 Hello, this is David D. Hernandez, and you're watching Spirit Church here on the Encounter TV Network. It is absolutely possible that your prayers are being hindered. So, I want to show you from Scripture, nine obstacles that could be hindering your prayer life. But first, Stephen Moctezuma is here with me. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship. And then we're getting right into this message here. It's Stephen Moctezuma. For we trust in our God And through His unfailing love We will not be shaken We will not be shaken We will not be shaken First in our God His unfailing love I'd be shaken We will not be shaken I'd be shaken I'd be shaken I'd be shaken I'd be shaken Of our darkest We will not tremble We hope is rising like the light of darkness We will not tremble We hope is rising like the light of darkness For us He is all For we trust in our God Be shaken We will not be shaken We will not be shaken We will not be shaken Be shaken Be shaken Be shaken Be shaken And He gives grace generously. As the scriptures say, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Job chapter 35 verse 12 says, And when they cry out, God does not answer because of their pride. All throughout Scripture we see this pattern. Those who become prideful become rejected by God. If you approach the Lord And there is an unhealthy measure of pride in your life. If you approach the Lord and you're walking in stubbornness and you're walking with a hard heart That can hinder your prayers. Number two, impure motives. James chapter 4 verses 2 through 3 say, You want what you don't have so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have. But you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. Verse 3. And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong. You want only what will give you pleasure. This generation teaches jealousy and envy as a virtue. There are people in this generation who are of the mindset that they have the right to other people's things. So they are stirred by jealousy. They're stirred by envy and it produces all sorts of wickedness. But in fact, when you approach the Lord with impure motives, the prayers that you pray out of impure motives become hindered. When you pray out of jealousy, your prayers are hindered. When you pray out of envy, your prayers are hindered. Are you praying for ministry growth so that others might be saved? Or are you praying for ministry growth that you might compete against those who are doing well in ministry? Are you praying for God to bless you that you might show off the blessings? Or are you praying for God to bless you that you might be a blessing to others? The motive behind your prayer has a lot to do with whether or not God will respond to that prayer. Jealousy, envy, self-promotion, self-pleasure. These are the things that keep your prayers from being answered. Number three, mistreating your wife. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 7 says this, In the same way you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. I find it interesting here that the scripture teaches that if a man mistreats his wife, that his prayers become hindered. When Jess and I were first married, I remember we had a conversation. And in that conversation I said something to her that really hurt her. I wasn't trying to be mean. I wasn't trying to be dishonoring. I was just being very matter of fact as I sometimes am. And I didn't realize how it had affected Jessica. So I'm praying and I remember sensing like there was something not quite right while I was praying. There was something out of place, the connection that I sensed with the Lord, not that I looked to fillings at emotions, but the connection that I usually sense that flow was disrupted. So the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I had in fact been too harsh with my wife, Jessica. So the Holy Spirit led me to go back and apologize her. So I go back and I apologize to Jessica and she starts laughing. I'm thinking, Jess, I'm trying to apologize to you. Why are you laughing? She explained, well, the other day when you said that to me, it was a little harsh. I was hurt. She said, but I didn't want to make you feel guilty. I didn't want to be overbearing. I didn't want to nag you is how she worded it, which I appreciated. So she says, so instead I went and I told the Lord and then the Lord just told you. So this is why it's important, by the way, in your marriage to make sure that you're hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit to help guide you in these areas. But the main point here is simply that if you dishonor or mistreat your wife, man of God, that will hinder your prayers and that is biblical. Number four, unconfessed sin. Psalm chapter 66 verses 17 through 19 say this. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen. He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me. Verse 18, if I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Holiness matters. Righteousness matters. You sense that disconnect from God. You have trouble with doubt, with fear, with wavering. You have trouble with confusion wondering if God really is speaking to you. I'll tell you where the root is. It's in sin, unconfessed sin. When you bury your sin and when you suppress the conviction of the Holy Spirit and when you try to hide that wrongdoing from God, you're damaging your soul, your mind. You're being robbed of peace and you're being robbed of those things that God wants to give to you in the places of prayer. Unconfessed sin will block your prayers. Holiness brings favor. Number five, unforgiveness. Matthew chapter five verses 23 through 24 say this, therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your offering. Mark chapter 11 verse 25, but when you are praying first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against so that your father in heaven will forgive your sins too. So here we see in Matthew chapter five verses 23 through 24 that when you're not reconciled with your brother or sister in Christ that there's something being blocked in your worship to the Lord. And in Mark chapter 11 verse 