If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
To regard iniquity means to cherish, hold on to, and tolerate known sin in the heart, and while it is so regarded the Lord will not hear prayer. It embraces selfishness, envy, malice, injustice, deception and unfair dealing for self-gain, and a life aligned with sin and the spirit of the world rather than unreserved confidence toward God. Cherished wrong hinders and shuts out answered prayer, separates the person from God and divorces the soul from Him, so that prayer becomes only outward lip-service and God cannot bless or let spiritual strength come. Iniquity must be put away and forsaken by true conversion, with diligent repentance, confession of wrongs, cleansing of the heart from self and sin, and close searching of motives and life. A broken and contrite heart that forsakes wrong may cry to Him with firm trust and humble dependence, looking to Jesus as mediator, and know that God has attended to the voice of prayer and has not turned away mercy.
Meaning of Regarding Iniquity
To regard iniquity is to cherish, hold on to, and tolerate known sin in the heart, and while it is so regarded the Lord will not hear prayer. God’s promises are fulfilled to those who obey His word, and partial, half-hearted obedience does not meet the condition. If even the psalmist could not be heard while regarding sin, workers who cherish iniquity cannot expect their prayers to be heard. God hears and answers His people, but He cannot bless them while they are cherishing selfishness, nor give spiritual strength while sinful practice is held onto, so every such practice must be given up. Prayer offered in that state is only outward lip-service and not sincere communion, while the prayer of a penitent, contrite person is accepted, and when known wrongs have been put right there is reason to trust God to answer. This does not mean favor is earned, for salvation rests on Jesus’ worthiness and cleansing blood, while the conditions for acceptance must still be met.
The iniquity so regarded includes selfishness, which alone keeps the Lord from hearing and blessing. It includes deeds of injustice, so that no one can commit his way to God while working them, but must search the heart through and through and cast out all evil that Christ may fill it with His righteousness. It includes a heart and life aligned with sin and the spirit of the world instead of sincere affection and unreserved confidence toward God, which alone can be in harmony with Christ. It includes character defects that conflict with the truth, harbored especially by God’s workers to the weakening of their prayers, spiritual power, and influence, requiring them to take heed to conduct and reject even the least approach to evil. It includes knowingly held envy, malice, and other sin, making worship mockery before God until the heart is searched and sin is confessed and forsaken. It includes selfish interest and unsanctified ambition leading to yielding to temptation and transgression of the commandments instead of fidelity to them, cutting off hearing and divorcing the soul from God until removed by repentance, when God forgives and cleanses and receives the broken and contrite heart with pardoning love.
It includes deception, falsehood, and unfair dealing to bring gain to self. It includes long-standing corrupt practices such as self-abuse, where the practice itself is the iniquity in the heart preventing prayer for healing from being heard. One who continues in corrupt practices while asking God for strength asks for what has been squandered in order to spend it on sinful desires and lust, and while the iniquity continues the request will not be heard or answered. It includes joining with others in an unsanctified bond to cover sins, which leaves the soul in great blindness out of the light with prayers unheard and religious experience unprospered until faults are frankly confessed and the soul is cleared from the least vestige of wrong, when the Saviour writes pardon and heals what was broken. It extends beyond the heart to wrong openly carried out in life and left without rebuke, which should receive rebuke and censure. Human fellowship, human approval, and a low standard of piety set up by self and friends do not change this, for people blind to their own condition can be satisfied with such a standard and be fellowshiped by brethren while failing entirely to reach the gospel standard set up by the divine Lord, which warns against self-deception in a fearful age.
The opposite is seen in Moses, who could stand without fear in God’s presence because his soul was in harmony with his Maker.
Why the Lord Does Not Hear
Cherished wrongdoing held in the heart hinders prayer, shuts out its answer, and prevents it from being heard, so that such prayers are of no avail and the Lord will not hear the one who prays. The heart that is not right with God cannot be heard, whether the prayer is for the sick or for blessing on labor, and earnest asking presumes no answer while sin and disobedience separate from God. Intercession must therefore rest the outcome in His hands and seek His purpose rather than insist on personal wishes or demand that He grant them. Acknowledging reproof in words without inward acceptance leaves the person unchanged and still unheard, for a thorough change is needed to turn from iniquity and remain close to God.
