Effective Prayer Life

Psalm 66:18

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

This verse is one of David’s psalms and it shows us one of the major hindrances to God’s willingness to hear our prayers when we harbor unconfessed sin.  Let’s draw our attention to the word “cherished.” To cherish sin means to embrace it. To love it, hold on to it, and refuse to give it up. This is vastly different from committing a sin that we regret, confess, and forsake as soon as the Holy Spirit brings it to our attention. God knows our sinful nature and He calls us to deal with all of our sin as soon as possible. 2 Peter 3:9 states, “The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” We must constantly examine our lives and see if we are harboring any unconfessed sin (hate, anger, bitterness, unforgivness, envy, strife, lust, and so on). If we are, than we should repent and ask for forgiveness as soon as we recognize it. We need to constantly examine the depths of our hearts to know what we are harboring there, which may be serperating us from God.