Your Relationships Can Affect Your Prayers
By Rick Warren
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:24-25 NIV).
Nothing will hinder your prayers faster than resentment. When you hold a grudge, when you nurse an ill feeling, when you allow bitterness to grow in your life, it renders your prayers ineffective.
The Bible says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:24-25 NIV).
One of the easiest places to have resentment build up is in families. Bitterness and resentment are common experiences in family relationships. For instance, the Apostle Peter says, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect . . . so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7 NIV).
The Bible says how you treat your spouse influences your prayer life! In fact, when it lists the qualifications of a pastor and deacon, one of them is that he has to have a happy, peaceful home life. Why? Because if there is tension at home, the prayers of those church leaders will be totally ineffective, according to Scripture.
Sometimes there’s been something I’ve really wanted to talk to the Lord about in prayer, and I’ve just had an argument with my wife, Kay. I know I’ve got to get things right with Kay before God’s going to hear the prayer.
Have some of your prayers gone unanswered? Take a look at your relationships, and see where harmony needs to be restored so that your prayers are effective.
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Talk It Over
How might resentment be affecting your relationships?
Why do you think God puts so much weight on healthy, respectful relationships?
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This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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