If even the psalmist could not be heard while regarding sin, workers who cherish iniquity cannot expect their prayers to be heard. Those who knowingly regard sin must heed their ways, because God does not hear the prayers of those who cherish iniquity in their hearts.
While iniquity is cherished God cannot bless, give spiritual strength, let strength come from heaven, or let His Spirit fall into a vessel corrupted and fouled with sinful indulgences. Holding onto selfishness, every sinful habit and practice, and deception and falsehood and unfair dealing to bring gain to self, shuts out answered prayer and keeps Him from hearing. The result is great blindness out of the light, with religious experience unprospered, weak and unsatisfied, with spiritual strength lost and influence that can be no help to the cause of God but is detrimental to associates and harms all connected with him. Joining with others in an unsanctified bond to cover sins is itself regarding iniquity in the heart, and freedom comes only by frankly clearing the soul from the least vestige of wrong, giving up every cherished sin, emptying the soul of selfishness and sin, cleansing the heart of self and hatred, and letting love for souls rule even toward those who have dealt unjustly. The remedy is decided separation from wrong influences, throwing away human supports, clinging to Jesus, being truly converted, and realizing the sanctifying influence of truth instead of acknowledging weakness and then doing the same again.
Cherishing sin cuts off hearing, separates the person from God, and divorces the soul from Him. This is seen when selfish interest and unsanctified ambition lead to yielding to temptation and transgression of the commandments instead of fidelity to them. Those who pray while helping others and laboring for neighbors must therefore walk carefully and seek Jesus' help so their prayers are not hindered. Before praying in affliction the heart should be examined, sin repented of, confessed and forsaken, for fasting and prayer accomplish nothing while the heart remains estranged through wrongdoing. The bar is removed only by repentance of transgressions, for then God forgives and cleanses from all unrighteousness, and a broken and contrite heart receives pardoning love.
Prayer offered while cherishing iniquity is only outward lip-service and formal mockery before God, not sincere communion. Worship offered while knowingly holding envy, malice, or other evil is mockery, and prayer is not accepted when it is merely formal. God hears those who seek Him sincerely, open their hearts, humble themselves, and do not exalt themselves. The heart must therefore be searched through, and sin confessed and forsaken; when this is done, a person may come to Jesus in humble faith and trust the promise that God will hear.
How Prayer Is Heard
God's promises are fulfilled to those who obey His word, and partial, half-hearted obedience does not meet the condition. No one can commit the way to God while working deeds of injustice. Answered prayer requires faithfulness in little things, true integrity in all action, remembrance that angels take cognizance of every act, and that what is meted to others will be meted again.
Iniquity must be put away and every wrong habit and indulgence forsaken. The change required is thorough, by true conversion and most diligent repentance before God, with confession of wrongs to others and frankly clearing the soul from the least vestige of wrong. The heart is to be cleansed of self, selfishness, hatred and sin, and the sanctifying influence of truth realized on heart and life, instead of acknowledging weakness and sin and then doing the same thing over again. Acknowledging reproof in words without accepting it inwardly leaves the person unchanged, and rejecting reproof hardens, weakens spiritual discernment and power, and can lead to abandoning God.
The heart and life must be closely investigated and searched through and through, with the soul laid bare, every wrong corrected, and evil entertained or sin indulged cast out that Christ may fill the heart with His righteousness. This requires deep heart-searching, earnest prayer, fasting, and stern, close self-examination of life and motives letting no act escape criticism, with self dead and the life hid with Christ in God. Fasting and prayer accomplish nothing while the heart remains estranged from God through wrongdoing. To be heard while cherishing iniquity would lead to exaltation and give Satan advantage by strengthening pride.
Prayer must be offered with firm, undeviating trust and complete confidence in God, without wavering, pressing petitions to the throne with sanctified holy boldness and always praying without fainting. True faith is strong only when self is nothing but shame, with dependence reaching forth to lay hold of Omnipotence like the publican whose prayer was heard, and not like the Pharisee whose prayer had no value. The petitioner is to be humble and give God the glory rather than claiming it for self. Prayer is to be much and constant, with heart and lips full of Jesus, looking by faith to Jesus as mediator and as Author and Finisher of faith, and beholding Him as the Lamb of God who takes away sin, and this access is freely offered yet does not remove the hindrance while sin is cherished. Earnest requests must be joined with obedience and complete confidence, leaving the matter in His hands, and when known wrongs have been put right there is reason to trust God to answer; this does not earn favor, for salvation rests on Jesus' worthiness and cleansing blood while the conditions for acceptance must still be met.
