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Dr Nick Ohizu-The Voice of God
Our relationship with God would be incomplete without communication.
Our communication and communion with God are defined as prayer. Prayer is the way through which we receive from God. Everyone is allowed to approach God in prayer or through prayers irrespective of their spiritual standpoint.
However, not all prayers are answered and many wonder why? There are many things that can hinder prayer like sin as described in Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” [NKJV].
Sin has the capacity to block the answers to our prayers as explained by the Psalmist, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” [Psalms 66:18 KJV].
The recommended prayer of a sinner is the prayer of repentance. God is gracious in mercy, and is willing, and ready to forgive anyone who comes to Him in sincerity and honesty. His arms are open to welcome sinners back to His fold like he did with the prodigal son. God loves sinners but hates sin and the only way to have access to him is to get rid of the sins through a prayer of repentance and seeking for forgiveness from Him.
On the other hand, sin is not the only hindrance to prayer and forgiveness from God does not automatically guarantee an answered prayer. For those who are already forgiven and maintain a good relationship with God and yet find themselves struggling to get answers to prayers, there is another aspect of forgiveness that we need to attend to; The forgiveness of one another.
In as much as God can forgive us, our inability to forgive one another has become an obstacle to many Christians. Unforgiveness has caused a lot of harm to many without them knowing. Whenever you see bitterness, you know that the underlying problem is unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.
The problem with unforgiveness is that it doesn’t hurt the unforgiven but the one that chooses to uphold, anger, bitterness and hate in their heart. Jesus told us in Mark. 11:25 “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses”[KJV].
The situation of unanswered prayers will keep hindering the blessings of many because people struggle to let Go. The requirement of the scriptures is that we forgive not necessarily because the person repented, or because we want God to answer our prayers. But because God forgave us first.
The issue of waiting for someone who offended you to repent first and ask for forgiveness before you forgive is what is expected of people who do not know God. But for those of us who are in Christ, we need to go a level higher. That higher level brings us to a place of forgiving people in advance.
That comes with the realisation and understanding that you are a walking act of forgiveness going somewhere to happen. We can only operate at this level when we recognise that if it hadn’t been for the mercy of God upon our lives, we wouldn’t even be alive today not to talk about having any kind of blessing.
Therefore, when we are struggling to get answers from heaven, when we feel that we have the right to hold a grudge, when we feel like someone deserves no mercy from us, when we feel like never letting go.
We must remember that our own sins were forgiven first and go ahead and forgive that person. The benefit is more to us than to the offender. Forgiveness is the principle of Christianity placed by God to help us understand what it feels like to be God. Imagine how many sins God had to forgive every day?
Imagine how we feel when offended by one person? Then compare it to how God feels having to deal with the sins of the entire world and yet he sent his only begotten son to die for our sins.
When next we feel like the hurt is unforgivable, remember that God is using us as an extension of his grace to that person. Forgive and let go so that our prayers will not be hindered.
Dr Nick Ohizu is the senior pastor of The Empowerment Ministries and The President of the Empowerment School of Wealth both located in Graniteside Harare. He is a successful entrepreneur with vast experience in leadership, mentorship, business and marriage consultancy with a mandate from God to change lives and bless people.
He can be contacted on 0772304917.
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