“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.” Psalm 66:18-19
There are several reasons God doesn’t answer our prayers*; one is given here. If we cherish sin in our heart, God will not listen or answer. This is referring to deliberate, wilful sin that we keep doing. Why does God refuse to listen? Because He speaks to us through His Word. If the Word says something is a sin, and we are doing it, then we are deliberately disobeying God. Why should He answer our prayers if we refuse to obey what He has already told us in the Bible?
Another reason why our prayers might not be answered, that is closely related to this, is given in James 4:3, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” God is under no obligation to answer prayers that are offered with wrong motives, trying to get ahead of someone else, for instance. Prayer is not us presenting our wish-list to God. Rather, prayer is intended to change our will to conform with His. Then, when we are praying according to His will, He will delight in answering it.
*See other posts here and here.
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