Ineffective Prayer
When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Isaiah 1:15 ESV
I will not listen – We are often told that God hears all prayers, but the Bible says otherwise. Just as one must show himself worthy of forgiveness by demonstrating forgiveness once received, so one must show himself worthy of being heard in prayer by living a life honorable to the One addressed in prayer. Heschel’s insight applies. Prayer is our attempt to make ourselves God’s concern. Therefore, Isaiah tells us that God will not allow those who dishonor Him in their actions the privilege of standing before the Throne of the King.
“I will not listen” is the Hebrew ‘enenni shomea’. The first word combines ani (“I”) with ‘ayin, a word signifying a negative construct whose translation depends on context. It can cover the range from “neither,” “never,” “no,” and “not” to “nothing,” “without” and “nowhere.” In this context, it is a strong assertion of personal denial. “I will not listen,” says YHWH. The verb is shama’. The implication is not simply that YHWH will not hear (that He chooses not to be aware of the audible cry), but also, and perhaps more importantly, He will not respond. Shama’ is both “hear” and “obey.” Applied to the Lord, it essentially means that He will neither listen to these prayers nor will He be moved to action as a result of them. The person who prays in this condition does not access the God of the universe because the God of the universe shows no regard for such a person.
Who is this pathetic creature who cries out to a leaden sky? It is the man whose hands are full of blood. Hands full of blood can be physical or spiritual. It is the man who violates God’s sanctity of life. It is the man who disregards the Owner of life itself, who acts of his own accord concerning the created order. It is not simply the murderer or the savage. “Hands full of blood” describes those who care nothing for the ordinances of the King because they usurp His authority in their interactions with others. They play God, and when they come to the place where they need the true God, He is no longer available to them.
Isaiah’s revelation is chilling. But it is no less chilling than Paul’s similar declaration in Romans 1. There are men and women who have stepped beyond the pale. God has given them up to their own rebelliousness. He will not listen. He has made a conscious choice not to be moved by their pleas and concerns. Whatever spiritual assets they once had have been spent and their accounts are empty. For them, prayer is futility. There are perhaps two biblical statements that should cause each of us to tremble at the fragility of our status with the Creator. This is certainly one of them. The other is just as devastating. “Depart from Me. I never knew you.”
Topical Index: not listen, prayer, ‘enenni shomea’, shama’, Isaiah 1:15
“having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”
IF!
Jesus spoke to the issue of listened to and answered prayer
with a singular sentence to His disciples that began with a huge
IF!
It’s found in Jn 15:7. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire and it shall be done
for you.”
IF!
We all need to be reminded of the IF!
Good point, Rich.
It has been frustrating dealing with some teachings on this verse. eav, the Greek conjunction/conditional particle for the English translated “if”, is just that, as you pointed out, conditional.
IF-that is, something will be true depending on something else being actively done, not just thought about but evidenced in reality, that is, abiding in Yeshua.
ABIDE-entails living in, residing in, obeying, acting as Yeshua would and did. It is shema, hearing audibly and then taking action by doing it, not just pontificating regarding it.
YOU-that means I, me, myself must take action, not just engage in some theological discussion or dissertation. Something must be done and I must do it.
IN ME-it isn’t just some quality or form of life that I decide and choose, it’s HIS life that I must follow in action, mimicking all that HE does. I don’t choose the path, HE does.
HIS WORDS-Yeshua was following and obeying His Father’s directives, heart, desires, instructions. IF we follow in the words, the life, the example of Yeshua we are surely following in the Father’s delight because Yeshua did. We gather dust that comes off Yeshua’s shoes by stepping in the very steps HE took, we will find ourselves in the delight of our Father as well.
Skip points out a shuddering observation. There is something substantial in the NOT abiding in Him or His words! During most of my SBC upbringing this aspect was simply but significantly swept under the rug continually. It was minimized being covered by the grace of God. “Don’t worry, he will forgive you.”
The tangible result was a trivial outlook regarding obedience. Yeah, obedience IS important, but no big deal, really. After all, He WILL forgive. God’s instructions tended to become suggestions and minimized. It took on the flavor of legalism which was surely to be avoided at all costs. The thought was we didn’t serve a God of law but of grace.
While grace is certainly encapsulated in chesed, the call to obligatory holiness and obedience was lost in the balance somewhere to become practically ineffective.
Fear of God became non-existent. A fear that I and possibly many others fail to realize in daily living.
