Chapter nine was fresh in my mind because I used the story of the man blind from birth that Jesus healed in a recent sermon. So as I read the chapter this time, I asked the Holy Spirit to make the words fresh in my heart and to speak to me about something other than what I had discussed in that sermon. God answered my prayer and I want to talk about two things.
1) The relationship between holiness and prayer. In verse 31 man Jesus healed says to the religious leaders that “God does not hear sinners” when they pray. He adds that God hears those who are “God-fearing and does His will.” Does this mean God does not hear the prayer of anyone who is not saved? Does it mean if there is sin in my life as a believer, God does not hear my prayer?
Let me start with a short answer. God hears every prayer – in the sense that He is aware of them and literally hears them. The real question is, “Does He answer them?”
The context for verse 31 is the fact that the religious leaders were claiming Jesus was a fraud and therefore He could not have healed the man (verse 16, 24) because God did not use imposters to perform such miracles. The blind man that Jesus healed is saying Jesus is the one who healed him and therefore Jesus must be from God because no one could do this if he were not from God (verses 32-33). The meaning of verse 31 is that no one who is a sinner – in the sense of being a fraud – will be heard by God when he asks God to perform a miracle.
This still leaves us with the question of the effect sin has on our prayers. The short answer is that sin does hinder our prayers. A quick read of Psalm 66:18, Jeremiah 11:11 and Ezekiel 8:18 demonstrate there are times when God chooses to not listen to our prayers because of sin in our lives. This does not mean He does not literally hear them – it means He chooses to not answer them the way we want. It’s similar to when you or I say to someone “I’m not going to listen to you” or “I don’t want to hear from you right now.” They may still speak and we literally hear their words, but we are not going to respond to them or really pay any attention to what they say.
As a follower of Jesus it is important that we confess our sin as soon as the Holy Spirit makes us aware of it. “Big” sins and “little” sins need to be confessed. Any sin can make our prayer life less effective.
Notice that in verse 31 we’re told that being a person who is “God-fearing and does His will” has a positive impact on our prayer life. That makes sense. Such disciples are more likely to pray in keeping with God’s will and purpose (James 4:3; 5:16).
2) The relationship between faith and worship. In verse 35-38 the blind man Jesus healed personally confesses to Jesus that he does have faith in Jesus. After making this confession, the man “worshiped” Jesus (verse 38). A genuine relationship with Jesus will always result in our worshiping Jesus. Something is amiss when a person says they believe in Jesus but they never worship Him. Genuine faith changes a person’s life, heart, and outlook on life. Part of that change involves a hunger to love and worship Jesus.
If your desire to worship is less than it used to be, you need to evaluate your walk with Jesus. If you miss church almost as much you attend church, you need to ask yourself some hard questions about your walk with Jesus.
What we do during the week and on Sunday morning before leaving the house makes a difference in our worship experience. Daily Bible reading and prayer keep us in touch with Jesus and make worship on Sundays better. Also important is preparing our hearts at home on Sunday morning. Get your clothes, Bible, tithe, etc ready on Saturday – especially if you have children. It makes Sunday morning less hectic. Get up early – allow yourself plenty of time so you won’t feel rushed. Listen to worship music while you get ready. Focus your heart and mind on Jesus at home – you’ll be surprise how much this will help.
Pastor Steve Hogg
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