Note: I wrote these posts to help the people I serve at my local church. We’ve started a two month journey of fasting and praying 4 prayers. But feel free to read along even if you’re not part of our church. I pray you find my words helpful.
The second possible reason you’re not hearing God:
2. You’re walking in repeated patterns of sin.
The book of James in the New Testament says “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). If everyone’s prayers are equally powerful and effective, why bother singling out “the prayer of a righteous person?” I could be wrong, but I think James is saying a righteous person’s prayers are more effective than an unrighteous person’s. When unrighteous people pray, James says they might just hear…crickets. No answer. No power. No effect.
A preacher named Isaiah who lived hundreds of years before Jesus said these words: “But your iniquities [a fancy word for “sins”] have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Uh oh. If that’s true, things aren’t looking good for me. Could God essentially turn his back on me when I pray and give me the silent treatment because of my sins?
But…
James 5:16 has another sentence before the one about righteous people. Let me show you the whole verse:
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
You see what James did there? He clued us in on how he’s using the word “righteous.” While you and I were counting up our list of sins, trying to see if God put us on the good list or the naughty list, James already gave us the answer.
“Righteous” people are followers of Jesus who confess their sins to each other.
Why do I think that? Because James assumes the Christians in this church who confess their sins and pray for each other will be healed. In other words, their prayers will be powerful and effective.
Does Jesus want you to stop sinning? Of course! But your absence of sin doesn’t make you righteous. Righteousness is a gift you receive, not a characteristic you seek. A man named Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, said “righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:22). Every time Christians confess their sins to each other and pray for each other is an opportunity to reaffirm the belief that only Jesus can heal their sinfulness.
Failure to confess your sins reveals the parts of your life you don’t think Jesus needs to save; you’re your own God in those areas.
If you’re giving God the silent treatment by not regularly confessing your sins to Jesus and other believers, don’t be surprised when God gives you the silent treatment, too.
If you’ve continually prayed about something but feel God is silent, ask Jesus if you’re walking in repeated patterns of sin. If he says “No,” ask Jesus to help you wait patiently until he answers your prayer.
But if Jesus reveals patterns of sin in your life, it’s time to repent. Confess to God how you have continually ignored him. Repent of your sin. Then confess your sins to other believers. Seek help as you resist those sinful patterns, not because you’re striving for “righteousness” but because you want to honor the Jesus who forgave all your sins.