A broken and contrite heart that forsakes iniquity, repents of transgression, and comes with a true purpose to forsake every wrong may cry to Him with the mouth and be heard, be received, have mercy continued, and receive pardoning love, for God is just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness. Dying to self opens the way for heard prayer. Then the one heard knows that God has attended to the voice of prayer and has not turned away prayer nor mercy. The tongue is then employed to declare to all that fear God what He has done for the soul, bringing forth good from the treasure of the heart as fruit of the lips in praise, extolling, thanksgiving, and exalting Him, showing the blessed light to all, with love for souls ruling even toward those who dealt unjustly and dishonestly, with more prayer and affliction of soul and less talk about others, and the Saviour writes pardon and heals what was broken.
Praying for the Sick
Cherishing iniquity in the heart prevents the Lord from hearing prayer, so in praying for the sick earnest requests must be joined with obedience and complete confidence in God, leaving the matter in His hands. Lives must be examined and no one should presume that earnest requests will be answered while sin and disobedience separate from God. Before praying in affliction the heart should be examined, sin repented of, confessed, and forsaken, for fasting and prayer accomplish nothing while the heart remains estranged from God through wrongdoing.
Prayer for the sick should be intercession submitted to God's will, not demands that He grant wishes. The outcome is to be rested in His hands, seeking His purpose rather than insisting on personal wishes.
One who continues in corrupt practices while asking God for strength is asking for what has been squandered and would use the strength to serve lust, and while the iniquity continues the Lord will not hear or answer that request. Long-standing practice of self-abuse is iniquity regarded in the heart, and while it is persisted in prayer for healing will not be heard. To ask for strength while continuing to spend it on sinful desires brings no answer.
Prayer must therefore be joined with searching self-examination, confession, and putting sin away, otherwise an answer could strengthen pride and give Satan further advantage. No one should enter solemn work and offer petition until the life has been closely investigated, every wrong corrected, the soul laid bare with deep heart-searching, earnest prayer, fasting, and stern close self-examination of life and motives letting no act escape criticism, and self dead with the life hid with Christ in God, and only then can the humble petition be offered and heard. To be heard while cherishing iniquity would lead to exaltation and give Satan advantage, and answered prayer requires faithfulness in little things, true integrity in all action, remembrance that angels take cognizance of every act, and that what is meted to others will be meted again.
Hindrance to Workers and Witness
If even the psalmist could not be heard while regarding sin, workers who cherish iniquity cannot expect their prayers to be heard, and those who knowingly regard sin must heed their ways. A minister whose heart is impure and not right with God cannot expect God to work through his efforts, for a heart not right with God and a spirit not pure hinder God from working with a person's efforts. When God's workers harbor character defects that conflict with the truth, their prayers, spiritual power, and influence are weakened and hindered. They must take heed to their conduct and reject even the least approach to evil, and must first be softened and sanctified by the truth and pray humbly for God's help in the work.
Those who regard sin while praying need a thorough change to turn from iniquity and remain close to God. Acknowledging reproof in words without accepting it inwardly leaves the person unchanged, so the change must be inward and thorough. This requires examining habits by God's word and putting away every wrong habit and indulgence. Otherwise rejecting reproof hardens them, weakens spiritual discernment and power, leaves prayers of no avail, and can lead them to abandon God.
Those who pray while helping others and laboring for neighbors must walk carefully and seek Jesus' help so their prayers are not hindered and they are not separated from God. Holding onto sin in the heart stops the Lord from hearing prayer and keeps Him from giving spiritual strength, so every sinful practice and every cherished sin must be given up for prayer to be answered and divine power to be received. As long as wrong is cherished, spiritual strength is lost and a person's influence can be no help to the cause of God but is detrimental to associates and harms all who are connected with him. Unless the heart is fully in the work separation is better, and the remedy is decided separation from wrong influences, throwing away human supports, and clinging to Jesus.
