Main Obstacles To Prayer
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ScribdTranslationsMain Obstacles To Prayer
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ScribdTranslationsMAIN OBSTACLES TO PRAYER
Learning to Pray.
The simplest definition of what it means to pray is that praying is talking to God.
To pray is to pour out our heart before God with words not learned, but improvised,
It is where our mind joins our heart to establish a conscious relationship with our Lord and
Salvador.
We all like that when we pray, all our requests are heard and answered.
However, in many cases we see that this is not the case, and we wonder why God does not respond when
We cry out to Him in prayer.
In this regard, we must point out two important things.
First: God always responds, either with a yes, with a no, or with a wait.
What happens is that sometimes it suits us to ignore their response and we declare that they have not yet responded.
Second: God sometimes does not accept or cannot answer our prayers because there are certain things that hinder.
in our lives so that God can respond favorably to our requests.
And we are going to talk about those hindrances to prayer next.
Jesus said: 'Ask, and it will be given to you...' (Matthew 7:7) What then prevents us from receiving?
MAIN HINDRANCES TO PRAYER.
Ask badly.
You covet, and do not have; you kill and are envious, and cannot obtain; you fight and wage war, yet you do not have what you want.
You desire and do not have. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
There are times when we ask God but do not receive what we ask for, because as the Word says, we are
asking badly, in the sense that we ask selfishly, thinking only of our personal good.
b) Many Christians present only personal requests to God, forgetting about the needy,
sick, or of the souls that are lost in hell daily.
c) God is pleased that we first think of our neighbor and their needs, as this will shape
in us a humble heart, being this kind of heart, the one that God attends to.
2. Misguided Reasons.
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of
the streets, to be seen by men; truly I tell you, they already have their reward." (Matthew 6:5)
Just like those hypocrites in the passage of Matthew who prayed to be seen and thus praised, we
We can also be praying or making requests to heaven in a wrong way.
How can I know then that I am praying and asking God correctly?
All Our Christian Life Must Be Centered On The Word Of God.
Therefore, when what we ask is not supported by the Word of God, we will know that we will be
Asking Incorrectly.
Getting a job through lies and pretending that God works in it is not supported by the Word of God.
Receiving healing through visits to healers or supposed 'healers' is not supported by the Word of
God.
Gaining profits through deceit or fraudulent works is not supported by the Word of God.
Let us be careful then about the reasons for which we pray to God and not pretend that God should act.
When What We Are Doing Has No Biblical Support.
3. Host Pride.
For the Lord is high, and regards the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.
1. When a Christian asks God for something in prayer and their heart is filled with pride, the Word of God says
for God looks at him from afar, since one of the things abominable to God is pride (Proverbs 6:16)
God's ears are closed to the prayers that come from proud hearts that believe
self-sufficient or with the right to receive everything they ask for, as they believe they deserve it.
[Link] the contrary, God never rejects a humbled heart willing to depend totally on grace and
the mercy of God.
Everything we can receive comes from the Father, who gives us indiscriminately and based on our
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.
of the lights, in which there is no change, nor shadow of variation.
5. God does not favor some and not others. God is impartial and grants favors to the just and the unjust only out of love and
mercy.
4. Having a Non-Forgiving Spirit.
Therefore, if you bring your offering to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the
altar, and go, first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and present your offering.” Matthew 5:23-24.
Clearly, we see in this passage that the Lord will not accept anything from us nor attend to our requests.
if there is something wrong, some kind of contention, between a person and me.
2. It is important to notice that here Jesus does not say that if we have something against someone, we should go and ...
let's reconcile, but Jesus says that if that person has something against us, we should be the ones who
let's reconcile.
[Link] means that whether I have something against someone, or that someone has something against me, it must be me
always, whoever should take the first step in reconciliation, since otherwise, my prayer and request
may not be answered.
Sometimes we have so much pain accumulated in our hearts from the harm that has been done to us, that we close off.
completely the door of forgiveness, causing even greater damage to our soul.
It is necessary to forgive in order to free oneself and receive spiritual healing. What should lead us to forgive is not a
feeling that we need to experience.
Forgiveness is a decision we make for our own good; it is not a feeling that should arise.
Many Christians do not receive from God because they have this hindrance in them.
But it is enough to simply decide to forgive and remove this burden, so that also that barrier between God and us
let it fall and we can receive what God wants to give us.
5. To Have Doubt.
But ask with faith, without doubting anything; for one who doubts is like the wave of the sea, which is driven by the
wind and tossed from one side to the other." (James 1:6)
Many believers pray to God only as a routine, without having full trust in God's power or in the person themselves.
of God.
What is the point of praying to God for something you doubt you will receive?
If the Word of God says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God, we can certainly affirm that
Doubt, which is the opposite of faith, displeases God.
The first thing then is to discard all distrust and replace it with trust.
This is obtained only through a close relationship with God.
Trust in God will not be given until we know our Lord well by spending time with Him.
