Yesterday we looked at the positive side of Prayer and today I wont to look at the negative side to unanswered Prayer. But first lets hear from Pastor Hoekstra's pen and his dealing with Grace once again. Then I will turn to the ESV translation to look at reasons why our Prayer life in the New Covenant is not bearing fruit.
"The New Covenant of Grace: A Holy Spirit Covenant"
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
"As noted earlier, the New Covenant is all about Grace, as contrasted with the old covenant, which is about law which is now defunct. "For the law was given through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). The connection between Grace and the Holy Spirit can be seen in various scripture passages on the Promised New Covenant, including this glorious prophecy. "I Will give you a New heart and put a New spirit within you; I Will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." The first verse in this prophetic promise concerns regeneration, spiritual restoration, spiritual new birth. Through faith in the LORD, our original, hard, selflife, lifeless heart is removed, and a new, pliable, living spirit is restored to us.
The second verse pertains to Transformation, the ongoing development of this New Life. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes." The developing of a Life that increasingly complies with the Will of GOD depends upon the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We know that unredeemed humanity has no hope of living a life that is pleasing to GOD. Yet, many Christians could be unaware that even the new creature in Christ cannot please GOD on his own resources. The Spirit of GOD must be the heavenly cause that Produces a Heavenly lifestyle in believers.
What is promised here is not an Automatic experience. The life of many Christians does not consistently match with what is described here in Ezekiel 36:27. The reason is that they are not relating properly to the LORD in humble dependency. Yes, these two relational realities (humility and faith) also determine whether or not the Spirit of GOD is our Resource, just as they were determinative concerning Grace.
Two statements by Jesus expound upon this Fact. "You have no life in you . . . It is the Spirit Who gives Life; the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:53, 63). We do not innately possess life as GOD intends it to be lived. Natural human resources are of no benefit in developing a Godly Life. Such revelation is very Humbling. If we embrace Jesus' evaluation of our personal inadequacy, then we are willing to relate to GOD in humility. Further, there is Truth in which we are to place our trust. "It is the Spirit Who gives (true) Life." As we count on this Truth, we are relating to the LORD in trusting Faith. As a grain smaller than a mustard seed within us. The result of such humble reliance is G)D's Spirit becomes our vitality for living godly."
Causes of Failure in Prayer, Prayers Unanswered:
Disobedience,
Deuteronomy 1:41-46, 1Samuel 14:37 and 28:6 "Then you answered me, 'We have sinned against the LORD. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the LORD our GOD commanded us.' And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. And the LORD said to me, 'Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.'
So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country. Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. And you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to your voice or give ear to you.
So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there."
1Samuel 14:36-42 "Then Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them." And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here." And Saul inquired of GOD, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?" But HE did not answer him that day. And Saul said, "Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. For as the LORD lives Who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die." But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. Then he said to all Israel, "You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side." And the people said to Saul, "Do what seems good to you." Therefore Saul said, "O LORD GOD of Israel, why have you not answered Your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O LORD, GOD of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in Your people Israel, give Thummim." And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. Then Saul said, "Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan." And Jonathan was taken."
1Samuel 28:5-7 "When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a medium at En-dor."
Secret Sins,
Psalm 66:16-20 "Come and hear, all you who fear (greatly respect, reverence and revere) GOD, and I will tell what HE has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and High Praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly GOD has listened; HE has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be GOD, because HE has not rejected my prayer or removed HIS steadfast Love from me!"
Indifference,
Proverbs 1:20-33 "Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at My reproof, behold, I Will pour out My spirit to you; I Will make My words (secrets, mysteries) known to you. Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out My hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all My counsel and would have none of My reproof, I also Will laugh at your calamity; I Will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon ME, but I Will not answer; they will seek ME diligently but will not find ME. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of (greatly respect, reverence and revere) the LORD, would have none of My counsel and despised all My reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to ME Will dwell secure and Will be at ease, without dread of disaster.""
Neglect of Mercy,
Proverbs 21:2-16 "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death. The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just. The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright. It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes. When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin. Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor (without understanding of spiritual matters) will himself call out and not be answered. A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath. When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. One who wanders from the Way of good sense will rest in the assembly of the dead."
Despising the law,
Proverbs 28:3-16, 17-18 "A poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food. Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely. Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father. Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor. If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance. A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out. When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves. Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
If one is burdened with the blood of another, he will be a fugitive until death; let no one help him. Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall."
Blood-guiltiness,
Isaiah 1:10-15, 16-17 "Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. "When you come to appear before ME, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to ME. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts MY soul HATES; they have become a burden to ME; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I Will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before MY eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause."
Iniquity, subheading Separation from GOD (mans religion is described herein)
Isaiah 59:1-8 and Micah 3:4 "Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your GOD, and your sins have hidden HIS face from you so that HE does not hear. (from here on we find the separation that mans many religions brings upon him) For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness. No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity. They hatch adders' eggs; they weave the spider's web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched. Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace."
Micah 3:1-4 "And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?— you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off My people and their flesh from off their bones, who eat the flesh of My people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron. Then they will cry to the LORD, but HE Will not answer them; HE Will hide His face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil."
Stubbornness,
Zechariah 7:8-14 "The word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, "Thus says the LORD of Hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by HIS Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts. "As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear," says the LORD of Hosts, "and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate."
Instability,
James 1:5-8 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask GOD, Who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the LORD; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
Self-indulgence,
James 4:1-4, 5-6 "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 (this is the true status of mans religions) 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.""
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