Dropped Calls

This is the title of my Turning Point Devotion today.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. Psalm 66:18

Most of us are all too familiar with the phrase "dropped call." It's the common term for a wireless phone transmission that ends abruptly, often while the caller is traveling between towers. It's odd to be talking away on the phone only to realize that no one is listening on the other end.

In a way, the same thing can happen in prayer. The old book The Kneeling Christian says: "No sin is too small to hinder prayer, and perhaps to turn the very prayer itself into sin."

In Daniel 9, the prophet Daniel—about whom nothing negative is said in Scripture—was praying to the Lord and making confession. He said, "We have sinned and committed iniquity…," and he prayed with deep contrition and earnestness. In response, the Lord gave him the great prediction of "seventy weeks," which is a cornerstone of biblical prophecy.

Prayer is our greatest weapon, our sweetest occupation, and our highest privilege. A tender conscience, a zeal for purity, and a habit of confession will keep the prayer lines open so that no calls will be dropped.

It is amazing that any should try to retain both sin and prayer. Yet very many do this. Even David cried long ages ago, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." From The Kneeling Christian