hebrews
12.15 (living bible), watch out that no
bitterness take root among you for as it springs up among you it causes deep
trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives. bitterness is like a poison, it will eat you
alive. you can’t have unforgiveness in
your heart and have your prayers answered.
anyone
knows that one of the easiest places to have resentment build up is in
families. family members hurt each other’s feelings, husbands hurt wives, wives
hurt husbands, parents hurt their children and vice versa. bitterness and
resentment are a common experience in family relationships. peter has given the low-down to the women
then in verse 7 he starts talking to the husbands. he says, husbands,
in the same way [just like he’s talked to the wives in the previous verses]
be considerate as you live with your
wives and treat them with respect.... so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
what do
you pray every time you pray the LORD’s prayer?
“FATHER, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” you’re saying, “GOD, i want you to forgive me
as much as i forgive everybody else.” do
you really want to pray that? “GOD, YOU forgive
me as much as i forgive everybody else.”
why? bitterness and resentment
will block prayer.
1 peter
3.7 (niv) says why sometimes you haven't had an answer to prayer. peter is
talking about marriage.
anyone
knows that one of the easiest places to have resentment build up is in
families. family members hurt each other’s feelings, husbands hurt wives, wives
hurt husbands, parents hurt their children and vice versa. bitterness and
resentment are a common experience in family relationships. peter has given the low-down to the women
then in verse 7 he starts talking to the husbands. he says, husbands,
in the same way [just like he’s talked to the wives in the previous verses]
be considerate as you live with your
wives and treat them with respect.... so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
did you
know that the bible says that disharmony in the home blocks answers to
prayer? that’s why some people don’t
have answers to prayer. in fact the scripture
says how you treat your spouse influences your prayer life. that’s pretty strong.
in the
scriptures, when it lists the qualifications that a pastor must have in his
life in order to be a pastor and the qualifications for a deacon, one of the
qualifications of being a deacon or a pastor is he has to have a happy,
peaceful home life. why? because if you’re
in tension at home, the prayers of those leaders of the church will be totally
ineffective – according to scripture.
sometimes
there’s been something i’ve really wanted to talk to the LORD about in prayer
and i’ve just had an argument with margaret.
i know i’ve got to get that right before GOD’s going to hear the
prayer. it’s a nice motivation to get
harmony restored.
how do
you have answers to prayer? five
conditions: one, have an honest
relationship to GOD. two, have a
forgiving attitude toward other people.
just a
thought from the front porch…
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