What are some hindrances to a potent prayer life?

Besides opposition to the answering of prayer, there are hindrances to prayer itself.

— The prayers of husband and wife may be hindered, as is taught in 1 Peter 3:7, which should be read thus, "Ye husbands, likewise, dwell with them according to knowledge, as with a weaker, the female vessel, giving them honour, as also fellow-heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered". If the husband do not honour the wife as a co-heir of eternal life, communion in prayer must be hindered, and the effect lost of united prayer.

— James gives several moral hindrances to prayer. First, there is "double mindedness"; no real godly earnestness or definiteness of purpose. "Let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord (James 1:5-8). Second, asking amiss. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your pleasures" (James 4:3). The word "pleasures," given in the margin of the Auth. Vers., is correct. It is not "lusts," but "pleasures" and that, not necessarily bad pleasures. What is contemplated is self-pleasing, the mere desire of the natural mind; God's glory or our own spiritual profit, not considered at all; and God's people (see succeeding verse) living in friendship with the world, which is, spiritually, adultery.

Attention to this injunction is the more needful for the reason given, "that your prayers be not hindered." It is pre-supposed that husband and wife will habitually unite in prayer; and hence the warning is, that any failure in the husband to give honour unto his wife will tend to disturb harmony of feeling, and thus to hinder prayer. It were well if all Christian husbands and wives would often ponder these words. For in the activities of this present time there is great danger of neglecting this united prayer; and the slightest disturbance of concord will ever tempt them to neglect it the more. Satan knows this, and hence he ever seeks to cloud over the peace of these relationships; for he does not forget that it is impossible for husband and wife to go together to the throne of grace when there is the smallest discord in their hearts. The husband must watch against this snare, remembering the importance of their prayers not being hindered. For how many things are there constantly occurring in every family which need to be spread out before God! And how blessed it is when husband and wife can go together, with one heart, concerning every difficulty and perplexity, to the throne of grace!

Hindrances to prayer. There is an antipathy between sinning and praying. The child that has misspent the day in play abroad, steals to bed at night, for fear of a chiding from his father. Sin and prayer are such contraries, that it is impossible at one stride to step from one to another.

Another method Satan has to make the Christian put off prayer is some worldly business that is to be dispatched. Take heed of overcharging thyself with worldly business, which is done when thou graspest more thereof than will consist with thy Christian calling. God allows thee to give to the world that which is the world's, but He will not suffer thee to pay the world that which is due to Him. We could not easily want time to pray, if our hearts would but persuade our heads to devise and study how our other affairs might be disposed of without prejudice to our devotions. That cloth which a bungler thinks too little for a garment, a good workman can make one of it, and leave some for another use also. O, there is a great deal of art in cutting out time with little loss. Some look upon every minute of time spent in the closet, as lost in the shop. Does the husbandman mow the less for whetting his scythe? Doth a good grace before meat spoil the dinner? No: nor doth prayer hinder the Christian either in his employments or enjoyments, but expedites the one, and sanctifies the other. "Acknowledge God in all thy ways, and lean not to thy own understanding."

Verse 8 then brings before us that which is to characterize Christian men, and verses 9 to 15 that which is to characterize Christian women. The men are to be marked by holiness and the absence of anger and doubting, or "reasoning" as it more literally is. But then the reasoner usually becomes a doubter so that there is not much difference between the two words. Any breakdown in holiness, any allowance of anger or reasoning is an effectual barrier to effectual prayer, and indicates that there is but little sense of the presence of God.

From these passages, and many more of like imports we learn that, in order to have effectual prayer, there must be an obedient heart, an upright mind, a good conscience. If the soul be not in communion with God — if it be not abiding in Christ — if it be not ruled by His holy commandments — if the eye be not single, how could we possibly look for answers to our prayers? How could God, as a holy Father, grant such petitions? Impossible. We should, as the apostle James says, be "asking amiss, that we may consume it upon our lusts."

I have thought that a few plain and simple words on some of the hindrances to prayer may, with the Lord's blessing, be of some help to you. The invitations and exhortations to prayer in the word of God are so frequent that it is quite unnecessary for me to commence by showing that there is no hindrance on God's side. If therefore you fail to pray, as a young believer, you ought to allow that the fault lies entirely with yourself. You have permitted something to rob you of this privilege.

Now one of the commonest states of soul of those who go on day after day without prayer, or without anything more than a hurried word or two, is that of want of desire. They do not pray because they do not feel they have anything particular for which to pray. This is a serious condition of soul. It is so much like the degraded church in Laodicea, which said, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." And to have need of nothing is to have nothing, in a spiritual sense. For prayerlessness means powerlessness, and this ends in Christlessness.

Hence, the want of power and efficacy in our prayers — hence, the formality — the routine — yea, the positive hypocrisy. The Psalmist says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." How solemn this is! Our God will have reality; He desires truth in the inward parts. He, blessed be His name, is real with us, and He will have us real with Him. He will have us coming before Him as we really are, and with what we really want.

If you come to look at the promises you will find that there is not one to unbelief. Doubt is no harmless kind of diffidence; it is actually sinful. Indeed I am afraid it often goes further than mere timidity — it is downright unbelief; and this will always hinder prayer. Have we not the words of James? "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." He must have no uncertain feeling about it. How solemn! How calculated to make us ask, "Have I really believed His promises and acted upon them?" If God, in His condescending grace, deigns to give us promises, surely it is not unreasonable to expect us to believe them. Should we not take it as an insult if our word were doubted? If God, the God of truth, pledges us His word, we should believe it to be unmixed truth. A single doubt intruding will mar the prayer. On the other hand the promises to faith are larger than you can conceive. "All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Have you ever got to this? — that when you have prayed, you believe that your prayer is heard, and you can accordingly give thanks, awaiting the answer in God's good time.

(Vv. 6-8). The need that turns us to God becomes the occasion for developing our faith. So we are exhorted, not only to “ask of God”, but also to “ask in faith”, nothing doubting. In looking to God we are to count upon an answer to our prayers. To doubt that God will answer, in His own time and way, would prove that our minds are “like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” The wave is exposed to winds from every quarter. We are not to allow our prayers to be influenced by the difficulty of the circumstances or the strength of opposing evil, but in simple faith we look to the One who is above all opposing influences of evil — One, indeed, who can walk upon the waves and calm the storm. He alone can give us the wisdom to act according to His will. Our prayers to God may often be hindered by the unbelief that looks at the circumstances. With a double mind we shall be unstable in all our ways, being driven one way or another as the circumstances appear favourable or unfavourable.