go back with me to the first verse Psalm 66:18 read it again if I regard iniquity in my heart notice it doesn’t say if I sin the Lord will not hear me it says if I regard iniquity in my heart in other words if I know there is a sin in my life and I’m not doing anything about it a person who regards iniquity is one who holds a particular sin in his heart and he loves it and he makes an alibi for it and he excuses it and he covers it up it is not primarily therefore the fact of sin that keeps us from getting our

prayers unanswered it is the love for it and the excusing of it that pushes God away from us the prayer God wants to hear from us when we have sin in our lives is 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness why why don’t my prayers get answered I’ve had a lot of people ask me that question there once was a pastor who had a 5-year-old daughter and the girl noticed that every time her dad stood behind the pulpit and was getting ready to preach

he would bow his head for a moment before he began to preach and the little girl noticed that he did this every single time so one day after the service the little girl went to her dad and she said dad why do you bow your head right Before You Preach your sermon well honey the preacher said I’m asking the Lord to help me preach A good sermon and the little girl looked up at her father and asked then how come he doesn’t do it unanswered prayer everybody who knows anything about prayer and prays has a little different take on it and here’s a young

lady who’s a teenager here’s what her thoughts are on prayer she said God answers prayer four ways yes no wait a while and you’ve got to be kidding which tells you some of the things she asked for that she didn’t get I remember years ago I read a story about a man who was being pursued by a roaring hungry lion feeling the beast’s hot breath on his neck and knowing his time was short he began to pray as he ran he cried out in desperation oh Lord please make that lion a Christian within seconds the frightened Man became aware