Prayer of the Week

But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear. Isaiah 59.2

Too many times in my life I feel as though God is not listening to me. I imagine that he is so busy with prayers concerning disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes that he doesn't have time for my requests. I think that he must be listening to the requests of kings and presidents. I am sure that celebrities, statesmen and famous preachers are more important than me. Maybe God will listen to me later. The only good thing about this attitude is that I generally don't give up in my praying. You should know, however, that those thoughts, as common as they are, are completely false.

This passage from Isaiah gives us the only reason that God does not listen to our prayers. He cannot listen when we have sin in our lives. The perfection of God, the holiness of the Lord does not allow him to come into contact with sin of any kind. He cannot associate with us, or hear our prayers when we are in sin.Very simply, this means that you and I must always be aware of the sin in our lives. I must always be vigilant to find and eliminate temptation and sin. An important part- perhaps the most important part- of every prayer is confession of sin and repentance. Do not let your pride, selfishness and sin keep your prayers from getting where they need to be.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I know I am not alone, but I am a sinner. I have failed too often to do your will. I do things that I should not, and I do not do things that I should. Please forgive me. Cleanse me of my unrighteousness and put me on the right path. Help me to avoid sin and to do your will. Amen.