Hindrances to Prayer – Audio

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The apostles made a simple request, Lord, teach us to pray. Let us look at God’s word and learn more about prayer today. That’s coming up from the International Gospel Hour. We’ll be right back.

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It’s time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God’s Word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let’s open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the Churches of Christ.

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Here’s Jeff. Well, thank you to our J-Web always for his kind words and greetings to all of you. It’s good to have you with us for our broadcast today from the International Gospel Hour. And our broadcast for the week will remember and honor the work of Brother David Payden. Now, I realize that many of you may not know David, nor have maybe even heard of David. But on January 7, 2025, David passed from this life due to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, from which he battled gallantly for over two years. David was a faithful gospel preacher and preached for the Lafayette, Georgia, Church of Christ. And during the past couple of years as his body changed, he continued preaching and writing due to the great advantages in technology. It was amazing how with the use of his eyes only he could write, preach, drive his wheelchair, and speak with his voice as his voice and words were recorded earlier. To explain all that would be a great challenge via radio, but let me share with you a YouTube channel or a YouTube program that may find your interest. Our friend and brother Don Blackwell of the Gospel Broadcasting Network has a program called Truth on Wheels. Maybe you have seen it in social media. He conducted an interview with David and his wife, Kelly, in 2024, and explains a little more about David and how he addressed his ALS and the things that he was facing. Now, we have that link available at our Facebook page. That is International Gospel Hour. And if you go there and follow our page, you can find the link there on the page. And we will make the link available to you if you want to email us at info at internationalgospelhour.com. That’s info at internationalgospelhour.com. And in the subject blank, just put ALS, and we will respond to you with the link of the program. Now, if you would like to call our toll-free number… at 855-444-6988 and leave us a message and please spell out your email address. We will send that link to you. We want to make this available for we realize there are many individuals who may be suffering from ALS, may be a caregiver, Maybe a help, a special help to friends or family. And so if we can share with you anything that will help you along your journey, that’s what we wish to do here at International Gospel Hour. Now we will also offer on this broadcast a special gift through our friends at Apologetics Press, the book Why People Suffer by Dave Miller. And all you have to do to receive that book is to call us, 855-444-6988. Leave your name and address and just say, Suffer. That’s all you need to do. And again, if you want to spell out your email address, that we can send you the link to the YouTube episode of Truth on Wheels concerning David Payton and his addressing and his suffering with ALS. We can do all that in one call. Friends, I’m trying my best not to make this so confusing. And realize when you’re listening to it on the radio that I know how that can be. But you can also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com. Click on the Contact tab. Leave us the same information, your name, your address, and type SUFFER in the message box. We can mail you the book, and then we can also mail you the link directly to the YouTube video of Truth on Wheels concerning our David Payton and his ALS. I hope I haven’t over-explained that. And if it’s been a little confusing, then just give us a call and just say, I heard your broadcast about ALS. Can you respond to me or let me know? The information, I’ll do my very best. Thank you for your patience with me. I’m so grateful for our audience. I’m grateful for you. I’m so thankful and love you and appreciate you tuning in and listening. Now what we’re going to do today is study one of David’s sermons from his series, Sermons on Prayer. David wanted his material to be available after his passing and he has put a tremendous amount in print. Matter of fact, you can find that. I mentioned the Gospel Broadcasting Network. You can find that at their website, GBNTV.org, under Books. And you can refer to David’s material. But it’s my honor today to deliver his lesson, Hindrances to Prayer, and to God be the glory. In 1 Peter 3 and verse 7, the Bible says, Husbands likewise dwell with them, referring to their wives, with understanding, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. Now the word hindered here means to cut into or to cut off or to cut out or to render ineffective. It’s a similar word used in Matthew 3 and verse 10. So according to this passage, some things can hinder my prayer life. So let us consider the things that very well may hinder our prayers. We begin first with a lack of faith. In James 1, verses 5 through 7, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. When it comes to prayer, we must believe. In Mark 11, 24, Jesus said, Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. A lack of faith will hinder our prayers. Second, a lack of love will hinder our prayers. In Proverbs 17 and verse 9, he who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. Well, obviously the Bible encourages love, for love is the badge of discipleship according to John 13, 34 and 35. how we’re taught to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, in John 15 and verse 12, 1 John 4, 7 and 8, and 1 Peter 1, 22 and 23. To love our neighbor, Matthew 22, verses 35 through 40, and even within that context, to also love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. When we fail to love, friends, our prayers are hindered. How about an unforgiving spirit? You know, forgiveness is demanded in Scripture, according to Ephesians 4.32, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Our forgiveness depends on our willingness to forgive others, according to Matthew 6.14-15. If we fail to forgive others, God will not forgive us. And so when we fail to forgive, friends, our prayers are hindered. Here’s a fourth one, a hindrance to prayer. What about unreconciled differences? Consider the text of Matthew 5, 23 and 24. