Category Archives: Christian Life

From the worldling’s hollow gladness

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In the “one thought leads to another and I don’t know how I got here” department, I found myself thinking this morning about an incident in the junior-high years of one of my sons. Junior high is probably not anyone’s best time of life, but some people have a harder time of it. One of my sons got into trouble one day for using a phrase that had a “dirty” meaning. Fortunately the principal believed him when he said he didn’t know what it meant, that he just said it because other kids were saying it. (We had been here a little over a year and he hadn’t really made friends yet and was trying to “fit in.” I think we must’ve talked to him about not saying or doing wrong things to fit it and not trying to fit in with the wrong crowd — and yes, sadly, there is a wrong crowd even in Christian schools. I know we talked to him about not using phrases when you don’t know what they mean.) Oddly, neither the teacher nor the principal nor my husband nor I knew what the phrase meant. None of us had ever heard it before. Discreetly my husband asked someone he worked with, and we were shocked that such an innocent expression had such a meaning. It’s amazing to me how people can dirtify words with double entendre. It reminds me of Titus 1:15: “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”

When my son was in the tenth grade, an evangelist came to their school under whose ministry he was saved. He had made a profession before and had seemed to understand, but we were happy for him to have the matter settled in his own heart. We weren’t about to tell him, “No, no, you were saved as a little child. Don’t you remember?” I had had enough struggles with assurance on my own that I would never say that to anyone wrestling with whether they had really believed on the Lord. And that was a changing point in his life. A generally resistant spirit was gone and he began taking real and observable steps in his walk with God.

Some years later I found an essay in that son’s school folder that he had written for Bible class. I don’t remember what the main topic of the essay was, but in it my son described how in his junior high years he was actually in the wrong crowd, whereas I had thought he had merely had a brush with them. It wasn’t widely known what kinds of things these kids talked about because they were wise enough to keep their conversation generally clean around teachers and other students. But, my son went on to write, in the intervening years, every guy in that group had either gotten right with God or left the school.

I was surprised, frightened, and saddened that these things had gone on under my nose without my having a clue, or missing the clues I did have. But then my heart was so warmed and I was so grateful that God was watching out for my boy in those situations and brought him out and turned his life around. When I think of how easily he could have gone the other way…well, I just can’t think about that too long. And to see his growth and to see him now as a young man seeking to walk with the Lord, and to have an openness between us that was absent those years ago — my heart overflows.

I don’t know why this came to mind this morning or why I felt strongly led to share it. Perhaps another parent can use the encouragement. We do need to “be sober, be vigilant; because your [and their] adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith” (I Peter 5:8-9). We can’t afford to be lax, but then again we can’t be neurotically overzealous to the point of driving them away. And at some point in their lives they will spend time away from us. We can trust God for wisdom and balance in raising them and trust Him to see and deal with what we don’t see. He cares for them even more than we do and wants what is best for them infinitely more.

I posted this poem, written by Amy Carmichael for the children under her care, a couple of years ago, but it is one that I come back to often and that echoes my own heart’s desire for my children as well as other children I know:

Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying,
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the whirlpool that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling’s hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father. Father, keep our children

Through life’s troubled waters steer them,
Through life’s bitter battle cheer them,
Father, Father, be thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleading thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them home at eventide.

Contentious Christians

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The Bible tells in many places to love the brethren, and I do. But like any family, its members sometimes embarrass each other. One of the times I am most embarrassed by some of my fellow Christians is when they get riled up about something, especially something the unsaved world is doing. I’ve winced to read on both secular and Christian message boards and hear on radio call-in programs where someone has gotten all in a dither over the issue being discussed and ended up just ranting rather than saying anything constructive.

I do believe in taking a stand, a firm and uncompromising stand for truth and righteousness. The prophets did; Peter did; Paul did, the Lord Jesus did. But the way it is done can either make the truth clearer and make righteousness both attractive and reasonable, or it can come across like a goat butting its head against everything in sight. And when it deteriorates from dealing with the issue to just making snide remarks or personal attacks, it has seriously overstepped the bounds.

Dictionary.com defines “rail” as “To express objections or criticisms in bitter, harsh, or abusive language” and “revile” as “to assail with contemptuous or opprobrious language; address or speak of abusively.” If you look up either of those words in a Bible search program, you’ll see that they are not to be characteristic of a Christian’s speech. I Corinthians 6:9-11 lists revilers right along with adulterers and thieves as the type of people we’re not supposed to be; I Corinthians 5:11 lists a railer alongside idolaters and extortioners. The Bible says that even angels “bring not railing accusation” against evildoers (II Peter 2:10-11); even “Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 8-10). I Peter 3:8-10 instructs that even when we’re railed against, we’re supposed to respond with blessing rather than railing — certainly not a natural response but a supernatural response made possible by God’s power. Our Lord Jesus Christ was the supreme example of this: “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:22-24).