25 we see that if you're holding unforgiveness in your heart against people for whatever it is that they did to you then that too will block your prayers. Yes, this is a real thing. Now just because some will tell you that you have the right to be angry or that you have the right to hold unforgiveness doesn't mean that the scripture teaches the same thing. I teach the hard truths and I teach sometimes things that are not very popular and sometimes the culture is enraged by the truth of the scripture and culture today has fanned the flames of bitterness. Culture has fanned the flames of indignation. They tell you that you have the right to be angry. You have the rights to hold unforgiveness when in fact this is not the case. Forgiveness is something that you must give if you want to be free and if you want your prayers to be unhindered. Bitterness will destroy you. It will poison you. It will become the lens through which you see every interaction. It will become the lens through which you see everything that plays out in your life causing you to see trouble where there is no trouble. Causing you to feel slighted when you've not been slighted. Causing you to think people are against you and no one's against you. Bitterness is a lens that blinds you and causes you to see things as they are not. And bitterness, unforgiveness will hinder your prayer. Number six, timing. God's timing. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 11 says, Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time for he has planted eternity in the human heart but even so people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. Timing is very key because when we pray we are to pray according to the will of God. When you pray according to the will of God then you're praying prayers that are powerful. Now sometimes God will will a thing at a different time than we do. In fact many times God's timing does not match with our preferred timelines. And sometimes well this might not necessarily be a hindrance to prayer. It can feel like it. We must trust the timing of God. Number seven, spiritual warfare. Daniel chapter 10 verses 10 through 13 say this, Then behold a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, Oh Daniel man of high esteem understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright for I have now been sent to you. And when he had spoken this word to me I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, Do not be afraid Daniel for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before God your words were heard and I have come in response to your words. Watch this now. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for 21 days. Then behold Michael one of the chief princes came to help me for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. There we see that spiritual warfare slowed the response. Yes, this is an actual thing. Now I want to make sure that we understand that this is quite simple to eliminate and we mustn't become superstitious or paranoid in our approach thinking that every unanswered prayer is a result of some demonic being holding it up. There is no special incantation. There is no special ritual. You simply take your authority against the demonic power. I've had people write to me Brother David someone might be putting witchcraft on me or Brother David somebody sent a demon to me or Brother David a demon is harassing me in my sleep and I get these messages and people say What do I do help me? I'm thinking you do what the Bible says to do with a word you cast it out with the word you speak against it. It's really not that complicated and I say that to your encouragement I'm not trying to condescend to anyone it's just an encouragement that you might break free from that paranoia that superstitious thought pattern that tells you that there are certain things you must do in a certain way in order to be rid of a demon. No, it's very simple. The Holy Spirit in you has given you authority and when you pray against that power it removes that hindrance to your prayers. Number eight, insincere repetitions. Matthew chapter 6 verse 7 says when you pray, don't babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. God works in response to sincerity not to system. Sometimes we treat God like he's a vending machine. We imagine that if we put in the right type of prayer that we're going to see the right response given to us. But God, as I said, does not respond to systems. He responds to sincerity. Now, number nine is doubt. James chapter 1 verse 6 says but when you ask him be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver. For a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. You approach God with faith knowing that his promises never fail. If we approach God wavering wondering if he will or will not do it wondering if he can or cannot do it then that doubt will hinder prayer. That doubt will hinder your ability to pray with faith. When we approach God we should approach him with reverence but also with confidence knowing that what I bring to him is not impossible for him. I really do believe that sometimes we get stuck in old mindsets and religious mindsets and we imagine that God has the same limitations that we do. No, when you go to pray pray with faith unwavering, boldly pray and do not be tossed to and fro. Stand firm, pray in faith and believe that God will move. So, nine handerances to prayer. Number one, pride. Number two, impure motives. Number three, mistreating your wife. Number four, unconfessed sin. Number five, unforgiveness. Number six, timing. Number seven, spiritual warfare. Number eight, insincere repetitions and number nine, doubt. Now I want to pray that the Lord would begin to cause you to have discernment in this area. That you might discern what is hindering your prayer life. Father, in the name of Jesus remove the scales from their eyes and cause them to see with the eyes of the spirit I pray. Let them see with perfect clarity into that realm. And in the name of Jesus I pray that these hindrances might be exposed and eliminated. We pray this with perfect faith and