Welcome to The Daily Platform. Our program features sermons from Chapel Services at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Every day, students are blessed by the preaching and teaching of the Bible from the University Chapel Platform. Today and tomorrow, we're featuring a sermon from the Bob Jones University 2024 Bible Conference. Dr. Jim Tillotson, President of Faith University, Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa, will be teaching us about eight hindrances to answered prayer.
Go over to 2 Thessalonians, you're right there in Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3. Paul writes, finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not faith, but the Lord is faithful who shall establish you and keep you from evil. Eight times in the New Testament, Paul asks people to pray for him.
We've just read two of them. I think prayer is vital. If you ask any missionary, what's the most important thing they ask when they go out to a church? They need financial support and they need what? Prayer support. When they write a report every month, what do they call that report? Usually they call it a prayer letter.
When they give you a card with their family on it, what do they call that? It's a prayer card. And whatever all missionaries understanding and clearly even from these passages, Paul understood it's important that we pray that the gospel goes out. How important is that to you this morning?
Do you do that? If it's true that this is needed, then it's important that we have a dynamic, powerful prayer life. The Bible says in James, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. There's some people that say they're praying for me and I'm like, big deal, you are a train wreck.
That's not super helpful. Then you meet those godly people who just come to you with a tear in their eye and they just say, I just want you to know I'm praying for you and I know God's going to hear those prayers. Three years ago I got a letter in the mail and I opened it up and it was just a three by five card and every month, January, February, March and then just ticks like you're just in groups of five.
One, two, three, slash, three, five, one, two, three, four, five. On the back I flipped it over and this person said, I made it a personal challenge to pray for you every single day this year and this was my card of accountability. I just wanted to mail it to you to let you know that I prayed for you personally every day this year. You're like, wow, that makes a difference. Do you agree with me that the source of power, God, it's always there but we're kind of like a dimmer?
If you know anything about a dimming switch, if it's all the way up then the power is high and the light is bright but if you bring the dimmer down, the power is still the same but we're limiting it. And I want to look this morning at eight hindrances to answered prayer. Eight things that the Bible says and I believe it's a comprehensive list. These are the eight things the Bible says will hinder your prayer life. I personally believe that missions is suffering, evangelism is suffering.
You know when I pastored for 18 years in Edmonton, I didn't know what was going on in other ministries but as I travel almost every weekend, I would just challenge you, most places are not evangelistic. Most Wednesday night prayer meetings, don't raise your hand but when's the last time you went to a Wednesday night prayer meeting and all the prayer requests for people to get saved? In fact, to be honest, most prayer lists don't even have one. We pray for a lot of people's health issues and not that that's wrong, we pray for a lot of other things but when's the last time you just saw people putting their hand up, I need my neighbor Joe to get saved, I'm working on Joe. I can't tell you how many baptismals I see that are storage areas.
And I personally believe this is really important. I believe if we would stop dimming God's power and God's glory, we'd be seeing what God wants to have done. In fact, you'll never find in scripture that the field is too hard. That's not the reason why people aren't getting saved, that's what people will tell you. Everyone told me when I went to Canada, they're going to bury you up there, it's a graveyard of preachers. Hey, thanks for the encouragement, that's really wonderful.
Why people say weird stuff like that, I have no idea. But we saw more people come to Christ that it wasn't that the field is too hard. You know what the Bible says the problem is? The labors are too few. But I also believe that part of our problem in prayer is that it's not as powerful as it could be.
And the problem is not the source. The problem is we're limiting what God wants to do in and through us in this area of prayer. Let's open a word of prayer as we get started this morning. The only Father I pray that as you speak to our hearts, I pray that we would respond. God we thank you for your word, we thank you for the clear teaching of it. And Lord I pray that if you speak to our hearts this morning, we'd not leave the service stirred. But God we would be willing to repent and change. And God I pray that you would do a work that only you can do. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If I ask you this morning, what's been the greatest answer to prayer you've ever seen in your life so far?
If you're taking notes you can just put that on the side. What's the greatest answer to prayer you've seen so far? Secondly, how long ago was this? Why does God answer prayer? Take your Bible and go to John 14 if you would.
