Weekend, May 25, 2024

　　When Heaven Is Silent

　　Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. (Psalm 86:1 NLT)

　　Have you ever prayed about something but there was no answer from Heaven? Maybe you’ve been praying a lot about a certain situation and it’s as though God isn’t listening to your prayer.

　　God is listening. But there may be a number of reasons He hasn’t answered you as quickly as you hoped He would.

　　It may be that a spiritual battle is raging that you know nothing about. There’s a supernatural realm that functions alongside the natural realm. And when we pray, things are happening in this supernatural world that we often know very little about.

　　In the Old Testament book of Daniel, we find a fascinating story about prayer. While the prophet is praying, an angel arrives and tells him what has been going on behind the scenes.

　　The angel said, “Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Daniel 10:12-13 NLT).

　　If you’ve been praying for something and haven’t received the answer yet, maybe a spiritual battle has been raging. Just remember this: God’s delays are not necessarily His denials. Just because an answer hasn’t come as quickly as you would like doesn’t mean that it isn’t going to come at all. So keep praying.

　　Another reason your prayer may not be answered is because there is unconfessed sin in your life. Nothing will bring a prayer life to a halt faster than unconfessed sin. The psalmist wrote, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18 NLT).

　　Isaiah 59 says, “The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore” (verse 1–2 NLT).

　　One problem is that we don’t want to call sin “sin” anymore. We call it something else instead, like a weakness, mistake, shortcoming, or even sickness. If we will not deal with our sins, then God will not hear our prayers.

　　Idols in our lives—putting something into a place of prominence over God Himself—can hinder our prayers. God said to the prophet Ezekiel, “Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin. Why should I listen to their requests?” (Ezekiel 14:3 NLT).

　　Is there someone or something that is more important to you right now than God Himself? Anyone or anything that becomes more important to you than God can potentially become your idol. And it could stop your prayers from being answered.

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