×

Warning

JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 557

Daily Devotion

Barriers to Prayer

Created: Thursday, 02 May 2019 13:54
Hits: 962
In the New Testament Church's public worship, it was apparently customary for worshipers to lift their hands and offer prayers aloud (Acts 4:24-31). He who prays must stretch forth holy hands. The early Church took over the Jewish attitude of prayer, which was to pray to stand, with hands outstretched and the palms upward. The posture of our prayers is not the main issue. For our prayers to be ultimately effective, we must pray with "holy hands," which represent lives of moral purity, spiritual wholeness, personal integrity, separation from evil and complete devotion to God.
Here, too, certain things are demanded. 
 
(1) He who prays must stretch forth holy hands. He must hold up to God hands that do not touch forbidden things. This does not mean for one moment that the sinner is separated from God, but it does mean that there is no reality in the prayers of the person who then goes out to soil his hands with forbidden things as if he had never prayed. 
 
(2) He who prays must have no anger in his heart. It has been said that "forgiveness is indivisible." Human and divine forgiveness go hand in hand. Jesus stresses the fact that we cannot hope to receive the forgiveness of God as long as we are at enmity with our fellow-men. Bitterness in a person's heart is a barrier that hinders his prayers from reaching God. 
 
(3) He who prays must have no doubts in his mind. Before prayer is answered there must be the belief that God will answer. If a person prays with no real belief, his prayer falls to the ground. Before a person can be cured, he must believe that he can be healed; before a person can lay hold on the grace of God, he must believe in that grace. We must take our prayers to God in the complete confidence that He hears and answers prayer.
 
Life Application
Do you pray to believe that God hears your prayer and will answer even if not in the way you ask? Prayer is something that can be lifted to God 24 hours a day as long as we have clean hands and pure hearts.
 
Praise/Prayer
Dear Father, before I bring requests, I ask You to give me a pure heart and clean hands and receive my thanksgiving for the answers to my prayers. You are so faithful and loving. Hallelujah! I come believing that You will answer the questions that occupy my mind. You are my mountain-mover and supplier of my needs. Amen!
 
 
 
 
 

Who We Are | Contact Us

Please type your full name.
Invalid email address.
Invalid Input

Follow Us on Social Media