John 14, Jesus is speaking. In John 14, 13 the Bible says, And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. The number one reason God answers prayer is so that he gets glory.
Prayer is God wants to be glorified. Does God want to see lost people saved? The Bible says this is why he came. He came to seek and to save those who are lost. This is what the angels announced to the shepherds. Glory to God in the highest on earth, peace, good will to men. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a what? Savior which is Christ the Lord. God wants to see people saved.
And he wants to be glorified. And I would challenge you that if it's a true answer to prayer. If you really pray and you see something happen, you will automatically give God glory. You won't think you're lucky, you won't think it just worked out that way.
Every time you talk about it, you're going to be like, wow, you won't believe what just happened. Man, I really prayed for that. I've been praying for that for weeks or months or sometimes years. And God did that. And when God answers prayer, this automatically happens. Every time you talk about it, you'll give God the credit. You'll always say, I just got to tell you what God has done. And the second reason God answers prayer is in chapter 16. Go to John 16 verse 24. Again, Jesus speaking, hitherto you've asked nothing in my name. Ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full. Number one reason God answers prayer is so that he gets the glory. Second reason is so that your joy is full.
Automatically happens. When it's a true answer to prayer, when you see God do something that there's no explanation except God did it, your joy is full. I've had the privilege of seeing a lot of this in my lifetime.
I don't have time to talk you through all those amazing experiences, but I would just challenge you. What happened in Canada? What's happening at faith? And what's happening in my personal life? There's no explanation except God answers prayer. The source is always there.
Have I dimmed the resources at times? Absolutely. I'm not preaching this message because I'm a perfect example in these eight areas, but I can tell you I work on these eight areas. Because these are eight areas the Bible says hinder your prayer life. And so does God answer prayer theologically?
Yes. The question this morning is does God answer your prayers? Not all prayers, not prayers, but prayers, not all prayers are equal. It's so fascinating when you read in James, Elijah is a man of like passions as we are and he prayed that it wouldn't rain and it didn't rain for three months. Don't raise your hand, but how many of you are in this room and I'm not putting my hand up, how many of you say, man I have a prayer life like that? But I wonder do you think a prayer life like that is possible?
I challenge you it is. You can see God do some amazing things. Students, don't go through life and see what you can do. Go through life and see what God can do in and through you.
And it will be the most exciting life you'll ever live. Let's quickly look at these hindrances to answer prayer. Number one, we don't pray.
James 4-2 the Bible says we have not because we what? We ask not. What prayer is to your spiritual life is what air is to your physical life and many of us are dying for lack of breath. Again, has someone ever come to you and said hey would you pray for this? And you said yes and you never did. And then isn't it worse when God answers that prayer and they come back to you and say thank you so much for praying. And you didn't have the guts or the courage to say actually I didn't.
But somebody did. In fact, I've done this. I've had people come and say hey would you pray for this and I've said yes and didn't pray. I can honestly say as God has worked on my heart I try really very carefully not to do that. So I don't always say yes when someone says will you pray for this. But if I say to someone I'm going to pray then I need to pray because we have not because we ask not.
What if this would prove to be the true diagnosis of the ills and disabilities of the church and the Christian today. We will never pray as we should until we see it as a necessity. Indispensable to the life we've undertaken to live and when I say prayer. If your prayer life this morning is just before you eat your food and a Wednesday night prayer list that's not a prayer life. Your prayer life better be better than a hurdle to eat your food. And if there's a lot of people that's my prayer life. I pray for my meal and maybe I make a quick prayer as I'm falling asleep at night.
But do you really talk to God? I moved to Iowa in August from the Canadian Rockies I was up in Alberta. And in Alberta you always know where you are because the Rockies are on your right. I moved to Iowa in August corn is 10 feet tall. Every state has a slogan you ever come to Iowa our slogan is fields of opportunities. I've never seen this until I moved to Iowa in August but it's it's a sea of corn.
