Right now I’m reading this book by Henry and Richard Blackaby called “Hearing God’s Voice.” It’s about one’s personal relationship with God, it’s about prayer, it’s about learning to listen to God’s voice (the title might have given that away).
In one of the chapters on prayer, the authors talk about “how” and “why” God answers prayers. We all know that sometimes God says “yes,” sometimes God says “no,” sometimes God says, “yes, but wait,” but sometimes God doesn’t seem to be listening.
The authors offered some very insightful biblical answers to help us understand what might be going on when it appears that God just isn’t listening. Please read the following from Blackaby (pp 129-130):
“Why are we sometimes met with silence when we pray? According to the Bible, if we allow sin to remain in our lives, God will not respond to our prayers. The psalmist said, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Ps 66:18). The prophet Isaiah concurred: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities [sins] have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isa 59:1-2).
“Clearly God maintains the right to withhold answers to our prayers. It is an offront for us to sin against him, then brazenly expect him to respond unreservedly to our prayers. He gives us fair warning: “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you, yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood” (Isa 1:15). God’s silence sends a strong message: we should examine our lives to ensure no sin is provoking him to remain silent.
“The Bible singles out a particular sin that impedes our prayer life. That is the sin of broken relationships. God obviously places relationships at a high priority, for Jesus said, “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering” (Matt 5:23-24). Likewise Peter stressed the importance of harmony within the sacred marriage relationship: “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered” (1 Pet 3:7 NASB).
“Jesus talked often about relationships. He also spoke at length about forgiveness. He taught his disciples to pray: “And forgive our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12). Jesus said our standard of forgiveness will be the standard by which God measures us. At the close of the Lord’s prayer, Jesus explained: “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, then your heavenly Father will not forgive your wrongdoing” (Matt 6:14-15). Where there is silence from heaven when we pray, we should carefully examine our relationships.
(Hearing God’s Voice, Henry and Richard Blackaby, Nashville TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002, pp. 129-130)
