In Proverbs 28:9
there is an interesting statement about God and man’s prayer:
“One who turns
away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an
abomination.” Does
this mean there actually can come a time when God refuses to hear the
prayer of
man? He, himself, tells us that this is true. When, though, will he
refuse to
hear a prayer? When one turns away from hearing God’s law?
“Because I have
called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one
regarded…Then they
will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently,
but they
will not find me” (Proverbs 1:24-28).
Today, we hear men
urge others to “call upon the name
of the Lord” by saying something they call “the
sinners prayer.” Those who make
those exhortations, and those who follow such pleas, have turned away
from
hearing God’s Word. Such a prayer will not be answered; it is
an abomination to
God. Listen to God through his Word; obey it from the heart. Then, he
will hear
your prayer.
Keeping the Heart
By Ernest S. Underwood
In biblical terminology the heart and the mind or
intellect are closely connected. If the heart is pure, the words, deeds and
entire life will be pure. If we think on pure, honorable and lovely things, our
life will become pure, honorable and lovely. “As a man thinks in his heart, so
is he.” Each of us should emphasize the cleanliness of the inner life. This can
be done as we meditate upon God’s Word.
The coarse, vulgar and profane life does not make one
“cool,” “manly” or whatever the other descriptions that the media gives to such
speech and actions. It simply makes one coarse, vulgar, profane and stupid. One
who cannot express himself without using such speech and actions needs to go
back to school to learn the basics.
