PRAYER HINDERANCES

Greetings Prayer Warriors. Have you ever got down on your knees...looked up to heaven...and breathed out an earnest, heartfelt prayer...only to have the sensation that you have hit a brass ceiling?You are down on your knees being bombarded by the words that you have just prayed as they sprinkle down back on you like a shattered dream? Welcome to the world of prayer.

Sometimes...NOT ALL OF THE TIME...there seems to be a roadblock to your prayers. Hinderances seems to BLOCK your road to God...or at least God's road to you...with the ANSWER to your prayer. In this MCDONALDS/BURGER KING WORLD...we want it OUR WAY...NOW...and when the answer does not appear...we GIVE UP.

DISCLAIMER: This Rambling does not purport to have any personal knowledge of why YOUR prayers are not answered. I only speak from my personal experience with this thing called THE ART OF PRAYER.

In the book of James we are told that when we encounter various trials/temptations...we are to COUNT/CONSIDER IT ALL JOY. Why? Because we can KNOW that the TESTING OF OUR FAITH...produces what is known as ENDURANCE. This thing called endurance can...if we LET/ALLOW IT...to have a PERFECT RESULT/WORK...so that you can be (1) perfect or mature (2) complete (3) lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4). The next verse in James speaks of LACKING WISDOM. If you LACK WISDOM...you can ASK/PRAY of God...who GIVES/ANSWERS PRAYERS to all men generously and without reproach...and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

This ASKING/PRAYER...should be asked IN FAITH (the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen)...and without DOUBTING. If you be doubting...you be tossed around like the SURF OF THE SEA. In the words of the Beach Boys...SURFS UP!

The WISDOM that you are asking for...is in reference to the VARIOUS TRIALS that you are going through. You can KNOW if (1) You are being attacked by satan schemes (2) You shot yourself in the foot like Barney Fife (3) You are experiencing the effects of a cursed and fallen world (4) You are not doing anything wrong...but God is allowing you to be tested. Why would you need wisdom about why you are being tested? So...that you will know what to do in the middle of STUFF HAPPENING. You may need to: (1) Rebuke the devil and his schemes (2) Repent for shooting yourself in the foot by disobedience (3) Realize that it is raining on the just and the unjust and the storms come against both houses (built on rock or sand)...and you need to shore up and stand strong (4) Rejoice in the Lord always...and again Rejoice. You may need to learn the lessons and go on.

The reason that I took time to talk about how you can pray about and get wisdom on WHY you are going through various TRIALS...is that that same principle...will work in your PRAYER LIFE about HINDERANCES AND ROADBLOCKS...so you can adjust, repent, stand, or praise between the POINT of PRAYER------------------------------------------------------------->POINT OF PROVISION. When you pray...and you don't see anything happen...and you start to get nervous because you don't see or feel or experience anything...you tend to (1) GIVE UP or (2) TRY TO MANIPULATE and BRING THE ANSWER TO PASS. Again...this may not be YOU...but I sure know that I have run the gamut of PRAYER GAMES. With that in mind...here are some (not all) of the things that could be at the ROOT of your PRAYER PROBLEMS.

PRAYER ROADBLOCKS/HINDRANCES

1. SIN: I know for sure that it's not God's fault...so I do a SIN CHECKUP. I ask the Lord to shine His light on me...and reveal anything that I may be doing that needs a little Repent Action (R.A.) More likely than not...I already know what the sin is...I just need to 'fess up (aka cconfess)...repent...and get back on track. (I John 1:5-10)

2. PRIDE: When I am walking in pride (maybe about how God answers my prayers)...there is a RESISTANCE FORCE...and it AIN'T satan. It is God resisting the proud. The solution is to humble myself under the mighty hand of God...and He will lift me up at the PROPER TIME. When you are humble...there can be a time gap...from when I pray...and the answer arrives...and I don't get NERVOUS IN THE SERVICE. (I Peter 5:6-7)

3. NOT PRAYING GOD'S WILL: I may not say it...but I am thinking it...when I end my prayers....I end them with those 4 words that Jesus closed His model prayer...ROD'S WILL BE DONE. When we ask ANYTHING...ACCORDING TO HIS WILL...He HEARS us...in WHATEVER...we ASK. We can KNOW that He HEARS us....and that we HAVE the requests which we have ASKED from Him. The key... is ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. (I John 5:14,15)

4. SCHEMES: There are schemes, strategies, and deceits of the devil (little d)...that are AGAINST US. When we pray...we sometimes walk by SIGHT and not by FAITH...and we expend our energies on FLESH and BLOOD instead of the TRUE ENEMY...the enemy forces in the form of (1) despotism's (2) powers (3) master spirits/world rulers of THIS PRESENT DARKNESS (5) spirit forces in the heavenly (supernatural) spheres. We are called to (1) Be strong in the Lord (2) Be strong in the strength of His might (3) Put on the full armor of God (4) Stand against the scheme (5) Resist in the evil day (6) With all prayer and petition PRAY AT ALL TIMES IN THE SPIRIT
(7) Be on the alert with all perseverance and PETITION for all the saints. (8) Pray that utterance of the mystery of the death, burial, and resurrection will be spoken with boldness. (Ephesians 6:1-18)

