Sin hinders prayer
Direct. 6. Take heed also of unmercifulness and cruelty. God would not hear the Israelites. Their hands were full of blood, Isa. 1:15. God will rather have no sacrifice than no charity. Let us take heed of these things, and let us come boldly to the throne of grace while he holds out his sceptre to us.
Sin Hinders Prayer But against this a man may object and say, that he is a wicked wretch, and his prayers shall but increase sin.
To such I answer, let them offer their prayers in obedience to God's commandments, who commands them to pray, and he will respect the very 'groans' of his Spirit within. Elias was a man subject to the like infirmities; yet God heard his prayer, James 5:17. Where God's
Spirit stirreth up, man's spirit is stirred up; and where Christ joins to offer the prayers to his Father as in his own name, why should we vilify that which God highly esteemeth? Let God have his sacrifice.
He knows how to accept of that which is good, and to pardon that which is amiss. He will second his beginnings, and will enlarge the heart more and more. Though in the beginning, prayer may be dull and untoward, it shall end in fulness, and therefore let these spiritual depths be so far off from hindering us from prayer, as that rather it should encourage us to pray. For it may be one end why the Lord suffers us to fall into depths, to the end that we may be stirred up to come to him; that thus we may glorify him, and he glorify his mercy in hearing our prayers and granting our requests. For sure it is, he that hath not a heart to pray when he is in depths, shall never come out of them; and let such as do come to him know, that however God is not present to sense, but rather seemeth to hide himself, yet he is