I came across this quote this weekend:

“I have noticed this, that when a man is full of the Holy Ghost, he is the very last man to be complaining of other people. He loves everybody too tenderly. He loves even a cold church, and is anxious to lift them up and bring them to a kinder feeling and sympathy.” D. L. Moody.

I’m still pondering that statement, but I think he is right on that our motivation is love. I think when we’re full of “righteous indignation,” even when we think we are so on the Lord’s behalf, that’s when we fall into whining, complaining, reviling and railing, being filled with the flesh rather than the Holy Spirit.

James 1:19-20 tells us “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Psalm 37 tells us in three places (vv. 1, 7, and 8 ) to “fret not” because of evildoers, but rather to

“Trust in the LORD, and do good” (v. 3)
“Delight thyself also in the LORD” (v. 4)
“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him” (v. 5)
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him” (v. 7)
“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath” (v. 8 )
“Wait on the LORD, and keep his way” (v. 14).

There are various reasons given for trusting the Lord concerning evildoers in that chapter, among them the facts that we can trust God to take care of us and to take care of them. But other places in the Bible go a step further:  I Peter 2:11-12 says, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” Our right reactions glorify God and are a testimony of Him. And, as one of the thieves beside Christ on the cross first railed against Him but later came to see his own sinfulness and Christ’s holiness and then believed on Him, so our Christlike responses can lead some to Him.

All of this does not mean we become spineless or doormats or wishy-washy, never saying anything, never taking a stand. There are numerous places where we are instructed to speak out for the truth. But the way we do so can either help or hurt the cause of Christ.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23.

O Jesus, Thou art standing

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jesus_knocking_at_door

O Jesus, Thou art standing
Outside the fast-closed door,
In lowly patience waiting
To Pass the threshold o’er:
Shame on us, Christian brothers,
His Name and sign who bear,
O shame, thrice shame upon us,&
To keep Him standing there!

O Jesus, thou art knocking;
And lo, that hand is scarred,
And thorns Thy brow encircle,
And tears Thy face have marred:
O love that passeth knowledge,
So patiently to wait!
O sin that hath no equal,
So fast to bar the gate!

O Jesus, Thou art pleading
In accents meek and low,
“I died for you, My children,
And will ye treat money so?
O Lord, with shame and sorrow
We open now the door;
Dear Savior, enter, enter,
And leave us nevermore.

~ W. Walsham How, 1867

This song sounds like it is taken from or inspired by Revelation 3:20 where Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” That verse is used often to invite the lost to “open the door” to Christ, and though I think it’s fine to use it that way, in context it is written to Christians, specifically lukewarm ones who think they have need of nothing. It’s all to easy to crowd Him out. May we ever keep the door open.

Poetry Friday: My Advocate

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(My Friday Fave Five post is below this one.)

An explanation of Poetry Friday is here. It’s being hosted today by Book Aunt.

I posted this poem a couple of years ago, but I was reminded of it again after reading this morning of Satan being the “accuser of the brethren.”

My Advocate

I sinned. And straightway, post-haste, Satan flew
Before the presence of the most high God,
And made a railing accusation there.
He said, “This soul, this thing of clay and sod,
Has sinned. ‘Tis true that he has named Thy name,
But I demand his death, for Thou hast said,
‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’
Shall not Thy sentence be fulfilled?
Is justice dead?
Send now this wretched sinner to his doom.
What other thing can righteous ruler do?”
And thus he did accuse me day and night,
And every word he spoke, O God, was true!

Then quickly One rose up from God’s right hand,
Before Whose glory angels veiled their eyes.
He spoke, “Each jot and tittle of the law
Must be fulfilled; the guilty sinner dies!
But wait — suppose his guilt were all transferred
To Me, and that I paid his penalty!
Behold My hands, My side, My feet! One day
I was made sin for him, and died that he
Might be presented, faultless, at Thy throne!”
And Satan flew away. Full well he knew
That he could not prevail against such love,
For every word my dear Lord spoke was true!

– Martha Snell Nicholson

952313_gavel

(You can read more of Mrs. Nicholson’s poetry here.)

(Photo courtesy of stockxchng).

