Prayer Busters

Aaron Beard

            What a wonderful blessing we have been given by God in that we can come before His throne in prayer!  Prayer gives us the opportunity to praise God, thank God, and bring petitions before Him.  Jesus gave us a wonderful promise in saying, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22).  Through prayer the sick are healed (James 5:15), doors of opportunity are opened (Col 4:2-3), food is blessed (I Tim. 4:4-5), safety is provided (Phil. 1:19), and the sins of a Christian are forgiven (Acts 8:22).  Considering that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16), one should never do anything that would compromise such a privilege.  There are certain things which the Bible warns are “prayer busters,” things that hinder our prayers to God.

            The most obvious “prayer buster” is sin.  Isaiah writes, “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).  No where is the sinner given the consolation that God will hear his prayers.  Does this mean that God does not hear them at all? There is some sense in which God hears the prayers of one who is lost; however, he is not given the promise that God will answer them.  Notice that James specified that it took the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man to avail much. 

            Pride is another thing that busts prayer wide open. James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  It is this idea that Jesus was teaching in comparing the prayer of Pharisee and the Publican.  Luke 18:11 starts out by saying, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself….” and continues relaying his self-absorbed and prideful prayer.  The Pharisee was praying with himself and only himself since God’s face was turned away due to the stench that arose from his prayer.  It was the tax collector’s prayer which God heard because he humbled himself and said, “God, be merciful unto me a sinner!” (verse 13).  Jesus concludes His observations about the two by saying, “…Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (verse. 14).

            Divisiveness and wrong doing between brethren is no big deal, right? Certainly not!  Our relationships, or lack there of, with one another can also be something that hinders our prayers.  If there is a barrier between us and our brethren, there is also a barrier that stands between us and God.  Jesus said, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).  Jesus here teaches that if one comes before God and realizes there is sin separating him and his brother to drop what he is doing, go correct the fault, and then come before God.  If one does not do this, his worship and prayers are just bouncing off the roof.

            One “prayer buster” that is often overlooked is found in I Peter 3:7.  Peter writes, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them 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.”  Yes, the way a husband treats his wife can have a fatal impact upon his prayer life!  Some husbands might be heard to say, “We just cannot get along well enough to live together.” It may be that they feel like they just cannot understand their wives.  Some might even have a hard time honoring or knowing how to honor their wives.  Doing these things is not a matter or mere choice or helpful suggestion; they are the commandments of God!  Failure to do so results in busted prayers!

            I do not know about you, but I do not need anything hindering my prayers to God!  Prayer is our link to the father and, since by it Christians get forgiveness, without prayer one could not make it to heaven.  “Let my prayer be set before You as incense; the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Psalms 141:2).