May I consider, realize and respect this healthy and life giving fear of Elohim daily. His grace walks with his might, power and awesomeness. Nothing to treat lightly.
All that you say is true – and makes me even more frightened.
Well said comes back to my point awhile back Yaweh is an If, Then if you obey, then .
Hi Michael,
I spent some time in the SBC too. I heard the term cheap grace many times and I have begun to wonder if they realize that is what they teach?
Obedience to Y-H’s word is not emphasized as a whole. The preachers (not just SBC) pick and choose what to highlight and I think you hit the nail on the head. We lose our fear of God and scripture says clearly that to fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. How is that so hard to grasp?
I am struck over and over in these times how much we humans rely on ourselves for so very much. It is actually a struggle to depend wholly on Y-H as the Greek reject that completely. Self made man. What a statement!
I really appreciate the fact that in Hebrew there is action as you stated above. Greek’s seem to live a lot in their heads and never seem to move their feet! I can relate unfortunately.
This has been like a new lease on life to me to understand the call for action when I hear truth apart from the same old paradigm that has been my life.
I have no desire to run back to the box that I was freed from! I do need much help to see what is right but I am learning and moving forward-praise God!
There are only two masters and one cannot serve both. It is pretty simple and clear how one must proceed but I too wonder if I am classified as an evildoer when I chose otherwise?
Scares me to death.
Does Y-H offer do-overs? 🙂
Does Y-H offer do-overs? 🙂
It’s His specialty!! 🙂
Hi Rich. It seems to me Yashuah is saying that if his commands are respected and adheared to then he will listen to that persons prayers.How is it that so many famous preachers(that claim the law has been done away with)claim to experience miricals when they pray for things?Does he work with what he has?Or are they simply fooling themselves?
Eye of the beholder
Good question, Brian.
I wish I had the ultimate answer.
It seems man is always mis-construing God’s Word.
But God is always God!
He does what He does for reasons that are His.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.”
If He was willing to sacrifice His Son, who’s to say
whether He’d answer a prayer of a mis-quided soul
in order to bring him to salvation.
God only knows.
This Scripture forces me to look at my own life and consider if I am where God wants me to be in Faith and practice.
Here’s a couple of issues we might consider in regards to God hearing or not hearing our prayers.
Firstly, I would suggest that this passage was most certainly addressed to a people who knew the terms of the covenant they were under. God was not speaking to a society or a person(s) who previously had no regard for Him and were moved to cry out because of their sin, (a sinner praying for salvation) nor was He speaking to a people ignorant of His will and desire for them or their responsibility toward Him.
Even a relatively quick perusal of God’s complaint against these people through Isaiah leaves one with the impression that they were willingly disobedient (even while claiming ignorance) and that every activity (except their proclamation of being God’s people) they engaged in, proved as much.
Their responsibilities were great because their blessings were great. The Kingdom precept of measure for measure truly ought to scare us enough to bring us to our knees, and the fact that we remain to discuss these things speaks volumes about the mercy of the God who called and drew us.
With all “that” said, here’s “just a bit” of the good news. The current torah portions are covering the “life and times” of Abraham, and one of the things that has always struck me concerning ole’ Abe was the expediency and urgency with which he responded to God. He always seemed in a hurry up mode to get it done, and although I’ve read the section where Abraham sent his servant to secure his son a wife any number of times, I’ve never been struck by the “returned” expediency of God’s response to the prayer offered on behalf of Abraham. “and it happened, before he had finished speaking”……measure for measure, pressed down…..Abraham’s response of love was returned with a love, even greater. I wonder if I’m as quick to forgive as quickly as I’ve been forgiven or quick to mercy or to leave the hen………..what would God do in the lives of His people, in the nation of His people, if they would only respond in loving obedience?
“if God be for us”……..?
YHWH bless you and keep you………..
I can’t remember. Where does it say? “Depart from me, I never knew you.”
Matt. 7:23; Luke 13:27 – both quoting parts of Ps. 6:8.
Equating evildoers with those who practice iniquity and those that practice lawlessness (think those that oppose obeying Torah’s instructions.)
Talk about some fear. When I willfully go against God’s Torah, His instructions for life, then I am classified as an evildoer?
It’s simple and clear.
But, unfortunately, our christian churches are simply and clearly choosing to disregard this designation.
We need help with being exposed to the clear and simple truths of Torah rather than the hierarchal power grabs being exercised excessively today.
Some will listen, others gasp and run back in to the box.
That scares me, too.