I mean as far you don't see a tree you don't see I mean as far as you can see all you can see is corn 10 feet tall. I had a meeting when I first got there and faith was kind of in some trouble and so I'm doing all kinds of crazy things and had meetings in Minnesota. I took I-35 up I-94 across had my meeting came home I thought it was almost home. And I saw a sign on the side of the interstate I was driving on that said Sioux Falls South Dakota 30 miles. That means that instead of turning south on I-35 I drove all the way across the state of Minnesota. And you know when you see a sign like that you think the sign is wrong you know what I'm talking about. I took the first exit I said where am I. I said you're in South Dakota.
I called my wife honey I will not be home for supper tonight. She's like where are you I know you won't believe it but I'm in South Dakota. You're in a sea of corn you don't have a clue where you are.
And some of you are wondering why is he a college president. And I want to tell you you went to a farmer in Iowa and said you got to plant a field of corn that big without a tractor. You know what a farmer in Iowa would tell you that's impossible.
It's impossible you can't possibly plant a field that big without a tractor. And you know what you and I should say about living a Christian life without prayer. That's impossible but do you know how many Christians are doing it.
And I promise you it's affecting the cause of Christ. Why did Paul beg people pray for me as I'm giving the gospel. Why are missionaries sending prayer letters and prayer cards. Because they need people who pray. We have not because we ask not. We're able to take into account our losses in the realm of spiritual things as we're able to do in things financial material. But I'd undoubtedly be surprised and shocked to discover what tremendous losses we're suffering. Losses traceably solely and directly to a lack of prayer.
Number two. A hindrance to answer prayer. Unconfessed unrepentant sin. Go to Isaiah 59. Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2. For though the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is it your heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins.
Have it his face from you that he will not hear. It's not the fact of sin. We're all sinners. But it's the love for sin, a willingness to sin, an excusing of sin, a hiding of sin. You must take God's side regarding your sin. Many a good prayer cannot be answered by a holy God because of sin in the heart and the life of the one who prays.
The Bible's saying in Isaiah, it's not that I can't audibly hear you, but I'm not responding because you have sin in your life. Students, are you dealing with pornography? You know, we're great compartmentalizers and we think, well this is just this compartment. Then we come over and we pray in public. We pray, God, I need you to do all these things.
But what about this over here? Are you bitter? Are you angry? Are you a liar?
I mean, fill in the blank. The Bible says whatever sin that you're not willing to repent of. When you hear, are you giving the Gospel? God, that's a great commission.
I'm sorry I missed the message last night, but from everything I've heard this morning, it was pretty powerful and it was a good challenge out of John 4. And did you sit there last night and go, hey, that's for other people. Or is God touching you and going, man, when's the last time you shared the Gospel? When's the last time you interacted with a lost person? When's the last time you really prayed for someone to get saved?
And if you know God's speaking to you and you ignore it and you say, I'm not dealing with that, your sin is separating between you and your God and your prayer life is hindered. I work with college students where I'm at and a huge challenge for college students is pornography. If you're drinking, I can tell. It costs you money and I can tell. Drugs, it costs you money and I can tell. Gambling, it costs you money and I can tell.
Pornography, it's free and I can't tell for a long time. In fact, I personally think it's one of the things that's keeping people out of ministry. Because they're so caught up in sin, they can't feel the call of God in their life. I tell our students, you can tell us anything in the first two weeks, we will not kick you out. If we catch you later, you're going to be dismissed. I preach a message of moral purity, we have lots of students respond.
I usually end up working with a few of those guys personally. You know, a lot of college students, they think people can quit drinking because they've never had to do it. They think people can quit doing drugs because they've never had to do it. You know when you ask a college student, do you think you can quit looking at pornography and never look at it again? They're not so sure.
But students, I'm here to tell you, you can. You know what I often hear as I start working with guys through this and they start having a victory and they haven't looked at porn in a month and two months is what I often hear. Dr. Jim, my prayer life is amazing. I've never seen answered prayer like this before. Well that's because the Bible says when you're hiding sin, the Lord's not listening.
I can take you to Psalm 66 18, if you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will not hear you. This has never happened, but could you imagine if I got up in the morning and yelled and screamed at my wife. By the way, happy Valentine's Day to everyone here. Especially if my wife is watching this right now. But you can imagine if I yelled, screamed, called her name, slammed the door, went off to work, didn't text or didn't call, spent the whole day at work, walk in the door at the end of the day and walk in the door and go, hey, honey, how are you? You don't know my wife, but my wife would go, don't hey, honey, me.
