God Breaks Down the Barriers

The story is told of a young father in a supermarket pushing a shopping with his little son, who is strapped in the front. The little boy is fussing, irritable, and crying. The other shoppers give the pair a wide berth because the child is trying to reach out and grab items of the shelf to throw them. The father, though, seems very calm. As he continues down the aisles, he murmurs gently: "Easy now, Donald. Keep calm, Donald. Steady, boy. It's all right, Donald." A mother who is passing by is greatly impressed by this young father's attitude. She says, "You certainly know how to talk to an upset child." And then the woman turns to the little boy and says, "What seems to be the trouble, Donald?"

"Oh no," the father says to her. "He's Henry, I'm Donald."

It's been noted that Amish children never scream or yell, even on the playground. A writer doing research asked the Amish schoolmaster why this was so. The schoolmaster replied, "Well, have you ever heard an Amish adult yell?"

In this respect, God is Amish. The Lord of the Universe is not used to yelling to be heard and obeyed. His word runs swiftly and accomplishes his purpose with ease.


"He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes." Psalm 147.15-16

He speaks to the fig tree, be cursed, and the tree withers. Jesus is used to his word being obeyed. It’s his word. It’s his universe.

One time Jesus encountered a Roman Centurion who had a servant who was very ill. The centurion sent word to Jesus, asking if he would come and heal the man. But when Jesus was still a ways from his home, the centurion again sent word and said, "Don't trouble yourself, Master, if you just give the command I know my servant will be healed."

Jesus was amazed at such trust and faith in his word and power. Jesus said, "I've not found faith like this even in Israel."

Great faith, like great power, is recognized by the ease of its working. This Roman soldier had complete trust in Jesus. The centurion was used to speaking words of command that would be immediately obeyed. So he was completely willing to believe that another person of authority could accomplish great things. The centurion believed in that kind of universe.





This morning I want to focus on the power of asking. We talked about this a bit last week. These are the prayers of supplication. If we are going to pray these prayers, “Please God help. . .” then we better believe that He will help. We better believe that God can and will move the mountain.

Bill Hybels puts it this way:

“Faith comes by looking at God, not at the mountain.”

So whatever the mountains are in your life, you know them. You know what they are and where they are. You don’t have to fixate on them. You need to turn your eyes upon Jesus. When we fix our eyes upon Jesus God gives us faith to pray and pray with power.

“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

This is a remarkable statement, almost an unbelievable statement, unless you believe in God. Unless, like the snow and the rain, the oceans and the fig tree, you hear God’s word, believe it, and obey it.

When we are praying through the mountains in our lives, there are often mole hills of our own, barriers to prayer that get in the way. We mentioned one of the them last week, the tyranny of the visible. Hybels suggests some other barriers to prayer, or prayer busters.

Prayer Busters

Everything But Prayer The most common barrier to our prayers is prayerlessness. There is always a great danger in us talking about prayer more than we actually pray. You know, telling someone you’ll pray for them and not actually getting around to doing it. Hitting a prayer before a meal or a quick one on the way to work, but not spending significant time alone with God. There is room for these kinds of prayers prayed on the run. But if this is the only kind of praying we do then our prayer lives become irregular and ineffective.

Our aim is that our praying becomes intentional and intensive. This is the kind of praying that expects a response and gets a response.

Unconfessed Sin is a big barrier to our prayers. Sin damages relationships with others and with God.

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59.2

Before we come to the Lord’s Table together we are commanded to unburden ourselves of any sins we have against our brothers and sisters. We are told to “go first” to them and ask for forgiveness, then, we can go together to the Table.



Unresolved Relational Conflict This may in fact be one of the big mountains to which you are praying. Your heart may be broken by a relationship that you have prayed and cried over for years. But there may also be something you need to do for that relationship before God will do what He’s going to do.

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” 1 John 2.9

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12.18

Selfishness and Uncaring Attitudes

“When you ask you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4.3

There are prayers that are simply inappropriate because they are selfish. God make me rich. God hurt that person for me. God make it so I will never have any hardship. These are the prayers that a loving God will never grant, because they are not what’s best for us and for the world. There are some things that God will not bless even if we pray a hundred times, a thousand times for it.

God wants to widen our hearts to see the needs of others and hear the cries of the poor and needy. I had a professor in seminary that used to say God has a preference for the poor. And one need only to carefully read scripture to see the heart of God for the humble and poor.

Here is a good prayer for us: “Lord, help me to care about the things you care about. Lord, help me to care for the least of the world, whom you love so dearly.”

The final and perhaps biggest prayer buster is ourselves and our

Lack of Faith and Trust

In one sense, we are all control freaks. We want to remove all uncertainty from our lives. But in God’s world, trusting is better than controlling.

John Ortberg uses as an example The Stepford Wives. Have you seen this movie? The wives in Stepford are systematically replaced by robots that look exactly like them. The husbands can count on precisely the behavior they want from their cyber-spouses. No uncertainty. No frustration. No need for trust.

But, if you are a man, would you really want a woman who always dressed up for you, always fixed the food you wanted, always cleaned up after you, always agreed with whatever you said, always devoted herself to your pleasure with no will of her own?
(The correct response here would be “No.”)

Stepford is a nightmare community because trust is absent, and trust is the only way that loving persons relate. Trust is a gift that you give to someone. Trust is what holds relationships together. This is reflected in our language - Universities and other organizations have boards of trustees, people to whom the well-being of the community is entrusted. Parents may put money for their children in a trust fund. Then your children trust that you will die on time so that they can get your money.

We don’t call these things control funds. We don’t appoint boards of control. Although sometimes people think that is what they are. Trust and control are two different things.


Uncertainty can be a gift to us. If nothing else uncertainty asks us to trust and have faith

The writer of Hebrews says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11.6

Without faith it is impossible to please anyone. Try making a friend without faith. Try getting married without faith. Try raising a child without learning about trust. Uncertainty is a wonderful reminder of that nagging little detail I often forget, which is that I am not God.

Say that to your neighbor right now, “I am not God.”

Now say, “I will trust God with my prayers.”