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Bringing the gift before the altar represents approaching God. And when we see that word reconciled, it means to change from hostility to peace, especially between persons, to restore to a state of harmony, to renew a friendship. And if we have differences with our brethren and do not seek to reconcile, our prayers are hindered. So far, friends, we have noticed four areas that can hinder our prayers. A lack of faith, a lack of love, an unforgiving spirit, and unreconciled differences. Let’s go with number five. What about selfishness? In James 4 and verse 3, you ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Prayer is not about me, friends. It’s not about you. Prayer is designed to glorify the Father as Jesus taught in John 14, 13 and 14. It is prayer that glorifies God. That is the prayer according to His will, 1 John 5 and verse 14. And if we ask amiss or we ask just to satisfy ourselves rather than God’s will, then our prayers are hindered. How about an improper treatment of your spouse? We noted this from the lesson text of 1 Peter 3 and verse 7. Once again, husbands likewise dwell with them, or your wives, with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. So let’s look at the proper treatment of one’s spouse. There were two words in that text that stand out, understanding and honor. Let’s deal with understanding first. Now, the word knowledge means to be understanding. You dwell with them with understanding. We dwell with them by knowledge. You see, as we know, men and women are very different. And the husband has the responsibility of understanding his wife. When I, in my marriage, and at the time that I am speaking and recording this broadcast, My wife and I are heading into 37 years of blessed marriage. Through the years, I wanted to understand her, to see to her needs. I would honor her, which is our next word. And the more that I could understand how to help her… the more, in turn, I learn of her understanding me. You see, the word honor means to value and respect. And the motivation for the honor is referring to the wife as the weaker vessel. Now, that’s not an insult, friends. That’s a proper biblical term. You see, Peter is not referring to the spiritual weakness of a woman. We understand in Galatians 3, 26-29, how everyone is a child of God by faith. Or in verse 27 of Galatians 3, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And we learn there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female. We are all one in Christ Jesus. The gospel is for all the world, every soul, and man and woman can grow, and this is not referring to the spiritual weakness of the woman. Peter has in mind with respect the physical weakness. And the husband’s responsibility, according to God, is to lead and to care and to provide for his wife. how thorough that is in Ephesians 5 verses 23 and 28 and 29, where Paul is speaking of Christ in the church, but what illustration does he use by inspiration, if you will, an inspiration illustration, what does he use to teach the power of Christ in the church? He uses the relationship of husband and wife. In 1 Timothy 5 and verse 8 says, We’re taught how the husband should provide or the head of the household should provide for his own. And so this is the motivation to honor the wife, to give her that honor. Heirs together of the grace of life. I love that thought. This phrase refers to recipients of eternal life that we learn more about in 1 John 2 verse 25 and 1 Timothy 6 verse 19 and 1 John 5 verse 13. You know, isn’t it something how an improper treatment of the spouse can hinder prayers? How about number seven? What about idols that are located or placed in our hearts? In Ezekiel 14 and verse 3, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let myself be inquired of at all by them? God is speaking unto Ezekiel, And because the idols are in their heart, God said, Would I allow myself to be inquired of at all by them? You see, an idol is anything that comes between us and God. An idolatry we know is sinful, Galatians 5, 19-21 says, And idols in the heart will cause our prayers to be hindered because we have, if you will, another God that means more to us than the Almighty God. How about number eight? What about refusing to help those in need? Proverbs 21.13 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Friends, let me pause right here. As I look at that, I realize that I have put the wrong scripture there. But Proverbs 21 and verse 13, let me come back to that one in just a moment. Let me move on then to number 9, and I will come back and conclude number 8 properly. What about refusing to hear the law? Refusing to listen to God? Proverbs 28 and verse 9 says, One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. You see, everything we know about prayer is found in the Bible. And reading the Bible encourages and motivates prayer to the one that is obedient unto God. And when we reject God’s word, our prayers are hindered. Imagine not listening at all to God, turning away our ear from listening to God, and then we find ourselves calling out in prayer that very well is an abomination. You see, when we refuse to hear the law, when we reject God’s word, if you will, our prayers are hindered. Now, may I refer to our previous point that I placed the wrong scripture there. My apologies, friends. Let’s try it again. How about refusing to help those in need? In Proverbs 21, 13, the Bible says, Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard. And you know, the Bible teaches us in Galatians 6 and verse 10 to do good to all. To do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith. But how we should do good to all. When we fail to help others, our prayers will be hindered. Finally, number 10. What about sin? Well, we’ve noted this throughout our study. But sin, listen to Psalm 66, 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. Now, the word regard means to look at, to look after, or to gaze upon. that we look at iniquity, we look after it. In other words, we want to look after it or attend to it, to cherish something that means more to us. The word heart would refer to the mind, not the physical pump of the blood, but the word heart refers to the mind. For in Proverbs 23 and verse 7, For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So if I have a love for sin, my prayers are hindered. Now, once again, let’s look at ten areas that can hinder our prayers. A lack of faith, a lack of love, an unforgiving spirit, unreconciled differences, selfishness, an improper treatment of spouse, idols in the heart, refusing to help those in need, refusing to hear the law, and sin, iniquity. Friends, according to the Bible, our prayers can be hindered. But let us live our lives in a way that our prayers will never be hindered. There are the occasions that, well, let me add here. I think you see why I wish to honor David and his work. And although he has passed from this life in the spirit of Abel, he will continue to speak. Hebrews 11 and verse 4. As we have discussed hindrances to prayer today, I have noted in my conversation with a number of individuals that sometimes people will say, Jeff, I don’t feel like my prayers are being heard. Well, I look upon true fruit that is being born, and I look at them, and it may be this situation. Friends, you don’t even worship God. You don’t attend worship as you should. You’re not walking faithful to God. You advocate more man-made denominational thinking more than Bible knowledge. There is a great possibility your prayers are not being heard. Prayers can be hindered. They can be cut into or cut off. Friends, before we speak to God, we need to listen to God as He speaks to us through His Word and be obedient unto Him. Maybe you are seeking. Maybe you are like that individual I mentioned. Maybe it’s time to take a look at where you walk and where you stand. We are thankful to add to our labors here at International Gospel Hour a wonderful study booklet called God and Man, How to be Saved from Sin. I’m going to defer to our J-Web and he will tell you how you can receive that material and Then I’ll come back and we’ll review a little bit of some of the things concerning our study today.

