John 11:41-42 “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. (42) And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
We have seen thus far that as priests we are called to prayer, and we have also seen that we should be praying daily. There is another important truth about prayer that needs to be discussed however, which is having our prayers heard by God. Someone said, but I thought that all prayers are heard by God. Sadly that is a misconception that many saints are under, and it would surprise them to know just how many prayers actually go unheard. And yet there is a very simple indicator to show the saints that many prayers go unheard, which is the fact that so many prayers go unanswered. The apostle John confirmed the biblical truth to us that there is a direct correlation between having our prayers heard and having our prayers answered, when he said that if we know that God hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (1 John 5:15). And so we see that the key to having our prayers answered is to have them heard by God. The question is then asked, so how can we be assured that God hears our prayers? The answer to that question is Jesus, for in the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord tells us that the Father always heard His prayers. And so if we examine the prayer ministry of the Lord Jesus we can see what is required by God, so that our prayers too may be heard by Him. Some would say, but how can we look at Jesus as an example? He was the Son of God, so it is self-evident that God would always hear Him. When people make that comment however, what they fail to understand is that although Jesus is the Son of God, when He walked this earth He walked as the Son of Man and not as the Son of God. And as such, He showed us how we ought to walk, including in our ministry of prayer (1 John 2:6).
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
One of the reasons why God always heard Jesus when He prayed was because He never sinned. We on the other hand have to deal with sin before we can come before the Father in prayer. Some would teach us that in order to receive from God, all we need to do is believe and then we will have that which we prayed for, and the above passage of scripture is quoted in support of that statement. Although there is an element of truth in this statement, it is not entirely true however, for when the Lord Jesus made this statement He qualified it with another comment directly afterwards.
Mark 11:25-26 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. (26) But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
The above quoted passage of scripture is the qualifying remark that Jesus made in reference to His previous statement on prayer. In this passage Jesus is teaching us that unforgiven sin places a barrier between God and the saint, thus preventing their prayers from being heard. In other words being unforgiving to anyone will prevent the believer from receiving forgiveness from the Father for their own sin. And so, we see that firstly we need to ensure that we forgive anyone that we could have anything against. Once we have forgiven others, only then we can ask for forgiveness for our sin that we confess before God. The apostle Peter made a similar comment when he taught us that unforgiven sin hinders our prayers (1 Peter 3:7).
1 John 3:21-22 “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. (22) And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle John confirms the truth to us that unforgiven sin hinders our prayers, for he teaches us that if our hearts do not condemn us then we have confidence (faith) toward God. Conversely it can therefore be said that if our hearts do condemn us that we cannot have confidence toward God. I want you to notice that the Holy Spirit directly links this particular truth with prayer, for He goes on to say that those whose hearts do not condemn them receive whatever they ask from God. And so we see that it is when the saints walk in unforgiven sin that their hearts will condemn them, thus preventing their prayers from being heard.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
So how do believers deal with unforgiven sin? For sin that we know we have committed, the above quoted passage of scripture teaches us that we are required to confess those sins and ask His forgiveness. This passage declares that the moment we do that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. However if believers choose not to do this then their sins remain, i.e. they are unforgiven. Under the old covenant the priest could not enter God’s presence unless an offering for their sin had first been made. God has not become any less holy under the new covenant. And so, just as sin prevented the priest from entering God’s presence under the old covenant, sin will prevent the believer from boldly approaching the throne of grace under the new covenant. Obviously if believers have no known sin then they have no sins to confess, and there is no hindrance to them entering boldly before the throne of grace. Paul stated that he knew of nothing against himself, and that is where all believers are meant to walk (1 Corinthians 4:4).
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
The above quoted passage of scripture declares that believers are to come boldly to the throne of grace in their time of need. Nevertheless believers cannot come boldly before the Father in prayer if they have unforgiven sin in their lives, for God is Holy and no sin can enter into His presence. And so we see that the very first step that any believer coming before the Father in prayer must take, is that they must confess their sin and ask forgiveness for their sin. The moment they do that they are instantly cleansed from their sin, for the Lord is faithful and just to forgive their sin. It is only then that the saint can boldly approach the throne of grace in prayer.
Michael E.B. Maher
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