Heavens Like Iron
Why does God not answer our prayers? There are several reasons, but I want to focus on one of them. David said it in Psalm 66:18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." Sin stops our prayers. God is not going to reward us with answered prayers, when we are ignoring His commands and breaking His Word. It would be very counter-productive. He would be teaching us that sin is alright.
In Leviticus 26 God gives us His heart in the matter. It is a long chapter with a long list of consequences. There are good consequences for obedience, and there are bad consequences for disobedience. In Leviticus 26:19 God told the Israelites that if they disobeyed Him, "I will make the heavens like iron." The people could pray, but the prayers would not reach the throne. God would block them out until they repented of their sins and confessed them to Him.
We need to be very sensitive to the consequences of sin. If our prayers are going unanswered, we need to consider the possibility that we have unconfessed sin in our lives. We should stop and ask the Lord to point it out, so we can confess it, and He will be faithful to show us clearly.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 2-4.
In Leviticus 26 God gives us His heart in the matter. It is a long chapter with a long list of consequences. There are good consequences for obedience, and there are bad consequences for disobedience. In Leviticus 26:19 God told the Israelites that if they disobeyed Him, "I will make the heavens like iron." The people could pray, but the prayers would not reach the throne. God would block them out until they repented of their sins and confessed them to Him.
We need to be very sensitive to the consequences of sin. If our prayers are going unanswered, we need to consider the possibility that we have unconfessed sin in our lives. We should stop and ask the Lord to point it out, so we can confess it, and He will be faithful to show us clearly.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 2-4.