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An additional Bible study by mail is now available from International Gospel Hour. It’s titled, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. The study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man. And friends, like all materials, it’s free. Call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, God and Man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type God and Man in the message box. another Bible study that is free from IGH, and our friends at godandman.com. That’s god-and-man.com. And, you know, since you can’t see it, let me just spell that out for you. god-and-man.com We’d love to hear from you.

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Friends, again, we want to send you the material, God and Man. And again, you can receive that with a toll-free call or writing to us at internationalgospelhour.com. Now, I mentioned some things earlier in our broadcast, so let me kind of put them all back together again. We have available to you a link to the program Truth on Wheels by Don Blackwell, where David Payton was his guest along with David’s wife, Kelly. We will make that link available to you if you will let us know your email address. And you can leave that with a toll-free number call. Please spell it out. or if you want to send it to us at info at internationalgospelhour.com. Of course, in this broadcast, we have the book, Why People Suffer, a free giveaway. So let’s kind of summarize it together. We will send you the link. We will also send you God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin and Why People Suffer. We’ll mail those two out to you if you give us your name and address. But if you also give us your email, we will send you the YouTube link of Truth on Wheels with the interview with David Payden, of whom his lesson we have addressed today. Again, David passed in January of 2025 after suffering with ALS for over two years. We know many of you in our audience. You’re dealing with a number of ailments and issues. Maybe not to the extent of ALS, but it may be something else. We hope that a study such as this and the tools that we can offer will be of help. If all of that’s a little confusing, then please call us at 855-444-6988 and just let us know. I heard your broadcast about ALS. I couldn’t get all that down. Can you reach back out to me? We will return your call. We’ll do the very best that we can. And if you just give us your email, we can take it from there. We want to help you in your study of the Word of God. We want to help you to come to a relationship with Jesus Christ. We want to help you in any way possible. The International Gospel Hour has helped many a soul through the years since 1934. As of this recording and you listening to this, we’re in our 91st year. That is amazing. We’re under the oversight of the elders of the West Fayetteville, Tennessee, Church of Christ, and our mailing address is P.O. Box 118, Fayetteville, Tennessee, 37334. We always look forward to hearing from our listeners. Hard to respond to everyone, but again, we do the very best that we can. Again, the information, the link to the YouTube video is on our Facebook page, which is International Gospel Hour. If you go over there, you can find the link. Click on it. It takes you right over to where you need to go. We hope this study has been of help today. And for those of you that listen to our daily broadcast, for the remainder of this week, we’ll be talking about David and his good work. We’ll continue our studies together at another time. Thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour broadcast. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.

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Thank you for listening today to God Be the Glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com. And join us next time.