With the market domination of cellular telephones, we have all had the experience of carrying on a conversation with someone who was really disconnected some time ago.
With such phones, we occasionally have to ask, “Can you hear me now?” because we’re not certain our message is getting through. Then, sometimes, we have no clue that we’ve been disconnected altogether.
Prayer can feel about like that at times in our lives, especially if we occasionally doubt our message is getting through or discover that we have been unknowingly disconnected for quite a while because of some sin or rebellious attitude.
Prayer is Communication
When Adam and Eve walked in the Garden of Eden with God, there was not any apparent need for prayer, but following their expulsion, his relationship with mankind became more reserved and it was in the last verse of Genesis 4 that, “men began to call on the name of the Lord,” presumably in prayer (verse 26).
The patriarch Jacob sets the tone for prayer throughout the Old Testament era in Genesis 28 as he associates prayer with an animal sacrifice and a conditional vow of loyalty (Genesis 28:18-22). Once the Law of Moses was put into effect, little is said about prayer as the people approach God through their priests and mainly to acknowledge guilt and beg for mercy.
It is during the Exile that prayer takes on a more personal, earnest nature. Ezra prays in extreme sorrow over the guilt of his countrymen (9:5-7); Nehemiah did likewise (1:5-11). Daniel’s habit in this era was to pray three times daily and his recorded prayer is of the same kind as Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s (see 9:4-19).
It is the prayers of Christ, living yet under the Old Testament, but pointing toward the New, that set the stage for prayer in our time, for his prayers are the words of a child petitioning his father. He prayed in times of sorrow and joy, spoke always with genuine emotion and the expectation that he would be heard, subject to his father’s will. For Jesus, prayer was not simply a religious exercise or public ceremony, but was real communication with the God of heaven, and that is what we are striving to enjoy as well. His prayers move away from that sense of separation in the Old Testament petitions, because his sonship and perfection make it possible for him to approach God in a more intimate way. His obedience on the cross makes it possible for all his redeemed to enjoy that kind of intimacy and access as well (Hebrews 4:14-16).
The church he established follows this pattern of trusting intimacy in prayer, approaching God with renewed boldness. The Jerusalem church immersed itself in prayer, especially when threatened (see Acts 1:14; Acts 2:1, Acts 2:42; 3:1; 6:4,6). Paul frequently discussed his own prayers, using them as evidence of his care for the churches he addressed (see Romans 1:9; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2, etc.). The Holy Spirit describes prayer for us as a steadfast habit (see Romans 12:12), vigilantly pertinent (see Ephesians 6:18), and emotionally relieving (see Philippians 4:6).
Our prayers should contain petitions for our blessing as well as intercessions on behalf of others who are in need, even if they are unaware of their need, for “God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Prayer, however, is incomplete and less effective unless it also contains a strong measure of adoration, confession, and thanksgiving, which help to polish the heart and attitudes of the one praying (Ephesians 3:14-21).
Because prayer is so vitally important to the spiritual and even physical health of the believer, nothing is more troubling than when there seems to be static on the line because our prayers are being hindered.
What Causes The Static?
Marital Stress
Sometimes stress in the marriage hinders our ability to pray sincerely; Paul recognized the connection between prayer and the duties of marriage in responding to the concerns of some at Corinth: “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (1 Corinthians 7:5).
This is where the couple must cooperate so that their physical needs are satisfactorily met, without ever compromising their spiritual requirements or abandoning the other to the perils of unfulfillable desire. Christians who are married should be helping one another along the path to heaven and balancing spiritual needs and wholesome physical intimacy is part of that.
Still, misbehavior in the marital relationship is also identified as a prime way to hinder those prayers: “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:1-7).
It is simply impossible to be right with God when you are wronging someone so close to you by treating her with contempt or disrespect. Proverbs 18:22 declares that, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD” but if you are abusing that favor, what is the Lord to do in response? Treating her without understanding, without honor or as something less than a fellow heir of grace is what puts static on the line. Denigrating her to your friends or before your children, or making her life difficult, unenjoyable and unrewarding is going to put static on your line.
Wrongs Left Uncorrected
Jesus warns that you might as well postpone your worship altogether if you remember that you have given someone cause to be angry with you and you have neglected to set it right. “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).
Maybe it is something I did, or said, or didn’t do, but should have–if I know that I am guilty of offending another, it is my responsibility to clear myself of guilt before I try to approach God to make petitions for my own good or to intercede for someone else. My lingering sin and my apathy about it are responsible for the static on the line.
Apathy About Listening to God
Our communication with God is not to be as one-sided as some of the phone conversations that we have; we are to speak to God in prayer and to listen to him as he speaks through the Bible, often answering there the very questions and needs we have raised. “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). We should not wonder why there is so much static on the line if we are content to speak to God in needful prayer, but apathetic about listening for answers by reading his word (see Psalm 1:1-6).
Unmercifulness
Hypocrisy is often exposed in self-serving prayer that petitions God for mercy and blessing, but through a life that bears grudges and resentments and affords no mercy to anyone else. The man who withholds compassion toward others should expect only static when he pleads for mercy for himself alone (see Matthew 6:14-15).
We are taught to pray that God would forgive our debts to him just as we forgive the ones who have wronged us and ask for mercy, but judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy (see James 2:13).
Jesus taught, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your father in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:25-26).
The static on the mercy line is because of selfishness and bitterness; “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).
Covetousness
We often do not notice the static at all until we recognize that our prayers are not being granted, and at times, this is because we are praying our covetousness for things (James 4:1-5):
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:1-6 ESV)
Prayer is not a Christmas wish list turned heavenward in which we treat God like Santa and plead with him to grant us wealth and luxury. We begin to sound like a spoiled child who rarely has time to say thanks because he is so busy asking for more; the kindest thing God can do is to deny such greed and interrupt the asking with static
Rebellious Attitude
All this can be summed up and expanded when we consider that the static on the line is just evidence of lingering sin about which we are either ignorant or apathetic. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18; see Isaiah 59:1-2).
If I adopt a rebellious attitude toward God or a contemptuous attitude in dealing with others, I can expect that my conversation with him will be interrupted by static of my own making:
Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:10-12)
Clearing Up The Static
I won’t clear up the white noise by changing carriers or shaking the handset, but by changing my own position. Sin is an obstacle like a tunnel, thick walls or a high hill between God and me, and the only way to eliminate that obstacle is by removing it with contrition (1 John 1:6-10).
Just because a prayer is not answered in the way you anticipated, it does not necessarily follow that your sin is to blame, but when there is real static on the line, it is evidence that we have estranged ourselves from God. The gospel is a ministry of reconciliation, greater than the reunion of child and earthly parent. James admonishes you to draw near to God and he will draw near to you (see 4:8).
It becomes a matter of returning to your first love and purifying your prayers by giving up dalliances with the rivals for your heart. Your first love should not be yourself, but if it is, it will become apparent and even if you don’t literally hear static on the line when you pray, understand that your petitions are indeed hindered
It is vital that we learn to think about what might hinder our prayers and put static on the all-important line that connects us with the throne of God in heaven.
