When You Can’t Get Through to God

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” -Psalm 66:18

Perhaps this verse, among others, is the source of the idea that “God doesn’t hear sinners” (which He does) except for the “sinner’s prayer.” This odd and old-fashioned idea ignores God’s omniscience through which He hears and knows everything. There are two important words in this verse that need to be rightly interpreted. First, the word “regard” comes from the Hebrew word har which means to approve or to respect. Second, the word “hear” is the word shama which means to hear intelligently, to pay attention, or to respond with obedience.

God hears all prayers, but He is under no obligation to answer a prayer offered from a heart in which sin is approved and revered. I believe the basic idea is that our prayer life is greatly hindered when there is sin that we are either shamefully covering up, or shamelessly rationalizing. When we make excuses for our sinful behavior, we lose the attention of God to our requests.

If you don’t feel that you can get through to God today, check your life. It may not be a sin problem. Sometimes a feeling of distance from God is allowed in our lives so that we might learn to keep crying out in spite of our emotions. But it’s also very possible that there is an unconfessed offense. In such a case, the Holy Spirit can be trusted to bring it to light. Once exposed, we can confess it to the God who is our consuming fire, that He may purge it from our lives.