Keep a Clean Heart
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.
- Psalm 66:18
Not only does praying with a selfish motive hinder our prayers, but unconfessed sin can thwart them as well. Isaiah 59:1–2 says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Unconfessed sin in our lives will stop our prayers from being answered. The psalmist wrote, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psalm 66:18). We can pray with passion. We can pray with faith. We can pray with all of the gusto we have. But if there is an area in our lives that is not right before God, then our prayers will not be heard.
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When we come to God with sin in our lives, God effectively says, "If you want fellowship with Me, if you want to have communion with Me, then you need to repent of that sin. You can't live in that life and then live My life." Unconfessed sin will hinder our prayers.
When is the last time you asked God to cleanse and forgive you of your sin? In his book, How to Pray, R. A. Torrey said, "Anyone who finds his prayers ineffective should not conclude that the thing he asks of God is not according to His will, but should go alone with God with the psalmist's prayer, 'Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me' (Psalm 139:23–24 KJV)."
