We are going to continue our study on the Aleph Tav. If you are new here, I recommend reading through the very first post on this subject called, Jesus is the Aleph Tav. It will give you a great foundation for all the other posts in this series. 

We started this series on the myths of prayer. We are going to continue our journey in discussing myths some people believe regarding prayer. 

Myth 3

Myth: God doesn’t usually answer prayers immediately. 

Truth: God’s timing is not our timing, but it’s always perfect. Yes, sometimes it feels like an eternity before God actually answers our prayers. Other times we see prayers answered immediately. 

When it feels like God is taking a long time to answer you, do not give up. Do not lose hope. This waiting is an invitation by God for closer intimacy. 

Maybe, just maybe, God wants to teach you something, or maybe there is someone who needs your time and attention before your prayer is answered. 

Again, I have experienced this in my life. When it took a whole year for Brett to get a job, it was an invitation for learning and deeper dependency and intimacy with God. 

Myth 4 

Myth: If you don’t pray powerfully, it’s because you are not convicted enough about our sin. 

This was actually in a teaching I recently heard. I nearly fell out of my seat! In this sermon the woman said this, “If we want to pray powerfully, we need to get so convicted of our sin, get so unbearably uncomfortable with it, get to a point where we can no longer stand it, and then we will pray to the point where comfort doesn’t matter anymore. We just have to get rid of this sin.”

Truth: It is true that sin separates you from God. It can make it very difficult to hear God’s voice. Remember that sin can not be in the presence of God without burning up and dying. 

So when we have sin in our life, we can feel like we are a million miles away from God. 

The truth is God is always there. He is as close as you are to yourself. If you are one with Christ, then he is also one with you. You can not be one and have separation. 

The truth is that we are dead to sin, and made into a new creation:

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

You can not be both the old man and the new man at the same time. You can not be identified as both a saint and a sinner. 

Does this mean you will never sin once you become a Christian? By no means! Of course you will sin, but that is no longer what defines you. You are defined as a child of God, holy and blameless. 

If you find yourself habitually sinning, I suggest you go get some inner healing. It may be that one of your broken parts is crying out for help in the only way they know how. You can also check what you are spending your time listening to, watching, and the places you are choosing to hang out at. Fill your mind and time with the things of God, and sin will have to leave. Remember sin can’t be in the presence of God. 

This concludes our look at myths in prayer. Next week we are going to dive into a study of Elijah and how prayer was a part of his life. 

Part 1