Pastor Stephen Dedman

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Does God Hear My Prayers?

Faith, Trust

Listen! 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.
Isaiah 59:1-2

Do you ever feel that God is not listening to your prayers? You don’t want your prayers to be hindered because when your prayers are hindered, it means you are not connecting with God.

It’s at this point that God seems distant and you don’t sense His presence like you did before. There is nothing more terrifying than for a Christian to feel disconnected from God our Father. 

For an unbeliever this is a way of life. There’s no peace, no grace, no forgiveness and no fellowship with God. They know something is missing but are so spiritually blind they cannot see the Light of Jesus Christ. Hence the reason we as Christians need to fill the gap and be an influence in their life. 

People need to witness the power of our prayers. That is what gets people’s attention most. When we pray and seek God and He answers our prayers, people are amazed. In fact we’re drawn to prayer warriors who seem to have a direct connection with God. We all need to be these types of prayer warriors. Do people see the power of God in your prayers?

There are several things that can hinder our prayers but one of the most obvious reasons is due to our sins. Unconfessed sin can clog our direct line with God. The way we live results in our prayer life. It makes sense that God will not hear from those who cherish sinful behavior. We must have our sins removed so God will answer us. Here are some other reasons why your prayers may be hindered. (10 Ways Prayers are Hindered)

Pray

Lord, please remove any sins that are keeping me from having good fellowship with You. Make me to know my sins and where I have stumbled. Renew me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

Allow God To Lift You Up

Encouragement, Faith

‘For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Luke 14:11

Take every opportunity to promote yourself before and above others. Seize occasions for recognition and manipulate your way into the center of attention. According to the world, this is the proper way to attain high esteem.

But according to God’s design, you must put others first. Humble yourself. It’s when God sees your humility that He will exalt you.

If we put our efforts into promoting ourselves, we will be brought down and humiliated. Jesus spoke of a man who tried to enhance his own image (Luke 14:7-11). While attending a dinner, he quickly claimed the seat of most honor. When the host saw this take place, he humiliated the man by asking him to move to another seat, the lowest seat in the room.

Jesus said the wise thing to do is seek the lowest position and allow someone else to exalt you when they feel that you need to be recognized.

When we strive to remain humble, we bring glory to God and not ourselves. If we honor God, He will honor us. When the world exalts you, you are the center of attention. But when God exalts you, others will praise Him for what He has done in your life.

Allow God to be the One who honors you in the way that pleases Him!

Pray

Lord, please keep me humble. I ask You to remove all pride from my heart. May Your Holy Spirit transform me and change me.

We Need Each Other

Encouragement, Faith

‘And the Lord God said, “ It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ‘
Genesis 2:18

God designed us to function best as a community. Even before sin entered the garden of Eden, God said something wasn’t good about His perfect creation. God noticed that something was missing. Adam had good fellowship with God but he needed someone to do life with on his level. God said it wasn’t good for him to be alone.

God knows that isolation is not good for mankind. God’s instruction to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply. The reason is because we are made for community. Community encourages us to communicate and fellowship with one another.

There is power in community. In the New Testament we see people establishing churches for the sole basis of community of faith in Christ. God can accomplish a great work through people who are connected together and serving each other in love.

Perhaps the best joy comes from fellowship around the table while sharing a meal. Jesus never missed an opportunity to share a meal with people he loved. Jesus encouraged people to fellowship with one another. If it be a large group of people or a just a couple of friends, Jesus knew how to bring people together in love.

Just know that you need to be around other people. Especially other Christ-minded people. We each need to soak in Christian fellowship and we need to give ourselves to those who are in need of fellowship. You can make a difference just by inviting someone to lunch or dinner.

Pray

Lord, thank You for giving us the people in our lives. Let us appreciate our friends and neighbors who are surrounding us. Show me how I can share love and joy with someone near me.