Hindrances

 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

I would never be so bold as to dispute the Word of God.  So let me be clear.  This blog is not about what separates us from the love God.  As the above verse in Romans states, God’s love for us is unconditional.  However, we can absolutely be separated from God emotionally and spiritually.  God is holy and cannot tolerate sin.  Actively choosing to live in sin will hinder your prayers and may even remove God’s blessing and protection from your life.

The bible says God answers the prayers of the righteous.  This does not mean that all prayers uttered by the ungodly are ignored.  God often has mercy and compassion on those who choose to live sinful lives.  By doing so, some turn their hearts toward Him, while others remain stubbornly distant.  However, James and Peter both show us that our prayers are much more effective and profitable when we strive to walk down the paths of holiness.

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man profits much.  James 5:16

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
For "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." I Peter 3:8-12

I Peter 3 even reveals that the husband must treat his wife honorably to avoid having his prayers ignored.  I would assume the same rules apply for the wife if she mistreats her husband.

Husbands, likewise, dwell with [your wives] with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. I Peter 3:7

Other than the above verse, what are some other ways we may alienate ourselves from God?  The list spelled out for us in both in Galatians and Corinthians.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:19-21 

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists will inherit the kingdom of God.  I Corinthians 6:9-10

But what about the believer?  Can a Christian be separated from the One they call their Heavenly Father?  Sadly, yes.

Have you ever known God was calling you to do or not do a specific task, but refused?  Were you thinking the same thing I was as I typed those last words.  Jonah.  Remember how he refused to go to Nineveh?  Did God protect him when he disobeyed God’s instructions?  Nope.  When a storm brewed aboard the ship he tried to use to escape God, his fellow sailors tossed him overboard (after he admitted the storm was directly due to God’s anger toward him).  The book of Jonah tells us that the Lord “had prepared a great fish” specifically to punish Jonah’s insubordination.  While we may not go through something so dramatic and smelly, it is clear by this example that God will allow bad things to happen when we stray from His perfect will.  Of course, God also had mercy on Jonah after he humbly spent three days in prayer repenting of his sins.  Only then did God allow the fish to vomit Jonah out alive.

If we are honest, we can all admit that there have been numerous times in our lives we purposely chose to disobey God’s voice.  I am very much including myself here.  In essence, we are making an active choice to separate ourselves from God and hinder our prayer life.  Just as God was gracious to Jonah after he repented, He will show the same kindness to us.  Yet, why put yourself in the rebellious situation in the first place?  We are always full of excuses, aren’t we?  I know I shouldn’t take this job, but I need the money.  I know I shouldn’t date him/her, but I’m lonely.  I know I shouldn’t watch this program, but it’s a good storyline.  I know I shouldn’t  drink alcohol or do drugs, but I’m depressed.   I know I shouldn’t have relations outside of  marriage, but God didn’t answer my important prayer.  And the list of  justifications goes on and on.

Would you expect a boss to keep you on the job if you kept stealing?  Nor should you expect a holy God to turn the other way when you willfully choose to do the wrong thing.

Not only are we breaking God’s heart by our disobedient actions, we are also choosing to walk by sight rather than faith.  We do not truly believe in Romans 8:38 or Jeremiah 29:11 when we choose to earn money in a dishonest or immoral fashion.  Serving alcohol at a bar, even when you do not drink the alcohol is still wrong.  When we accept such a job, we are stubbornly saying we do not believe God will supply all of our needs.  When we date someone completely out of line with our morals, we are saying we do not believe God will bring us the right mate in His perfect timing.  We are acting like Sarah when she stepped outside of God’s will by asking Abraham to marry Hagar.  She did not have faith enough to believe God would grant them a son through her womb.

I would like to add that God may still use us when we make poor choices.  We should still show love to people and attempt to be a Light for Him.  However, if you choose to work in an occult store or openly smoke cigarettes, do not expect your testimony to be effective.  Instead, you will mostly come across as a hypocrite and others will not take your Christianity seriously.  That does not mean you cease attempting to produce the fruits of the spirit and become rude and unkind.  Showing love towards others is always the best choice before, during, and after our moments when walk outside God’s will.  Overall, the best scenario is to repent and start over, but do not add insulting behaviors to your list of rebellions.   

When you truly love God, you should want to do your very best to please Him.  I want so much to make my Lord happy, that when I know I am failing, it causes me to weep.  I want to please my Maker and Friend.

I do not really know how to end this blog; I feel like I could write many more paragraphs. I will just end by reminding us all (me too) to really think twice when making important decisions.  Money, pleasure, entertainment, or peer pressure should never out-weigh your love for God or His love for you.  Even if you are at a place where you feel God has let you down or you feel ignored by God that does not mean your feelings are reality.  It is often very difficult to wait patiently and allow God to do what He is planning to do in His perfect timing.  Getting ahead of God and going against His will rarely produces positive results.  The consequences usually come when we choose to follow our own will instead.   I am not speaking of unintentionally going against God’s will (which can be easy because God can be confusing), but I am speaking of blatant rebellion. 

I will say it again; really think twice when making important decisions.  When we place God first, family second, other people third, and all else last, life will naturally fall into place and we can usually stay within God’s good graces and not hinder our prayers.