Prayer Focus-Remove Prayer Barriers

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Focus, we take a look at the importance of removing barriers to prayer.

The writer of Psalm 66:18 wrote, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened.”

It is humanly possible to put up barriers with God by our selfish motivation. This happened in the early church and was addressed by James. He said in chapter 4, verse 2, “You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”  Prayer can be a time for us to get rightly aligned with God as we confess our sins with a humble heart. And then change course. This is the key to seeing the goodness of Jesus more clearly.

Hebrews 12:1 urges us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Removing barriers to prayer is worth examining for a faith-focused life.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com