God Does Not Respond To The Rebellious
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
Psalm 66:18-19
It is bad to be in trouble. It is worse to be in trouble and on the outs with God.
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According to the passage above, if we harbor sinful attitudes in our souls or willfully indulge in sinful activities, we should not expect God to respond to our prayers.
This is not because God doesn’t love us. He does—more than we realize. It’s not because God doesn’t want to help us. He longs to deliver. A holy God, however, cannot wink at sin or look the other way. Intimacy with God requires honesty, humility and purity.
For us to attempt to approach God without first addressing the ways in which we have knowingly offended him is an exercise in futility. Sin is the elephant in the room that must be acknowledged and dealt with. Once we do this, we again enjoy sweet fellowship with God. Clean and forgiven, we can be sure he hears our pleas for help.
GOD’S PROMISE TO ME
• I do not hear the prayers of those who have unconfessed sin in their lives.
• I hear the prayers of the righteous.
MY PRAYER TO GOD
Lord, by your Spirit, give me the humility to take a hard look at my life. Show me any wrong attitudes and actions that I need to acknowledge, confess and repent of.
