Posted: 03/10/2007 at 2:37pm | IP Logged

The Right Path

A lot of people want to know why they cannot hear God. Sin separates. If there is sin in their lives, it will keep them from hearing Him.

The first prayer that He hears is one of repentance. This prayer acknowledges that He is right and they are not. This kind of praying acknowledges that He is God.

When a person comes to understand that nothing can be hidden from God, and that their righteousness is as filthy rags in comparison to God’s holiness, they will be ashamed of trying to reach Him through their own works. The Lord knows every thought they think before they even think it.

People think their sins are hidden, even from God, because they have not told anyone what they have planned. God knows everything. Nothing can be done in secret without His knowledge.

Until repentance takes place, there is a wall up between the person and God. When sins are confessed to God, a cleansing takes place. Where does a person start with God? By acknowledging that they’re a sinner. God is holy, and sin has separated them from Him. All have sinned. Unless a person has confessed and forsaken their sin, they have not yet been forgiven for it.

Only Jesus never sinned. He took sin and its penalty upon Himself when He died on the cross in our place. He was not guilty of the charges against Him.

When we accept His awesome sacrifice, and turn from our iniquities, a new life begins. We are headed in a new direction – away from sin and into true holiness and righteousness.

Some people may not know what sin is. They may not understand that what they have been doing is sin, because they see others doing it. Sin is anything that separates them from God. Examples of sin are things such as: lying, lust, greed, hatred, stubbornness, pride, fear, anxiety, worry, jealousy.

As we humble ourselves and confess our shortcomings to God, He will hear us from Heaven. God requires that we be honest. He cannot be fooled. We would be foolish if we tried to fool someone who knows everything. As we “come clean” with Him, admitting our sins, our lives will be changed.

Some people think that because they were told to simply pray a prayer, that was all it would take. No. It takes far more than a one-time event to be on the right path for all eternity. Those who enter onto the narrow path, and remain on that path, are the only ones who are promised eternal life. Few there be who find it.

Ann Doupont