Hindrance in Life

Scriptures: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrew 4:16)

A few weeks ago, due to a disastrous accident that involved 31 trucks and 1 car, the tunnel on the truck route on Interstate Highway 5 at Newhall pass was closed. Ever since then, a 30 minute delay minimum has been added to each trip of my commute to work.

Then, one Friday morning, on my way to work, I found the traffic eased up. I no longer had to spend at least an hour and half just to go to work. I could get to the office in less than an hour. The commute was no longer such a dreadful thing to look forward to. It was a great feeling.

This experience reminded me of our communication with our Lord God. As much as we know and understand that prayer is just like a phone call to God, we have to admit that, many times, we pray as though we are talking to air and our prayers seem to bounce right back from the ceiling above us. We long to meet God and ask Him for help, but cannot. Why? What happened?

In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8) One of the reasons why our prayers don’t seem to matter, I am convinced, is the lack of purity in our hearts. Someone used to define the purity of heart as “the absolute sincerity and openness before God and men.” When our hearts are filled with worldly desires and worries, even if God speaks to us, we cannot hear Him because, as much as we may be earnest in our pleads, we are not sincere in His ways; as much as we may long for the results we desire, we are not open to His leading; and, as much as we long to hear from Him, we are looking for replies to our prayers in all the wrong places.

Sometimes it’s not the desires, nor worries, but rather, tasks and responsibilities and, yes, even ministries that occupy our hearts. We already know what we want and are simply seeking His endorsements. We are so busy doing things and expecting results that our minds and hearts are no longer with God. It’s just like that tunnel where trucks piled up and burned so bad that the fire went on for 16 hours before anyone could even go in to check and assess the damages. When our hearts are stuffed, nothing can go through.

What should we do then? Like those cleanup crews, I think the first thing to do is to ask the Spirit to help us clean all the wreckage, garbage, burdens and whatever else in our hearts. Then we need to ask the Spirit to examine and restore our hearts so they may be pure and ready to commune and communicate with God. Psalmist knew this all too well for he pleaded for exactly a pure heart, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me….Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach the transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.” (Psalm 51:10-13)

When all hindrances are removed in our hearts, we can then “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrew 4:16) More then getting help for our needs, the Lord’s promise of enjoying His presence and communion will be true in our lives too! He is faithful! So, let us do our part and enjoy the smooth drive through life with His companionship.

Prayer Requests:
For long-distance commuters

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for making Your Throne of Grace available and accessible to us through our Lord Jesus. Help us to keep our communication channel with you clear at all time so Your blessings can flow to and through us without hindrances and so our ride with You through life can be a glorious witness that help turn sinners back to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!