5. ASKING AMISS: James states that YOU HAVE NOT...BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT. Well...asking is not my problem. I ask for plenty. There must be some other reason for why my ASKING is HINDERED. James answers that in the next stroke of the pen...You ask...and DO NOT RECEIVE...because you ask AMISS/WITH WRONG MOTIVES...so that you may spend it on your PLEASURES. Hmmm... MY pleasure versus HIS pleasure. (James 4:1-3; Hebrews 11:6)

6. NOT ABIDING: The word abide means to (1) stay in a given place, state, relation, expectancy (2) continue (3) dwell (4) endure
(5) be present (6) remain (7) stand (8) tarry. In John 15...we are called to ABIDE in JESUS...and JESUS' WORDS ABIDE in you. The cause and effect of ABIDING...is that we can ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH...AND IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU. I find myself NOT ABIDING...but WISHY WASHING...in and out of Jesus and His Word...and in and out of Jesus and His word in me. (John 15:7)

7. WIFE PROBLEMS: As I live in this macho man culture...where misinterpretation of husband/wife...man/woman...relationships abound...MY PRAYERS ARE HINDERED because (1) I don't live with Brenda in an UNDERSTANDING WAY (2) I don't treat her as a WEAKER VESSEL (3) I don't GRANT HER HONOR (4) I don't treat her as a FELLOW-HEIR of the GRACE OF LIFE. This was brought to my attention by a brother in the Lord named Benny Sumrall. He shared with me this verse...and told me he started to look at his wife Eva...as NOT JUST a wife...but a SISTER IN THE LORD...with authority, giftings, talents, etc. Sometimes we treat our wives one way... and our brothers in the Lord...and even our sisters in the Lord DIFFERENTLY. The cause and effect=HINDERED PRAYERS.

8. POOR PRAYER LIFE: I spend too much time in the ASKING MODE...instead of the INTIMACY MODE with the FATHER. Jesus set the tone as he would often draw away to a mountain or a CERTAIN PLACE...to get recharged and get clarity on directives from the Father. (Luke 6:12; Matthew 6:2-13; Luke 11:1-11)

9. QUE SERA SERA PRAYERS: In the Ruminator Sunday School Class...we call this DORIS DAY FAITH. It's where we pray something...and it does not immediately appear...we throw up our hands...and say...IT MUST NOT BE GOD'S WILL...so we QUIT. Que sera sera...whatever will be will be...the future's not ours to see...que sera sera...THY WILL BE DONE.. Jesus...after teaching (outlining) about prayer...and the WILL OF GOD...on EARTH...as it is in HEAVEN...to be tenacious in our ASKING. Keep on ASKING...keep on SEEKING...keep on KNOCKING. He then underscores this will parables about WEARING OUT judges and friends with REQUEST. How MUCH MORE will our HEAVENLY FATHER...GIVE (prayer requests and the Holy Spirit) to those who KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON? Again... I pray once...if there is no answer...it is either yes/no/not yet. I STOP asking...I STOP seeking...I STOP...knocking. (Luke 11:5-13; Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 18:1-7)

10. ANXIETY FACTOR: Anxiety chokes out faith. We are called to cast anxiety on Him...because He cares for you (I Peter 5:7). The range of what we are NOT TO BE ANXIOUS for ranges from NOTHING....to....EVERYTHING. We can take what we are anxious for... and put it in the NOTHING COLUMN...and then transfer the same list into the EVERYTHING COLUMN (because they are the same thing)...and then apply PRAYER PRINCIPLES including: (1) prayer (talking to God) (2) Supplication (humble specifics/petitions about the nothing/everything) (3) With THANKSGIVING...before you see any answers to the prayer. The CAUSE AND EFFECT...will be a PEACE THAT PASSES UNDERSTANDING between the point of prayer and the point of provision. There will be a guard around your heart and your minds known AS PEACE THAT PASSES UNDERSTANDING. The peace you understand is the absence of conflict, no war, no needs...but you can have peace when the storms swirls.

11. SOIL/HEART PROBLEMS: The seed in the Word of God...The soil is your heart. Sometimes...you need to pay attention to your heart/soil. The problem in NOT the seed. The seed has everything it needs in it to produce what it is designed to produce. You need to CULTIVATE the soil. The birds/satan arrives to steal the seed/word. Cause and Effect...no seed/no word....no faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ (the yoke breaking...burden lifting...oppression removing power). Other soil corruptions includes no firm roots when the afflictions persecutions arise, thorns as the worries of the world, deceitfulness of riches, and desire for other things begins to CHOKE the WORD...and it becomes unfruitful. Sometimes when I pray...I have a HEART/SOIL CONDITION...that needs to be dealt with before...my prayers can be effective. The KEY to a GOOD HEART/SOIL... is found in Luke 8:15. The GOOD HEART/SOIL: (1) Have heard the Word (2) Is honest (3) Is good (4) Holds the seed/word fast (5) bears fruit (6) perseveres.
(Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-16)

FINAL THOUGHT...FINALLY

If this was a TOP TEN LIST...which it is not...I would of course ended with the #1 PRAYER HINDRANCE in my life is:

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME BABY...A L L A B O U T M E!!!!!!

As always...thanks for Ruminatin' and Ramblin' with Ruminatin' Rod. Until next time....

Love and Roadblock Removing Kisses
Rodney "Keepin' On Keepin' On" Boyd