The Hidden Hindrances To Answered Prayer

Donna Braman

Prayer In My Private Chambers

In the first article on Hindrances to Answered Prayer, I discussed the four obvious reasons why God will not answer prayers. Here, I am going to be discussing the other four hidden reasons God's ear is not tuned to us.

The worldly church has become such a part of our tradition that most of us don't even realize that we put blocks up from God hearing us.  God delights in us when we talk to Him without trying to cover up our contaminated hearts.   David was willing for God to search his heart and correct it. God delighted in that desire because his motive was pure.   In Psalm 139, he said God has searched him and knows his heart. He knows everything we think, speak and our motives. It is beyond our comprehension, because otherwise we wouldn't keep trying to hide our hearts from him and allow it to go astray. Where ever you go and when ever you lie down that heart is still exposed to God.

God doesn't judge our flesh or our weak minds, but he looks closely at what is in the heart, especially those things that we work hard to cover up and will defend with much anger if exposed. It took a prophet to show David the part of his heart that he had tried to hide from God that caused God to turn a deaf ear to him.  And even the prophet approached him in the disguise of a made up person that had stolen a poor man's best sheep. Truth was revealed to David and he learned that nothing is hidden from God concerning us. He then pursued that pure heart that eventually captured God's own heart.  But how many of us are willing to allow God to correct our hearts so that we will be pleasing to him?

You see, the mind cannot be fully renewed without the heart getting right first. With that in mind we're going to take a look at the things in our hearts that cause God's ear to turn from us.  You are going to be awakened by a truth here that the church has been afraid to tell you, and it's going to change your mind about some things and pull down the veil that has hindered you from getting your prayers answered.  You see, a lot of churches aren't concerned about God answering your prayers, they are more concerned about not losing members and tithers and keeping up the act of playing church.

We left off in the first article with hindrance number four and so we'll pick up from there.

5.  Adolatry  (Ezekiel 14:3)

The human heart is desperately evil.  Man has a nature that will gravitate to evil if we don't keep a check on what we allow our hearts to seek through the flesh.  What are idols?  I think a lot of people don't truly know otherwise their house and life wouldn't be so full of them.  The bible tells us to not put any God's before him.  God said the people have set up idols in their hearts.  God tells us that if we reserve iniquity in our hearts then He won't hear you.

We don't have to go and bow down to golden calves.  God is talking about idols we set up in our hearts. Materialism and sex have become America's Goddesses.  If you don't believe me, turn on the television and watch a few commercials.

The devil has three hooks to put idolatry in your heart; the flesh, pride and the eye.  He used this method on Eve and he tried to use it on Jesus.  Americans are like the Israelites when they got sold into Babylon.  They stayed there so long and became merchants and had money and they didn't want to come back to their promised land and covenant with God again.

Jesus tells us in Mathew 13:22 that the cares of this world will choke the word out of you.  That means to steal the truth from you.  I see a lot of this going on in the churches I minister at that are carnal minded and all they want to do is give you a bunch of hype and tell you your breakthrough is coming this season.  Well, I don't know what season they are talking about because God is clear as to His seasons of the former and latter rains and his appointed times to bless us and for us to come before Him.   The Gospel is not a Gospel of just prosperity but it is the good news and how to have eternal life, how to be pleasing to God and live abundantly through living spiritual principles.  Prosperity follows you only when you are blessed by your obedience to live the way God calls us to live.  Real prosperity by God is given to bless others and does not rule you nor is it obtained to line your own pockets. 1 Timothy 6:5 warns us of such preachers as it says, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is Godliness: from such men withdraw thyself. He is proud and knows nothing of how to lead you into prosperity or abundant living. When we see rich preachers fall, that is no wonder to me, because they take your money and lead you not to the truth of righteousness  wherefore all prosperity come forth. Godly living brings favor, not a $100 check to some ministry.  I'll give you a quick formula for prosperity, quit your drunking, smoking, gambling and eating at the finest restaurants  and you'll have plenty of extra money to help some poor widow or orphan or a bag of potatoes to the soup kitchen and you'll get your favor from God. That's how you get your barns filled at HIS appointed seasons.

We get so tied up on temporal blessings but God is interested in blessing our whole life and to give us eternal life.  1 Timothy 6:10 says, the love of money is the root of all evil. What do you think God means when He says to flea something.  He don't mean look back, think about it, dabble in it, walk away slowly, but to run for your life as fast as you can. Narrow is the gate to prosperity and favor and wide is the road to the crowd that will pull you into deception and steal God's blessing from you.

I'll give you a quick lesson how to handle money in the biblical truth.  You pay 10% to the church for it's upkeep, the church that feeds you spiritually and helps you grow and mature in the Lord.  You give a love gift at God's appointed time to the poor, orphans, widows, prisoners and to your minister as a thank offering. Don't you be deceived, you don't buy anything from God.  Now if you want to sow seed to a ministry and I think that is biblical to do that, but you better make sure it is sown in good soil or you will not reap a harvest from it.  Ask yourself these questions before you give to rich ministries; do they save souls, do they nurture and teach the truth of God's word or is the money spent on more hype t.v. sermons, conventions, entertainment for Christians, trips to Israel, planes, $2,000 suits, $10,000 dog houses and $500 dollar hairdos.  We have become a generation of lazy preachers, that do not shepherd anymore but desire to stand behind a glass pulpit, mislead you to get more money so they can continue to be fat and feed you grand standing witty words that is not anointed or of the Lord. They are running scared because they see the people want truth brought back and some of them are trying to go that direction but the anointing like Jeremiah, Jonah and Peter and many more in the bible is not there, because image is what they are trying to hold on to.  God is shaking up His church and He is sifting through the carnal minded to separate the wheat from the tares, and he is giving us discernment to men's motives and a desire to covenant with him again.

