(James 1:6,7 KJV) 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.
This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Re-Energizing Your Prayer Life.” I trust the fire in your belly for prayer has been rekindled by now. The Father wants you to pray and so do I, but I also want your prayer life to be effective. That being the case, you must understand what some of the hindrances to prayer are. I call these “Blessing Blockers.” For the Blessing of God to flow freely in your life, your heart must be free of all Blessing Blockers. I will share two with you today: doubt and unforgiveness.
Doubt: Our text teaches us that when we ask God for something, we must ask Him in faith, not wavering (doubting). James teaches that the person who wavers will not receive anything from the Lord. The Message Bible paraphrase of this passage reads: “Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way.”
- Without question doubt hinders our prayer life.
- Doubt strips us of the confidence the Father expects us to operate in; and faith is all about confidence.
- This is not to say that our prayers will always immediately be manifested, but it does mean that when we pray, what the Father wants us to pray, how He wants us to pray it, it is only a matter of time before we see the manifestation of it. This is why Jesus said that men should always to pray and not give up (Luke 18:1). Doubt leads to giving up. If we give way to doubt we will have a faith-failure and faith-failures lead to prayer-failures.
Unforgiveness: In Mark 11 Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”] (verses 25 & 26).
- In this passage Jesus was teaching about the faith of God… the faith that can speak to a mountain and see the mountain move. In the previous verse Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” That’s the part we like to quote, but we often leave off the part about forgiveness.
- Unforgiveness, bitterness, holding grudges, etc. are Blessing Blockers. These things WILL hinder your prayer life.
In the model prayer, what some call the “Our Father,” Jesus said that we out to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Mat 6:12).
- We are to ask the Father to forgive us as—IN THE SAME WAY—we forgive others.
- What’s the insinuation? That IF we DO NOT forgive, we shall NOT be forgiven and if we are not forgiven it WILL negatively impact out prayer life.
So what does this mean to you today? It means you have make a concerted effort to remove every Blessing Blocker from your life. You don’t want anything to hinder your prayers. If you have been convicted of anything this morning, be quick to repent, so you can remove the Blessing Blockers immediately and get on the road to experiencing God’s best.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your Word. Your Word teaches me to remove every Blessing Blocker and I declare that I will start right now. I deal with my doubts by getting into Your Word to the point where I am convinced that Your Word will manifest in my life. Never again will I allow doubt to hinder my prayers. And in the area of unforgiveness, I thank You for helping me to develop in Your love. You loved me enough to forgive me, and I declare, by faith, that I develop in Your love to the point where I am able to completely forgive others. I will not allow what others have done to me in the past to derail me from my future. I release the root of bitterness, anger, resentment, and wrath. I forgive, I let go, and I move forward! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