To regard iniquity means to cherish, hold on to, and tolerate known sin in the heart, and while it is so regarded the Lord will not hear prayer. It embraces selfishness, envy, malice, injustice, deception and unfair dealing for self-gain, and a life aligned with sin and the spirit of the world rather than unreserved confidence toward God. Cherished wrong hinders and shuts out answered prayer, separates the person from God and divorces the soul from Him, so that prayer becomes only outward lip-service and God cannot bless or let spiritual strength come. Iniquity must be put away and forsaken by true conversion, with diligent repentance, confession of wrongs, cleansing of the heart from self and sin, and close searching of motives and life. A broken and contrite heart that forsakes wrong may cry to Him with firm trust and humble dependence, looking to Jesus as mediator, and know that God has attended to the voice of prayer and has not turned away mercy.
Meaning of Regarding Iniquity
To regard iniquity is to cherish, hold on to, and tolerate known sin in the heart, and while it is so regarded the Lord will not hear prayer. God’s promises are fulfilled to those who obey His word, and partial, half-hearted obedience does not meet the condition. If even the psalmist could not be heard while regarding sin, workers who cherish iniquity cannot expect their prayers to be heard. God hears and answers His people, but He cannot bless them while they are cherishing selfishness, nor give spiritual strength while sinful practice is held onto, so every such practice must be given up. Prayer offered in that state is only outward lip-service and not sincere communion, while the prayer of a penitent, contrite person is accepted, and when known wrongs have been put right there is reason to trust God to answer. This does not mean favor is earned, for salvation rests on Jesus’ worthiness and cleansing blood, while the conditions for acceptance must still be met.
The iniquity so regarded includes selfishness, which alone keeps the Lord from hearing and blessing. It includes deeds of injustice, so that no one can commit his way to God while working them, but must search the heart through and through and cast out all evil that Christ may fill it with His righteousness. It includes a heart and life aligned with sin and the spirit of the world instead of sincere affection and unreserved confidence toward God, which alone can be in harmony with Christ. It includes character defects that conflict with the truth, harbored especially by God’s workers to the weakening of their prayers, spiritual power, and influence, requiring them to take heed to conduct and reject even the least approach to evil. It includes knowingly held envy, malice, and other sin, making worship mockery before God until the heart is searched and sin is confessed and forsaken. It includes selfish interest and unsanctified ambition leading to yielding to temptation and transgression of the commandments instead of fidelity to them, cutting off hearing and divorcing the soul from God until removed by repentance, when God forgives and cleanses and receives the broken and contrite heart with pardoning love.
It includes deception, falsehood, and unfair dealing to bring gain to self. It includes long-standing corrupt practices such as self-abuse, where the practice itself is the iniquity in the heart preventing prayer for healing from being heard. One who continues in corrupt practices while asking God for strength asks for what has been squandered in order to spend it on sinful desires and lust, and while the iniquity continues the request will not be heard or answered. It includes joining with others in an unsanctified bond to cover sins, which leaves the soul in great blindness out of the light with prayers unheard and religious experience unprospered until faults are frankly confessed and the soul is cleared from the least vestige of wrong, when the Saviour writes pardon and heals what was broken. It extends beyond the heart to wrong openly carried out in life and left without rebuke, which should receive rebuke and censure. Human fellowship, human approval, and a low standard of piety set up by self and friends do not change this, for people blind to their own condition can be satisfied with such a standard and be fellowshiped by brethren while failing entirely to reach the gospel standard set up by the divine Lord, which warns against self-deception in a fearful age.
The opposite is seen in Moses, who could stand without fear in God’s presence because his soul was in harmony with his Maker.
Why the Lord Does Not Hear
Cherished wrongdoing held in the heart hinders prayer, shuts out its answer, and prevents it from being heard, so that such prayers are of no avail and the Lord will not hear the one who prays. The heart that is not right with God cannot be heard, whether the prayer is for the sick or for blessing on labor, and earnest asking presumes no answer while sin and disobedience separate from God. Intercession must therefore rest the outcome in His hands and seek His purpose rather than insist on personal wishes or demand that He grant them. Acknowledging reproof in words without inward acceptance leaves the person unchanged and still unheard, for a thorough change is needed to turn from iniquity and remain close to God.
