Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Psalm 66: 16-20 (NIV)
Come and listen, all you who fear GOD; let me tell you what He has done for me. I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened; but GOD has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to GOD, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me.
RED ALERTS 3 AND 4
SIN AND PRIDE HINDER PRAYER, BUT PRAYER HINDERS SIN AND PRIDE
Notice the words, "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened."
Sin will hinder the right relationship with GOD and thus He will not listen to our prayers. The work for us, then, is to purge our heart and mind of all sin and all pride. Many times, it is pride that causes us to hide sin, hoping that no one will find out for fear of what they will think of us. To detect sin in our life we have three resources; the Word of GOD (Psalm 119:11), prayer, and the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). It is pride that keeps us from looking deeply into the Word of GOD and listening to the Holy Spirit, who will convict of sin.
The word "cherish" also stands out for me; to cherish something means to love it. If we "love" the sin and refuse to let it go, then we are living a spiritual life of adultery, or double-mindedness, at the least. The LORD says that we must "return to the first love"(the Revelation 2:4). In order to do that, we must forsake all idols or anything that we cherish more that the LORD. He must be our "first love and our last".
So, RED ALERTS 3, 4 tell us to be aware of sin and pride in our life. They will block and hinder our prayer to GOD. Instead, praise and thanksgiving, remembering the good things the LORD has done, testifying of His Goodness and His Love, giving love to those who are in need and humbling our self in the sight of the LORD, He will life us up and hear our prayer. His answer is always yea, and amen.
Psalm 66: 16-20 (NIV)
Come and listen, all you who fear GOD; let me tell you what He has done for me. I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened; but GOD has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to GOD, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me.
RED ALERTS 3 AND 4
SIN AND PRIDE HINDER PRAYER, BUT PRAYER HINDERS SIN AND PRIDE
Notice the words, "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened."
Sin will hinder the right relationship with GOD and thus He will not listen to our prayers. The work for us, then, is to purge our heart and mind of all sin and all pride. Many times, it is pride that causes us to hide sin, hoping that no one will find out for fear of what they will think of us. To detect sin in our life we have three resources; the Word of GOD (Psalm 119:11), prayer, and the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). It is pride that keeps us from looking deeply into the Word of GOD and listening to the Holy Spirit, who will convict of sin.
The word "cherish" also stands out for me; to cherish something means to love it. If we "love" the sin and refuse to let it go, then we are living a spiritual life of adultery, or double-mindedness, at the least. The LORD says that we must "return to the first love"(the Revelation 2:4). In order to do that, we must forsake all idols or anything that we cherish more that the LORD. He must be our "first love and our last".
So, RED ALERTS 3, 4 tell us to be aware of sin and pride in our life. They will block and hinder our prayer to GOD. Instead, praise and thanksgiving, remembering the good things the LORD has done, testifying of His Goodness and His Love, giving love to those who are in need and humbling our self in the sight of the LORD, He will life us up and hear our prayer. His answer is always yea, and amen.
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