Hindering Prayer

This week our trek through 1 Peter brings us to 3:7 and the charge to Christian husbands to be considerate toward their wives, “since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”  It’s especially that last remark I want to pick up on here—about prayer being hindered by our sin.

This theme is found throughout the Bible:  “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18).  God says that the foolish and rebellious “will call upon me, but I will not answer” (Proverbs 1:28).  “When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15).  Violent, unjust Israel­ites “will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer them…” (Micah 3:4).  Of the hard-hearted, God said, “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear” (Zechariah 7:13).  “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3).

Of course, not all sin blocks prayer—otherwise all of our pleas would be rejected, and there would be no such thing as prayer.  You see, every Christian remains a sinner:  “Forgive us our debts” is a daily petition for Jesus’ followers (Matthew 6:12); Christians who claim not to sin make God out to be a liar (1 John 1:8).

Further, not all unanswered prayer is due to our sin.  When Paul was plagued by a “thorn in the flesh,” he pleaded for it to be taken away.  But, for Paul’s good, God said no (2 Corinthians 12:9).

So what’s the point?  It’s this:  Scripture teaches that persistent, willful sin obstructs prayer—like a spiritual “ceiling” which our petitions hit and then drop flat on the floor.  So, if you’re toying with sin (whether it’s greed or lust or pride or gossip or hate, etc.), be warned:  you’re cutting yourself off from the Lord.  But by contrast, if you humbly confess your sins, be assured that the Father not only hears you but forgives you as well (1 John 1:9)!