If even the psalmist could not be heard while regarding sin, workers who cherish iniquity cannot expect their prayers to be heard. Those who knowingly regard sin must heed their ways, because God does not hear the prayers of those who cherish iniquity in their hearts.
While iniquity is cherished God cannot bless, give spiritual strength, let strength come from heaven, or let His Spirit fall into a vessel corrupted and fouled with sinful indulgences. Holding onto selfishness, every sinful habit and practice, and deception and falsehood and unfair dealing to bring gain to self, shuts out answered prayer and keeps Him from hearing. The result is great blindness out of the light, with religious experience unprospered, weak and unsatisfied, with spiritual strength lost and influence that can be no help to the cause of God but is detrimental to associates and harms all connected with him. Joining with others in an unsanctified bond to cover sins is itself regarding iniquity in the heart, and freedom comes only by frankly clearing the soul from the least vestige of wrong, giving up every cherished sin, emptying the soul of selfishness and sin, cleansing the heart of self and hatred, and letting love for souls rule even toward those who have dealt unjustly. The remedy is decided separation from wrong influences, throwing away human supports, clinging to Jesus, being truly converted, and realizing the sanctifying influence of truth instead of acknowledging weakness and then doing the same again.
Cherishing sin cuts off hearing, separates the person from God, and divorces the soul from Him. This is seen when selfish interest and unsanctified ambition lead to yielding to temptation and transgression of the commandments instead of fidelity to them. Those who pray while helping others and laboring for neighbors must therefore walk carefully and seek Jesus' help so their prayers are not hindered. Before praying in affliction the heart should be examined, sin repented of, confessed and forsaken, for fasting and prayer accomplish nothing while the heart remains estranged through wrongdoing. The bar is removed only by repentance of transgressions, for then God forgives and cleanses from all unrighteousness, and a broken and contrite heart receives pardoning love.
Prayer offered while cherishing iniquity is only outward lip-service and formal mockery before God, not sincere communion. Worship offered while knowingly holding envy, malice, or other evil is mockery, and prayer is not accepted when it is merely formal. God hears those who seek Him sincerely, open their hearts, humble themselves, and do not exalt themselves. The heart must therefore be searched through, and sin confessed and forsaken; when this is done, a person may come to Jesus in humble faith and trust the promise that God will hear.
How Prayer Is Heard
God's promises are fulfilled to those who obey His word, and partial, half-hearted obedience does not meet the condition. No one can commit the way to God while working deeds of injustice. Answered prayer requires faithfulness in little things, true integrity in all action, remembrance that angels take cognizance of every act, and that what is meted to others will be meted again.
Iniquity must be put away and every wrong habit and indulgence forsaken. The change required is thorough, by true conversion and most diligent repentance before God, with confession of wrongs to others and frankly clearing the soul from the least vestige of wrong. The heart is to be cleansed of self, selfishness, hatred and sin, and the sanctifying influence of truth realized on heart and life, instead of acknowledging weakness and sin and then doing the same thing over again. Acknowledging reproof in words without accepting it inwardly leaves the person unchanged, and rejecting reproof hardens, weakens spiritual discernment and power, and can lead to abandoning God.
The heart and life must be closely investigated and searched through and through, with the soul laid bare, every wrong corrected, and evil entertained or sin indulged cast out that Christ may fill the heart with His righteousness. This requires deep heart-searching, earnest prayer, fasting, and stern, close self-examination of life and motives letting no act escape criticism, with self dead and the life hid with Christ in God. Fasting and prayer accomplish nothing while the heart remains estranged from God through wrongdoing. To be heard while cherishing iniquity would lead to exaltation and give Satan advantage by strengthening pride.
Prayer must be offered with firm, undeviating trust and complete confidence in God, without wavering, pressing petitions to the throne with sanctified holy boldness and always praying without fainting. True faith is strong only when self is nothing but shame, with dependence reaching forth to lay hold of Omnipotence like the publican whose prayer was heard, and not like the Pharisee whose prayer had no value. The petitioner is to be humble and give God the glory rather than claiming it for self. Prayer is to be much and constant, with heart and lips full of Jesus, looking by faith to Jesus as mediator and as Author and Finisher of faith, and beholding Him as the Lamb of God who takes away sin, and this access is freely offered yet does not remove the hindrance while sin is cherished. Earnest requests must be joined with obedience and complete confidence, leaving the matter in His hands, and when known wrongs have been put right there is reason to trust God to answer; this does not earn favor, for salvation rests on Jesus' worthiness and cleansing blood while the conditions for acceptance must still be met.
