Does God Hear Your Prayers?

Daily Devotional – Wednesday, June 21, 2023
One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Proverbs 28:9 (NKJV)

According to Merriam-Webster, an abomination is “something regarded with disgust or hatred.” In the Bible, an abomination is a practice that God detests, and which contravenes His expressed will. Abominations play critical roles in our prayers hence they need to understand them.

Barriers to Effective Prayer
King Solomon gives us examples of abominations, stating thus, “These six things the LORD hates. Yes, seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Now, here is an interesting verse: “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9). In essence, when we bring our petitions before God yet we are willful transgressors of His law, He detests those prayers the same way he abhors lying, murder and malice and other evils.

When the Lord Refuses to Listen

Professed Christians who deny the Lord in their thinking, speech and conduct are in the same class with the worst of sinners. Their petitions grieve the Lord. When they purport to praise God, He frowns at them. Their worship is a form of flattery to the One who reads the mind and understands human beings infinitely.

The greatest barrier between our prayers and God is cherished sin. The unrepentant heart should not expect God to open the treasures and providences of heaven. As Prophet Isaiah observes, “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Does God Hear Your Prayers?

Does God hear your prayers? Examine your heart with the help of the Holy Spirit. Is it possible that you have cherished and unconfessed sin that hinders God’s Hand from acting on your behalf and in your favour? Surrender to God today. Confess your sins. He will forgive you and open doors that hitherto He had shut.

Prayer
Dear God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalms 139:23-24).