Does God Always Hear Me?

"Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob." - Palm 24:3-6

Does it matter that I have unconfessed sin in my heart when I pray to God? Will He hear my prayers? Let me ask this. Can I be in the presence of God with sin in my heart? Having clean hands and a pure heart, I think means that I have dealt with the sins that so easily beset us. You know - the sins I commit everyday. 

"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it." - James 2:10

It is like washing your feet. Do you remember the story about Jesus washing the disciples feet. Frankly I think the point gets lost because we focus on the physical foot washing and not the spiritual point that Jesus was making.

"He [Jesus] came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet" - John 13:6-9

Let me say that last verse in another way, "He who has been born again does not need to wash his whole body again - only his feet." The sins that he has picked up as he traveled through the world that day.

1 John 1:9 tells us to confess our sins and God is faithful to "wash our feet".  If we are to stand clean before God - and it is the only way we can stand in His presence, then we need to wash our feet before we do. That is why I do not think that God will hear our prayers if he regards sin in our hearts. If we have dirty feet, if you will.

My point is that you should be careful that you don't minimize the significance of "small" sins. God does not wink at those sins. And neither should we. Jesus has made a way for us to enter into God's presence - but don't forget that He is holy and can have no part of sin.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone