“You don’t know how to pray.”
That’s frequently the case. However, we have Romans 8:26. “In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Since the Lord takes my feeble attempts at prayer and turns them into something powerful in Heaven, my not knowing precisely how to pray is no excuse. Believers take special satisfaction in knowing that in Romans 8:26 the Spirit intercedes for us and in Romans 8:34, Jesus intercedes for us. Wow. How good is that!
“Your sins can block your prayers.”
That’s exactly what Isaiah 59:2 says. “Your iniquities have separated you from God and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear…”
However—and don’t we delight in this!—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of our iniquities” (John 1:9). So, there is no excuse for any of us to go forward one more minute with sins weighing us down (Hebrews 12:1) and blocking our prayers.
There is no reason not to pray. And every reason to do so.
Jesus told the unbelieving Sadducees they were guilty of two mistakes, the same two, incidentally that many non-praying (so-called) disciples of Jesus practice: 1) You do not know the Scriptures, 2) nor do you know the power of God (Matthew 22:29).
If we knew the Word, we would have an answer to these attacks from the enemy.
And if we trusted the Lord, we would believe His word and get on with the business of praying!
Beloved, let us pray.
Nothing tells the story on our faith like prayer. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)
