January 8, 2012 - Pastor Doug Caister
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Barriers to Answered Prayer That We Can Set Up Between Ourselves and God
PRAYERLESSNESS & SELFISHNESS - James 4:2-3
2 You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong &emdash; you want only what will give you pleasure.
DOUBLE-MINDED FAITH - James 1:6
6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
UNCONFESSED SIN - Psalm 66:18
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
Isaiah 59:2
2 It's your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, he has turned away
and will not listen anymore.
CALLOUSNESS TO WEAK/VULNERABLE - Proverbs 21:13
13 Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor
will be ignored in their own time of need.
Isaiah 58:3-9
3 'We have fasted before you!' they say. 'Why aren't you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don't even notice it!'
"I will tell you why!" I respond. "It's because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.
5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?
6 "No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 "Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer. 'Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply.
PRIDE - Proverbs 1:28-31
28 "When they cry for help, I will not answer.
Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge
and chose not to fear the Lord.
30 They rejected my advice
and paid no attention when I corrected them.
31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
choking on their own schemes.
UNRESOLVED CONFLICT - 1 Peter 3:7
7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.
Mark 11:22-25
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too."
Matthew 6:14
14 "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
Matthew 5:23-24
23 "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.