Hearts of Prayer

Mark 11:22-24

Why is it so hard to pray? We blame the devil, but is it possible our own hearts hinder us the most?

I. Condemned Hearts:

a. Many people cannot pray because of condemnation. Not from God, but from our own hearts. Because of this, we enter into a time of prayer a lot like Peter in Acts 10. We go into that secret place to pray, immediately a sheet comes down containing all the things you did wrong, all the times you failed, all these come to your mind – as if that is all God remembers. But, notice what the Lord instructed Peter to do in Acts 10:13, "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat."

b. In other words, "Be nourished, Peter. Strengthen yourself. This is a time of revelation for you." Peter insisted, "No, Lord, I can't. There’s is too much uncleanness here." Many people cannot grow in grace or lay hold of the promises of God because of self-condemnation. The Lord said, Peter, “What I have cleansed, don’t you call unclean!” When we go into prayer, we must understand that we have been cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus! We are not to call ourselves unclean anymore. In Christ, we are the righteousness of God.

II. Wrong Hearts:

a. We often struggle to pray because our desires aren’t God's. James 4:2-3, "...Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." We’re here for the purpose of glorifying the Son by making known the love of God – love that sent His Son to a cross. Christ bought the redemption, but we are to bring the reality of that redemption – the reality of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to a lost world. When we forget our purpose, with wrong hearts, we ask amiss, and prayer goes unanswered.

b. Think for a moment of what can result when we pray in line with God's desires. All throughout the Bible we have examples of God answering prayer when our hearts are aligned with His. What incredible results we see when we have a right heart!

III. Fearful Hearts:

a. Many times, we cannot pray because we are unwilling to follow the pathway that may open before us. We are afraid that God is going to ask something of us that we are not willing to do or to give up. We all tend to have a view of what our lives should be and what success is. Therefore, we are reluctant to go into the prayer closet lest God ask us to do something that is not on our agenda or out of our comfort zone. That is why churches today are filled with people who are simply using Jesus Christ to further their own agenda rather than the will of God.

b. Philip chose to obey God and left revival in Samaria for a wilderness place. It was in that desert that he experienced his greatest miracle – a man of authority from Ethiopia being brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. As we walk in obedience to the will of God and our desires are in line with His, we have the right to come into the prayer closet and say, "Lord, I need this" and suddenly we see the miraculous begin to unfold.

IV. Believing Hearts:

a. (Mark 11:23) The mountain is that which gives place and allows things that do not represent God to survive. We have the power to cast into the sea everything that feeds this powerlessness and allows unfruitfulness to define our lives. We can cast them away and expect God to replace them with what we need to glorify Him on the earth.

b. It is time to have faith in God. It is time to pray and expect the Lord to answer. What an hour for the church to rise up! What an hour to pray with boldness, despite our weaknesses, and come out with the strength of God. What an hour to have a clear mind, a clean heart, a fresh vision for the future, resources that come from God Alone. What an hour to be equipped with the fullness of the Holy Spirit!