BY DAVID F. GRAY
Just as our natural body is dependent upon vital functions to exist, so our spiritual life also depends upon certain vital spiritual functions. Three main ones come to mind.
First is the eating of food without which we would soon die. God’s Word is as food for our spiritual life. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). So we must daily “devour” the Word of God.
The Holy Ghost is as blood coursing through our bodies bringing life, strength, and healing to every atom of our spiritual being. Both God’s Word and having the Holy Ghost are essentials to a victorious Christian
life. But there is still another function without which we could not exist, and that is breathing.
Prayer is as breathing to a child of God. We are told to “pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17). One must continually breathe to exist, so we must live in an atmosphere of prayer and maintain a constant spirit of devotion and dependence upon God. No Christian will long exist without a close relationship with God, which involves talking with Him. Prayer touches God, arid moves Him. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16).
Just as there are hindrances to breathing; congestion, asthma, allergies, and emphysema to name a few, so there are hindrances to prayer, and Satan tries to clog up your prayer life with these. The Bible speaks of seven main ones. Let me give them to you briefly:
1. Disobedience (Deuteronomy 1:43-45; Proverbs 28:9).
2. Secret sins (Psalm 66:18; Psalm 19:12-13).
3. Indifference, apathy (Proverbs 1:24-28).
4. Being unmerciful, unkind (Proverbs 21:13).
5. Being fickle, unstable, unsettled (James 1:6-7).
6. Being self-centered, self-indulgent (James 4:3).
7. Wrong relationships:
a. Family relationships (I Peter 3:7).
b. Relationships with others (Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 6:14-15).
Above all things I want God to hear my prayer! Cleanse your heart of these hindrances (Isaiah 1:1516); then you can come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). What a joy it is to know that there is nothing clogging the passageway to glory; that you can breathe in the oxygen of the very life of God in prayer and fellowship with Him!
THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS PUBLISHED BY FREEDOM LINE MAGAZINE, APRIL, 1996. THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY & RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.
