she replied, “I am filled with doubt and uncertainty. Ever since my father died it has been a fight to keep from going into the darkness of infidelity. I cannot pray. I cannot read my Bible. I am miserable. When my father was taken to the hospital I was in great distress, but turning to my Bible my eye fell on the words, ‘Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ It seemed like a direct message to me. I went into my room, and, claiming that promise, I prayed earnestly that my father might recover and he restored to us. I did not have a doubt that. God would answer me. I trusted His word absolutely, and you know the result! When word came of his death it seemed as though the light went out of my life. My confidence in prayer was shattered. My faith even in the Bible received a fearful blow. I have never been able to regain the confidence I once had, for it seems to me that God did not keep His word to me! I know that this is an awful confession to make, but that is how I feel.”
As I looked into the tear-stained, anguished face, my heart ached for her, and I prayed for just the right word to help. “Tell me,” I inquired, “what do you call a person who tries to cash a check that was made out to someone else, by endorsing it falsely?”
“Oh,” she answered, “that would be forgery. If one tried to cash a check not in his name he would be a forger.”
“Well, I fear that is your case,” I replied. “You tried to cash a check on the Bank of Heaven that was never intended for you. Look at John 15:77If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7). Read the whole check. See to whom it is made out. ‘If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ Were you abiding in Christ as you floated over the ballroom floor? Were His words abiding in you as you sat in the theater? Was it abiding in Him that kept you from the prayer meeting and took you to the opera instead? What right had you to try to cash that particular check?”
Startled, she saw the point and burst into almost hysterical weeping. “Oh,” she cried, “I see what you mean! You would tell me that my worldliness murdered my father. It is I who killed him by my ungodly ways! If I had only been living for God I could have prayed so that he would have been healed. I can never forgive myself!”
“Now you are going to the other extreme,” I replied. “If you had been abiding in Christ you would not have demanded of God what was clearly not His will. He saw that your dear father’s work was done. It was time for him to go home. You did not take this into account because you were out of touch with the Lord. The Word says, ‘If we ask anything according to his will, He heareth us’ (1 John 5:1414And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: (1 John 5:14)). The subject soul will say with his Lord, ‘Not my will, but thine be done.’ You overlooked this, and so you have had a bitter lesson to learn.”
I am glad to say that ere I left we knelt together and she contritely returned to the Lord, and was, I have every reason to believe, restored in soul.
But are there not many like her, who forget there are conditions that must be met if prayer is to be definitely answered. There are hindrances that must he recognized and dealt with, if we would come to God in the Spirit’s liberty, and in the assurance of faith.
We have already seen that iniquity in the heart or life precludes the possibility of the prayer of faith. But I desire to notice some very definite New Testament Scriptures indicating the exact nature of some of these hindrances.
And, first, let me instance a condemning heart. In 1 John 3:20-2220For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. (1 John 3:20‑22) we are told, “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence bore God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” The entire passage, from verse 14 to the end of the chapter, is most illuminating, and shows us that he who would pray in confidence when his own need arises must ever walk in love and consideration for others, and minister to their need as he has opportunity. Otherwise how can he go to God with an uncondemning heart when in distress himself? It is written, “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself but shall not be heard”(Prov. 21:1313Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. (Proverbs 21:13)).
If, therefore, I desire mercies of the Lord for myself, let me see to it that I show mercy to others; otherwise my own heart will condemn me, and I cannot pray in the Holy Spirit. “Blessed are the merciful, fur they shall obtain mercy.” Harshness of spirit, indifference to the need of others—whether spiritual or temporal—will effectually hinder my prayer getting through to the ear of God.
The principle is of wide application. Whatever condemns me in my own conscience hinders prayer. Till it is judged pleading and wrestling are in vain. Let me first search and try my ways and see if I am allowing anything in my life that, is grieving the Spirit. If so, I cannot pray as I should, for God has not promised to hear the cry of one whose own heart condemns him. But if all is judged, the line is clear, and I can pray with assurance. Then I shall know beyond a doubt that I have to do with the living God who heareth prayer.