I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth, you make that right from this morning. And when you get married, you'll understand this. And yet we have sin in our life and then we come to God and we want to make this great prayer, oh God, and God's like, hey, if you regard iniquity in your heart, I will not hear you.
Doesn't mean he's not hearing you audibly, it means he's not responding. Students, are you right with God? If you're hiding sin, you will never have a powerful prayer life.
You'll never see what God wants to do in and through you until you repent. And say, and I would just encourage, I tell our students, don't get good at hiding sin, get good at confessing sin. We're all sinners. It's a bad culture when we can't admit we're sinners. It's okay to admit we're sinners and we got to work on it. Don't go through your college years getting good at hiding sin and go out into a ministry someday and blow it up.
Or get married someday and blow it up. Because you didn't deal with what God was speaking you about 18 to 22. Number three, not in the word of God. John 15 7.
John chapter 15 verse 7, Jesus is speaking. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Go back to Proverbs 28 9. Proverbs 28 verse 9. The Bible says he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. I didn't put that in your Bible last night. That word abomination is God's strongest word of hate. I could take you to Proverbs 6. These six things that the Lord hate, A7 are an abomination. The Bible says when you turn your ear away from the hearing of the word of God, your prayer is an abomination.
I think there's lots of ways we do this. I think we turn our ear away when we know God spoke to us and we don't respond. When we hear a sermon and we know God puts, I don't know if you ever go to a mall, I hate malls. If I go to a mall I only want to go to one store. So when I go in a mall I'm finding the directory and what am I looking for when I find the directory? You see that red dot and the red dot is going to say what?
You are here. I've never argued with that. And sometimes you're going to be in a sermon and God's going to put his finger on your heart and say you are here and no one else knows. But you and God know and you know God spoke to you and you walk out of that service and don't respond.
You walk out of that service so you don't work on changing. You know that you were wrong, you know that God spoke to you and you're just like I'm not doing that. Then God says your prayer life is hindered. If you turn your ear away from hearing the word of God, your prayer life is hindered. Secondly, if you're not reading the Bible.
This is college students. None of you are lacking the ability to read. I wonder how many of you could put your hand up and say I've read my Bible every day for the last month. I wonder how many could put your hand and say I've read my Bible every day for the last year. I'm passionate about this and I remember in my church in Canada I was letting it rip and I just said if you're not reading the Bible every day you're in sin. Someone came up to me after the service and said pastor what did Paul do when he was in the water for 24 hours?
That's a good question. I think he skipped his devotions that day and I think that was okay. I understand there may be some reasons why you miss a day or two but is that a pattern? Is the pattern of your life that you read your Bible every day or do you turn your ear away from it? You could hear what God's having to say but you don't read your Bible. You're not having your devotions. Your prayer life is hindered.
I think you turn your ear away from hearing the law when you sleep in church. My dad worked in construction. My dad got saved when I was five years old. He'd work hard on a Wednesday night, come into a warm building and sit down and he'd do the head bop. You know what I'm talking about?
He was trying hard. I gave our guys tons of grace on Wednesday night. I just said if you fall asleep, keep your mouth closed. Don't be back there.
That's way too distracting. But I don't feel the same way on Sunday morning. If you're up gaming until two in the morning or watching movies until two in the morning so you sleep through church, I think you're turning your ear away from the law.
You need to go to bed early enough to pay attention. You need to turn your cell phones off and your Bible on when you're in a church service. When you turn your ear away from hearing the law, the Bible says, if you're hearing Proverbs, it's an abomination. John, if my words abide in you and you abide in me, ask what you will. And I hear this often. You know, Dr. Jim, I don't read my Bible but I pray all the time. Like that's a good thing. You know what's wrong with that? The wrong person is doing all the talking.
That's not good. You need to be in the word of God so you know the will of God. Bible study and prayer should go hand in hand. If all you do is pray, it's a one-sided relationship. You're not in the word of God.
You're turning your ear away from the hearing of the law. Number four, wrong motives. Go over to James 4 verse 3. James chapter 4 verse 3, ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss that ye may consume it on your own less. Why do you pray for a husband, a wife, a job, a car?