A broken and contrite heart that forsakes iniquity, repents of transgression, and comes with a true purpose to forsake every wrong may cry to Him with the mouth and be heard, be received, have mercy continued, and receive pardoning love, for God is just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness. Dying to self opens the way for heard prayer. Then the one heard knows that God has attended to the voice of prayer and has not turned away prayer nor mercy. The tongue is then employed to declare to all that fear God what He has done for the soul, bringing forth good from the treasure of the heart as fruit of the lips in praise, extolling, thanksgiving, and exalting Him, showing the blessed light to all, with love for souls ruling even toward those who dealt unjustly and dishonestly, with more prayer and affliction of soul and less talk about others, and the Saviour writes pardon and heals what was broken.
Praying for the Sick
Cherishing iniquity in the heart prevents the Lord from hearing prayer, so in praying for the sick earnest requests must be joined with obedience and complete confidence in God, leaving the matter in His hands. Lives must be examined and no one should presume that earnest requests will be answered while sin and disobedience separate from God. Before praying in affliction the heart should be examined, sin repented of, confessed, and forsaken, for fasting and prayer accomplish nothing while the heart remains estranged from God through wrongdoing.
Prayer for the sick should be intercession submitted to God's will, not demands that He grant wishes. The outcome is to be rested in His hands, seeking His purpose rather than insisting on personal wishes.
One who continues in corrupt practices while asking God for strength is asking for what has been squandered and would use the strength to serve lust, and while the iniquity continues the Lord will not hear or answer that request. Long-standing practice of self-abuse is iniquity regarded in the heart, and while it is persisted in prayer for healing will not be heard. To ask for strength while continuing to spend it on sinful desires brings no answer.
Prayer must therefore be joined with searching self-examination, confession, and putting sin away, otherwise an answer could strengthen pride and give Satan further advantage. No one should enter solemn work and offer petition until the life has been closely investigated, every wrong corrected, the soul laid bare with deep heart-searching, earnest prayer, fasting, and stern close self-examination of life and motives letting no act escape criticism, and self dead with the life hid with Christ in God, and only then can the humble petition be offered and heard. To be heard while cherishing iniquity would lead to exaltation and give Satan advantage, and answered prayer requires faithfulness in little things, true integrity in all action, remembrance that angels take cognizance of every act, and that what is meted to others will be meted again.
Hindrance to Workers and Witness
If even the psalmist could not be heard while regarding sin, workers who cherish iniquity cannot expect their prayers to be heard, and those who knowingly regard sin must heed their ways. A minister whose heart is impure and not right with God cannot expect God to work through his efforts, for a heart not right with God and a spirit not pure hinder God from working with a person's efforts. When God's workers harbor character defects that conflict with the truth, their prayers, spiritual power, and influence are weakened and hindered. They must take heed to their conduct and reject even the least approach to evil, and must first be softened and sanctified by the truth and pray humbly for God's help in the work.
Those who regard sin while praying need a thorough change to turn from iniquity and remain close to God. Acknowledging reproof in words without accepting it inwardly leaves the person unchanged, so the change must be inward and thorough. This requires examining habits by God's word and putting away every wrong habit and indulgence. Otherwise rejecting reproof hardens them, weakens spiritual discernment and power, leaves prayers of no avail, and can lead them to abandon God.
Those who pray while helping others and laboring for neighbors must walk carefully and seek Jesus' help so their prayers are not hindered and they are not separated from God. Holding onto sin in the heart stops the Lord from hearing prayer and keeps Him from giving spiritual strength, so every sinful practice and every cherished sin must be given up for prayer to be answered and divine power to be received. As long as wrong is cherished, spiritual strength is lost and a person's influence can be no help to the cause of God but is detrimental to associates and harms all who are connected with him. Unless the heart is fully in the work separation is better, and the remedy is decided separation from wrong influences, throwing away human supports, and clinging to Jesus.