Now I am not referring to ministers that buy t.v. time to broadcast their sermons from their church pulpits. I'm referring to networks and preachers who have no congregation and hundreds of ministries that are on the internet that are not even ordained by man much less the Lord that point you to their web sites to ask for donations.

There is a lot more to prosperity than money. Prosperity also includes health, stable families, your job, peace, joy and confidence and faith in God and favor that empowers you against the enemy. Prosperity in seeking personal gain is not Godly.  I'm going to give you some scripture here that shows what an anointed ministry is.
A minister will live in His Oath He has entered into with the Lord and let no man cause him to stray from that oath. See Paul's oath in Acts 18:18.

6.  Uncertainty or Doubt or Lack of Faith

If you're going to get answers, you must believe in your heart and you must confess it in your mouth.
Churches have perverted the real Gospel and the pentecostal power of the Holy Spirit.  That's why we don't see miracles, healings and moves of God, or answered prayer among us.  Search you hearts as to why you want to cast down the power that Jesus gives to us. Search our hearts Oh God so we don't hide your truth or have doubt or lack faith in you.  Help us Lord not to just teach things that are a selfish motivation in us that results in lack of faith of the people we serve.  We say we can move mountains with our tongues but let a crisis come to a Christian and watch him sink to doubt, uncertainty and outright disbelief.  We can't just speak the word but we have to believe in our hearts. Mark 11:23

God is going to have a clean church and one with certainty of who He is.  He's going to do exceedingly, abundantly more than most Christians can even imagine.  But he wants righteous thinking and worship and prayer from our hearts and not hyped up lip service. Get down at the altar on prayer intercessory night and cry out to him from your bellies. James 1:6-8 says, 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 anything from the Lord, for the lowly is exalted by the Lord. See also 1John 4:1.

Are you double minded?  Do you change when God doesn't answer you right away?  Keep thanking Him, keep praising Him.  Sometimes that's all it takes is to show God our desires and intents through persistence. God answers us when we cry to Him day and night.  His ear is attuned to need.  Keep you heart fixed and your mind consistent with His word and don't let anything move you from your foundation. Further reading: James 4:23, 1John 3:21.

7.  Wrong Motives

When Peter and John was sent forth to Samaria to preach in Acts 8:17-23, the preachers there saw that as they laid their hands on some, that they received the Holy Ghost.  And when Simon a preacher there, saw that through laying on of hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered the Apostles money, saying, give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.  But Peter said unto him, thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for their heart is not right in the sight of God, for you have the bond of iniquity on you.

If there is gain or benefit in it for you, you can be sure that God is not in it.  Jesus said, seek ye His Kingdom first and everything else will be added unto you.  Let go of temporal desires, it is those little foxes that come to destroy the vine.1John 5:14 says, and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he heareth us.  Now most people get the first part of this verse, but we forget that what we ask for must be in His will.  When we are lined up with His word and walk the path He leads us to, then favor falls upon you, and no weapon formed against you can prosper.

8.  Being Inconsiderate Of The Poor

Look at Proverbs 21:1-3, Whosoever stoppeth up his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.  What needy person have you attended to this past year?  Did any elderly person in a nursing home get a fruit basket or prayer from you?  Did some fatherless child get a pair of tennis shoes from you or did you take the time to take a child to bible school?  Did you donate any food to any shelter or give a bag of potatoes to a soup kitchen?  Did you go and comfort a neighbor that lost her husband this year?

Being inconsiderate to such needy will cause your own blessings to not be answered.  We turn a deaf ear and eye to hungry bellies and sick elderly and a blind eye to damaged children across town. A hardened heart toward others in need will stop your blessings. Proverbs 19:17 says, when you give to the poor you're lending to the Lord.

If you've done all these things God has asked us to do and still your prayer hasn't been answered don't be discouraged, it could be just a delay until God's timing or until you've passed a test or trial to strengthen you in the Lord.  Remember the bigger request, the longer sometimes God will make you wait for it, like Abraham had to wait until His faith had been perfected so he could pass the test when he finally got His prayer request which was Isaac, so don't confuse a delay with a no.

The most powerful hindrance I see today in answered prayer in the church is hardened hearts.  In Hosea 5:15 God says, I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offense toward me and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.  If you don't get offended by the truth of God's word, like the religious establishment was offended by Jesus' words, then you will see blessings come and abundance and prosperity come and God will hear you when you call on His name from your heart.

This teaching was written from my notes from a teaching at Westmoreland PHC by the Rev. Jerry Nelson.  To order a complete CD request it through westmorelandphc.org or djbraman@gmail.com