Prayer: Barriers or Breakthroughs?

When you pray, you either experience barriers or  breakthroughs.  Barriers leave you feeling frustrated, but breakthroughs leave you feeling excited, inspired and motivated. What are you experiencing in you prayer life right now?

Our Instincts Reveal our Training

⁷ But refuse and avoid irreverent legends (profane and impure and godless fictions, mere grandmothers’ tales) and silly myths, and express your disapproval of them. Train yourself toward godliness (piety),[keeping yourself spiritually fit].⁸ For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come.

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (AMP)

The Bible calls us to train ourselves to be godly. Prayer is an essential part of spiritual training. Are you in shape spiritually? How important is spiritual training to you?

 Prayer Barriers

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; ¹⁹ but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. ²⁰ Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66:18-20 (NIV)

Cherishing sins in our heart is what hinders our prayers. What sins do you cherish or love more than God?

We experience breakthrough when we sincerely admit to God the things we love more than Him, and then strive to change our hearts.

 The Influence of Prayer

¹⁶ So own up to your sins to one another and pray for one another. In the end, you may be healed. Your prayers are powerful when they are rooted in a righteous life.¹⁷ Remember Elijah? He was a man, no different from us. He prayed with great intensity asking God to withhold the rain; God answered his prayers and did not allow a single drop of rain to fall for three and a half years. ¹⁸ It did not rain until Elijah prayed again for God to open the skies, when the rain came down and the earth produced a great crop.

James 5:16-18 (The Voice)

Prayer is powerful! It has the power to influence groups of people:

Prayer influences the individual who’s praying.

Prayer influences the people being prayed for.

Prayer influences the heart of God.

Three decisions to make:

1. Make ample time to pray
2. Ask for help to learn how to pray
3. Admit to God the things you love more than Him & work to change your desires