Book Review: To the Golden Shore

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Imagine feeling so convicted and burdened by God’s command to go and share the gospel with every creature and so moved by the state of the lost in other countries that have never heard the gospel that you feel you must go yourself and tell them.

Now imagine doing so when you live in a country where no one has ever done so before.

To the Golden ShoreTo The Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson is a classic missionary biography of Adoniram Judson, America’s first missionary. I had read it years ago but felt an urge to revisit it.

Every missionary has to have dedication and has to be willing to make sacrifices, even in our day. But the amount of dedication and sacrifice and willingness to step into the unknown displayed by Adoniram and his wife and the small group who stepped out with them just amazes me. His wife, Ann Hassletine (also called Nancy) is one of the bravest women I have ever read of, going into the great unknown as she did and facing all that she did in later years. The letter Adoniram wrote to ask her father for her hand in marriage is an atypical proposal, but frank:

I have not to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next Spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing immortal souls, for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God?

He was not being melodramatic: he was being realistic. It says a lot about Nancy that she accepted such a proposal.

There are several short biographies of Adoniram online, so I don’t want to retell his life story, but I just want to touch on a few highlights that stood out to me from the book.

I wrote before of his remarkable conversion. His innate intelligence, keen mind, and his own struggles coming to faith uniquely fitted him for the philosophical discussions with the Burmese that were preliminary to their understanding the gospel, and that same mind and the facility he developed with the language uniquely fitted him to translate the Bible into Burmese and to create a Burmese-English dictionary and grammar that were the standard for decades.

He had a stalwart, determined character. That could come across as stubborness in some instances, but when convinced as to the will of God, he was firm. During Adoniram’s studies over the long sea voyage, he became convinced that the Baptist mode of baptism, by immersion after a profession of salvation, was the Biblical way. That put him in a difficult position as a Congregationalist missionary. The subject was discussed and debated amongst the missionary candidates on board, but once Adoniram was convinced of the Scriptural position, he felt he had no choice but to resign as a Congregationalist missionary and seek support from the Baptists. Thankfully, in the providence of God, the situation was handled with grace, and God brought him into contact with Baptist men who took on his support. You may or may not agree about modes of baptism, but what stands out to me here was the character it took to act on what he believed even though it was going to cause difficulties.

The Burmese were open to discussion, but it was six long years before the first one believed. Progress was very slow: there was, of course, not the openness to a variety of religions as we take for granted today. Adoniram was careful not to impinge on their culture — he wasn’t trying to create an American church, but a Christian one. But slowly the gospel took root and grew. Oddly, at the time of greatest oppression by the imperialist Burmese king, when the Judsons feared they would have to leave, they had several inquirers. Some of the Burmese converts came forth as gold in the trials they faced where professing Christ cost something.

When war broke out between Burma and England in 1824, the Judsons thought that they would be safe as Americans. However, the Burmese did not understand the Western system of banking: because the Judsons’ checks were cashed through a British merchant, they were thought to be in league with the British, and Adoniram was imprisoned for twenty-one of the most grueling months of his life. A fastidious man, he dealt with filthy quarters and having his feet in fetters raised up toward the ceiling every night while his weight rested on his shoulders on the floor. Nancy daily sought help and favor for him everywhere she could: she even followed him and the rest of the prisoners on a tortuous march to another prison. As authorities searched their home, she hid what she could, especially the manuscript of the Burmese translation of the Bible over which Adoniram had been working so diligently. She hid it in a pillow and took it to Adoniram in prison. The jailer took a liking to the pillow and confiscated it for himself: Nancy made a nicer one, and Adoniram successfully offered it to the jailer in exchange.

As the war began to grind to an end, Adoniram was called on as a translator between the Burmese and British. Lack of nutrition, ill health, and extenuating circumstances all took their toll on Nancy, and she died, followed soon by their baby. None of their other children had lived.

Adoniram entered into the darkest period of his life. He threw himself into translation and missionary work, but wrestled with losses and grief: not only Nancy and all his children, but several missionary colleagues had died as well as his father back in America. Oddly, he felt guilty over his grief. He withdrew into a kind of asceticism for a while. He dug an open grave and spent long periods of time just staring into it. He requested at this time that his letters to others be destroyed, so we don’t know for sure what all he was thinking during this period. Several shorter biographies bypass this section of his life, but I think it is important to note that in his humanness, the losses he had sustained and the time in prison all had their effect on him, understandably, and it took him about three years to recover.

He eventually married Sarah Boardman, the widow of one of his colleagues, and had several more children. They had a happy eleven-year long marriage before she passed away on his only return trip to America, taken originally to try to help improve her health. God granted him another happy marriage to writer Emily Chubbuck for a few years before his own health failed in 1850 at the age of 61.