Is it just for you? You know how often our prayers, if we analyze them, are selfish? Next time you pray, think through your prayer and just say, how much was it all about me? God, do this for me. God, do this for me.
Do this for me. And God says, if it's just for you, I'm not answering that prayer. You're asking amiss. Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss. When I grew up on a farm, I asked my dad for a horse, never got a horse.
Didn't understand that until I was the dad, right? Horses only cost you money. As a college president, I've asked my board for horsepower, right? Give me a Ford Mustang, I can get to my meetings so fast. And they have not heard my prayer.
That's just asking amiss. And as a pastor, I always did the pre-marriage counseling and I always loved that, you know, they come in and like, why do you want to get married? Well, we can just serve the Lord better together. That's true, but you're such a liar. I was just waiting for the guy to come in, why do you want to get married?
Because she's hot. Finally, an honest guy. But you know what is true? You can serve the Lord better together. And you say, you know what, we both have a heart for ministry.
I can tell you this goes both ways. I've seen people, a girl and a guy, God called them to ministry, but then they married someone who took them out of ministry. And when you're praying for a husband, a wife, a job, a car, are you praying so that God can use you? That God can use your car? God, give me a car so that I can get out in the community and reach lost people. God, give me a car so I can bring people to church. God, give me a house so we can invite people into our home and share the gospel with them.
Or is it just for you? If it's just for you, your prayer life is in their wrong motives. Number five, failure to forgive others. Go over to Mark chapter 11.
I know I'm going fast this morning, but I think they're putting the notes up there. Mark chapter 11 verse 24 and 25. Jesus speaking, therefore I say to you, what things soever you desire when you pray, believe you'll receive them and you shall have them. When you stand praying, forgive. If you have ought against any that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Bitterness is harbored hurt. Students, you're all going to get hurt. Luke 17 three, offenses will come. And when we get hurt, we have to decide are we going to forgive or are we going to get bitter?
Are we going to hang on to it? I grew up playing hockey and if you know the game of hockey, you have pads. Every good hockey player knows where the pads are and where they're not. If you're a hockey player, you wear a shin pad, covers the front of your lower leg, but there's nothing behind your lower leg. Your shoulder pads only go about here, so if you get poke checked. If you're a dirty player, where are you going to hit people? You'll be slashing behind the back of the leg and you're going to be poking them in here because there's no pads there. And if you've had enough, there's a thing in hockey called drop the gloves.
That means we're going to go into education situation. I'm going to educate you and then I'm going to spend two minutes in the sin bin. And if this guy has really been irritating you and he then wants to crush you into the boards and he's coming full speed, if you get low enough, you see a guy who's coming full speed at you and he's going to smash you into the boards and this is a great trick and it's really fun if you've had enough and you see him coming. If you go low enough, you can go low and flip him right over your shoulder.
That feels awesome. But you know what your coach wants? You do know that the goal of hockey is not to go in the sin bin.
The coach never says, guys, let's cover how to get in the penalty box. That's the goal. You know what the goal of hockey is?
Score goals. And when you've had enough, that guy's been just bugging you and irritating you and your coach says, and he's coming at you, you know what your coach wants you to do? He doesn't want you to do this.
He wants you to do this and get out of the way and let him go and then you've got a one man advantage the other way. But too many of us, we want to get even. The Bible says vengeance is mine, I will repay it.
God doesn't say it doesn't matter. God says let me take care of it. And some of you are carrying bitterness and anger from family issues, college issues, roommate issues. The Bible says if you won't forgive, then God can't forgive you.
And some of you need to let it go. And you know why forgiveness? Forgiveness is a great concept when you have to do it. I hate forgiveness when I have to do it.
And you know why we don't like it? Because it's not fair. Because if it was fair, I wouldn't have to forgive, right? The reason I have to forgive is something happened to me that wasn't right and it wasn't fair. Unfortunately, that's where we'll need to end today's sermon, which was preached by Dr. Jim Tillotson, President of Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa. Listen again tomorrow when we'll hear the conclusion of the sermon about the hindrances to answered prayer on The Daily Platform.
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