I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Well, that is it for the lesson. I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you and we are praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it. If you'd like information on how you can join the spirit family go to davidhernandezministries.com slash spirit church. You'll scroll down just a little bit. You'll see a form, fill it out absolutely free and you'll start getting emails from us with content that will help you to grow spiritually. Now to your comments and these comments come from last week's teaching how to spend more time in prayer. If you're someone who wants to develop a lifestyle of prayer but you've been experiencing inconsistency in that area then you're definitely going to want to go and watch this teaching. It's going to bless your life and it's going to show you the two kinds of prayer that are necessary in order to develop a lifestyle of prayer. And while you're at it be sure to subscribe click the notification bell so that you can receive notifications when we release new content and connect with us on all our social media platforms. While you're at it leave a comment in the comment section and I may read your comment on next week's edition of Spirit Church. So here are the comments from how to spend more time in prayer. Smita Sona writes, what a beautiful work of Holy Spirit. The Lord taught me these two kinds of prayer last week but I lacked the terms. Thanks brother David. God bless and all glory to God alone. Brother Stephen, thanks for such an anointed and soothing song. God bless you abundantly. Sonia Rose Lyle writes, the point that spoke to me the most, we must set the time and place to talk with God. Recently I have enjoyed setting aside time and place to talk with God. The times of intentional prayer have brought so much spiritual depth in my relationship with God. Jackie Fazio writes, brother David, your timing on this teaching is so divine. It's exactly what I needed. I am so thankful for what God is saying through you to God be all the praise and glory. Well the timing is there because it's the Holy Spirit's channel. He does as he wishes through this broadcast. And the final commenter, Vidya Grace writes, Pastor David, this is a much needed revelation. I've been watching each and every single video on prayer and the Holy Spirit. Now I enjoy spending time with the Holy Spirit. He is so good. Pastor, you are a mouthpiece of God. God has filled your voice with His words. Thank you so much for introducing the Holy Spirit in a fresh and new way. Well that is the mandate, one of the mandates that God gave to me to introduce His Holy Spirit to my generation. I want to read a verse to you, in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, beginning at, I'll read verses 10 and 11 actually. The Bible says, For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, He will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous and when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. The scripture is telling us here is very simple. God will provide resources to you that you might be a blessing to others. More specifically, that you might be a blessing to the kingdom of God by funding the gospel message. That's a promise from His Word. You see, we imagine that God blesses us just for the sake of blessing us. And while God does enjoy blessing His children, the primary purpose of blessing, financially speaking, is that we might become resource centers here on the earth to fund the gospel message. I pray that God would increase your resources, that you might become one who helps to fund the gospel. Now it's easy to look around the world at the things that are uncertain. We hear about the economy being unstable. We worry about our futures. You may not know what tomorrow holds, but you know who holds tomorrow and you can trust in His Word. It is certain. So I challenge you today. Instead of saying, God bless me and I'll give, say, God I'm going to give and trust that you'll bless me. We must step out in faith. Maybe God has blessed you with resources. Maybe you do have a stable job. Maybe your income is stable. Maybe you are not very affected by the things going on in the world that cause economic hardship. Well, good. God positioned you there for a reason. God put resources in your hand for a reason. So wherever you are on that spectrum, whether you're believing God for a miracle or you're enjoying the financial blessings of God, all of us are to do something for the gospel. And as we do, all of us become candidates for God to bless with an increase of resources. Why? So that we can fund the gospel. We don't give as a response to guilt. We don't give in response to gimmicks. We don't give because we feel guilty. We give because we love the gospel message and we want to see it go forward. So here's my challenge to you. Partner with the ministry today. Sign up as a partner to our automatic giving plan for $10 or more a month. Become a monthly supporter or give a one-time gift of any amount. Your contributions and partnerships help us to fund all of the videos you see coming out, which we give away for free. You'll fund the Holy Spirit School, which we give away for free. You'll fund all of the ministry events, which we allow free entry to. We don't charge registration. And you'll fund all of the general expenses of the ministry and help us to expand the work of God in the earth. Help us right now by going to davidhernandezministries.com either to slash partner or slash donate for a partnership or a one-time gift. Help us fight the battle for the soul of this generation and help us win souls. Do that today. Remember next month. Don't say, oh, at some point in the future, do it today. I believe God is calling you to do it. Obey the voice of the Holy Spirit and trust that God will not only meet your needs, but he'll give you the resources necessary to be a blessing to others. Well, that is it for this edition of Spirit Church here on the EncounterTV Network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God. This message was taken from my latest book, Order now at Amazon.com