His legacies are the souls won to Christ in Burma and the churches started there, the Burmese Bible he translated, the Burmese-English dictionary and grammar, and the stirring testimony and influence of a life of character used by God.

A poem for my birthday

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(My Friday Fave Five post is below this one.)

I saw this poem several months ago quoted on the Facebook page of a friend’s daughter — a young woman in her mid-20s! I just loved it and set it aside to post on my birthday — today. I’m sharing it for Poetry Friday as well, hosted this week by The Boy Reader.

I shall be older than this one day.

I shall think myself young when I remember.

Nothing can stop the slow change of masks my face must wear, one following one.

These gloves my hands have put on, the pleated skin, patterned by the pale tracings of my days…

These are not MY hands! And yet, these gloves do not come off!

I shall wear older ones tomorrow, til glove after glove, and mask after mask, I am buried beneath the baggage of Old Women.

Oh, then shall I drop them off,

Unbutton the sagging, misshapen apparel of age, and run, young and naked into eternity.

~ Joan Walsh Anglund

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. I Corinthians 15:54

The neglected temple

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As I finished reading from Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer this morning, I noticed a little post-it tab sticking up from one of the pages. I looked to see what it was I had tabbed — and was blessed all over again. This reading is from July 22:

SURRENDER LEADING TO SONG

“And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.”– 2Ch 29:27.

THE HEBREW Psalmody became famous throughout the world. Even their fierce conquerors recognized the sublime beauty of the Hebrew temple music. By the waters of Babylon they urged them to sing one of the Songs of Zion, not knowing how impossible it was for the captives to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land! For sixteen years no song had poured forth from the sacred shrine. Ahaz had shut the doors, dispersed the Levites, and allowed the holy fabric to remain unkempt, unlit, and unused. There were no sacrifices on the Altar, no sweet incense in the Holy Place, no blood on the Mercy-Seat, no Song of the Lord!

For too many Christians this, alas, is a picture of their life. The soul, intended to be a holy temple for God, shows signs of disorder and neglect. The lights are not lit, the sweet incense of prayer does not ascend, the doors of entrance to fellowship and exit to service are closed. Outwardly the ordinances of the religious life are preserved, but inwardly silence and darkness prevail, into which bat-like thoughts intrude. Thorns have come up in the court of the Holy Place, where the scorpion makes her nest. The Song of the Lord had died out of heart and life.

Why should not this miserable condition be ended to-day? Why should you not be cleansed from the traces of sin and neglect through the Blood of the Cross? Why should you not come back into fellowship with God, who waits to receive and forgive? Surrender yourself to Him now. Do not be general, but specific in your consecration. Weld yourself to some life or lives that sorely need help. Give not words only, but deeds and blood. Merge your little life in the life of Christ, as the streamlet in the wide ocean. And as you yield yourself to Christ first, and next to all who need you for His sake, you will find the Song of the Lord breaking forth again in your heart like a spring, which was formerly choked with debris.

PRAYER

We pray Thee, Heavenly Father, to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts, by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Are we all God’s children?

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I said in my post about reasons God doesn’t answer prayer that He’s not obligated to answer prayers for those who are not His children, though in His goodness He may bless even those who do not belong to Him. “For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust,” (Matthew 5:45b). This sparked a conversation with a friend about who, exactly, are God’s children. Aren’t we all?

It’s important when considering questions like this to look at what the Bible actually says, in context, rather than coming to logical conclusions.  We’re supposed to let Scripture instruct us and transform our thinking rather than trying to fit it within our frame of reference.

In John 8:42-44, “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

He obviously did not regard the people he was addressing as His Father’s children, but rather the devil’s.

But it’s not people at that extreme who are not God’s children. In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus—not a heathen living in obvious moral sin, but a religious leader—“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus went on to explain how one experienced that new spiritual birth in verses 16-18:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

We’re created in God’s image. But sin has marred that image. We’re born sinners, and we make the choice to sin almost every day. God doesn’t let sin into heaven. “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).

That leaves us in big trouble.

But in God’s love for us, He made a way we could become part of God’s family. Jesus, as God, came to earth in human flesh. He was both fully God and fully man. If he were sinful, He could not do anything to atone for our sin because He would have His own. But He is the perfect, sinless One—just like all those sacrificial lambs in the OT, which pointed to His coming sacrifice. He took all our sin and punishment on Himself so we wouldn’t have to.

But Christ’s atonement didn’t automatically save everyone in the world. We have to repent of our sins and receive Him.

