Does God Ever Refuse to Hear Prayers?

Most of us believe that when we “cry out” to God—that is, appeal to Him through prayer—He always hears those prayers. “Ask,” we read in Matthew 7:7, “and it will be given to you.” But what about Bible passages that suggest that sometimes God doesn’t listen to our prayers?

Consider Psalm 66, in which the author gives thanks that God answered his prayer, but suggests that God might not have done so in certain circumstances:

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me! — Psalm 66:16-20 (ESV) (empahsis mine)

Hymn Hypocrisy

Do you ever feel like a total hypocrite when you realize what is coming out of your mouth at church?

I don’t mean the words of worship and praise for God—those always sound right. And I don’t mean the words of confession of sin or the words of prayer. I am referring to the words of hymns that describe our lives as Christians.

Take, for instance, Frances Havergal’s famous hymn of personal dedication, “Take My Life and Let It Be.” The fourth stanza always makes me feel kind of sheepish (we’d blush if that were possible in this age of no shame): “Take my silver and my gold; Not a mite would I withhold.” I think of my decades of selfishness. Can you sing that stanza with a straight face and mean it?

Courageous Conversation

by Marvin Williams

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Galatians 2:11-21

When Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. —Galatians 2:11

Bible in a Year:
Job 8-10

Is it possible that technological advances in communication have left us unable to confront people properly? After all, employers can now send layoff notices via e-mail. And people can criticize others on Facebook and Twitter instead of talking face to face. Perhaps it might be better to put all that aside and emulate how Paul communicated with Peter when they had a disagreement.

Paul had to confront Peter for compromising grace (Gal. 2:11-16). Peter had been fellowshiping with Gentiles, but when the Judaizers arrived (who believed that sinners are saved through Jesus plus keeping the law of Moses), Peter separated himself from the Gentiles. He ostracized them while professing to be one with them. Seeing this hypocrisy, Paul, in love and with passion, confronted Peter face to face for cowering to a legalistic system that was powerless to change lives. He vigorously reminded Peter that grace leads to freedom from sin’s slavery and to obedience to God.

Having courageous conversations with fellow Christians can be difficult, but they will promote purity and unity. We can carry out our responsibility to one another to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, give us courage to confront
Believers who have strayed;
And then with gentleness restore
By coming to their aid. —Sper

A well-chosen word can speak volumes.

http://odb.org/2012/05/16/courageous-conversation/

Don’t Heap up Empty Phrases in Prayer?

Mike Fabarez

Jesus said that when we pray we should “not heap up empty phrases” (Matthew 6:7). Later he lamented a hypocritical form of worship by quoting the indictment that first came through Isaiah: “These people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8).

We must be so careful when we bow our heads to pray, or lift our voices to sing. God is not impressed when we utter mere words such as “Praise the Lord!” or “Hallelujah!” He is looking for worshippers whose spirits (i.e., minds, hearts, and thoughts) are engaged in expressing the meaning of those words (cf. John 4:23). It is easy to melodically recite lyrics of Christian songs, but it takes concentration, sincerity and thoughtfulness to truly worship in song. We should never hide behind fine sounding words while our minds wander through a set of thoughts about something else.