In John 1:11-12 it says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” If He was giving people the ability to become sons of God, that means they were not his children before — otherwise there would be no need to become God’s sons.

That’s the good news — that we can become God’s children through faith in Christ.

Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” We didn’t already belong to the Father: a way needed to be made for us to the Father.

That’s what He came for: that’s what He gave His life for. That would not have been necessary if we were already His children. But He graciously provided the way for us to become His children.

I John 3:1: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. What an amazing blessing!! What great love!

Promises and prayer

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It’s been another ultra-super-busy time — I’ll tell you all about it in a few days! 😀 I may be pretty scarce until then.

But I just read the following from Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer and wanted to share it. I was just going to copy the paragraph about prayer, but, the whole thing is good:

August 7

THE BIBLE AS A DICTAPHONE

“When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”– Psa 27:8.

THE BIBLE reminds us of a dictaphone. God has spoken into it, and as we read its pages, they transfer His living words to us. There are many things in the Bible, which, at first, we may not be able to understand, because, as the heaven is higher than the earth, so are God’s thoughts higher than ours. Mr. Spurgeon used to say that when he ate fish, he did not attempt to swallow the bones, but put them aside on his plate! So when there is something beyond your understanding, put it aside, and go on to enjoy that which is easy of spiritual mastication and digestion.

The Bible contains ten thousand promises. It is God’s book of signed cheques. When you have found a promise which meets your need, do not ask God to keep His promise, as though He were unwilling to do so, and needed to be pressed and importuned. Present it humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus! Be sure that, so far as you know, you are fulfilling any conditions that may be attached; then look up into the face of your Heavenly Father, and tell Him that you are reckoning on Him to do as He has said. It is for Him to choose the time and manner of His answer; but wait quietly, be patient, and you will find that not a moment too soon, and not a moment too late, God’s response will be given. “My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him” (Psa 62:5); “Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things that were told her from the Lord” (Luk 1:45).

Whether for the body, the soul, or spirit, there is no guide like Holy Scripture, but never read it without first looking up to its Author and Inspirer, asking that He will illuminate the page and make you wise unto salvation. “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.”

PRAYER

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I Thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know Thy testimonies. AMEN.

Reasons why prayers aren’t answered

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praying_hands_clipart_3A leaflet came in with a packet of sample tracts at our church which listed a few reasons why prayers aren’t answered. I began to think of others and added to that list in a section in our ladies’ newsletter last week, but thought of some more since then.

We have to remember prayer isn’t a heavenly vending machine: insert prayer, push the right button, and get what you want. It’s more like a child requesting something of a parent, and every good parent sometimes has to say “No.”

Here are some Biblical reasons why God sometimes says “No.”

1. Sin.

Psalm 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

2. Turning away from hearing God’s Word.

Proverbs 28:9: “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”

3. Praying half-heartedly.

Jeremiah 29:12-13: “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

4. Asking for the wrong reasons.

James 4:3: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

5. Pride.

This was one on the list I mentioned. I wasn’t sure it applied at first because the verse doesn’t specifically mention prayer, but I think indirectly it could be a hindrance to prayer — though it is probably more of a subset of #1 or #4.

Luke 14:11: “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

6. Unforgiveness

This also could be considered a subset of #1, bu since it is mentioned specifically, I’ll list it here:

Mark 11:26-26: And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

7. Spiritual conflict.

Daniel 10:12-13: Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Here we’re getting into things beyond our understanding, but those unseen conflicts are a factor.

8. God wants to show His grace through our weakness instead.

II Corinthians 12:8-10: For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

9. Disciplinary measures. It might seem at first like this is a subset of #1, but I think in that case the sin wasn’t acknowledged: I think in this case it is, but the answer is still no.

Deuteronomy 3:25-26:I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.

10. It’s not the right time.

Abraham’s desire for the son God had promised was not fulfilled until his old age.

Genesis 21: 1-2: And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

11. Not asking in faith.

James 1:6-7: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Matthew 17:19-20: Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

12. It’s not God’s will.

I John 5:14: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.

Matthew 26:42: He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

Can you think of any others?

Some would say God does not answer the prayers of someone who doesn’t know Him, except the prayer for salvation, but Cornelius, a man who did not yet know the Lord, was told in Acts 10: 4b, “Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” Nevertheless it stands to reason that God would more readily answer the prayers of one of His own children.

And though this list might sound negative, really the bulk of Scripture has more to say positively about prayer. God wants to answer our prayers when they are in line with His will and when there is not something blocking the channel of communication between us.