OMISSIONS, JUST AS IMPORTANT

Christians know the importance of prayer. That is our way of
communicating with our Father. We are able to express our
adoration and love for Him; we express our shame and remorse for
our sins and ask for forgiveness. We petition Him for our needs,
and intercede on behalf of others and on behalf of our world.

When we off er petitions and intercessions, we seek a response
from the One to whom we’ve prayed. He could answer in one of
many different ways like: okay, no, wait; you got to be kidding,
are you okay? or return to the drawing board, etc. Whether we
like His answers or not they are still answers; He has clearly
communicated His intentions.

Although He loves us and desires to provide for us, the Bible
tells us there are times when our prayers don’t make it to his ears.
Some of the reasons are:

• Sins: Th e Psalmist says, “If I had cherished sin in my
heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has
surely listened and heard my voice in prayer” (Psalm 66: 18-19 NIV).

• Lack of faith: “According to your faith will it be done to
you.” Matthew 9:29 NIV). “The prayer offered in faith will make the
sick well; the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:15 NIV).

• Wrong motives: “You do not have, because you do not
ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you
ask with wrong motives” (James 4:2-3 NIV).

• God’s Will; “Th is is the confidence we have in approaching
God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He
hears us” (1 John 5:14 NIV).

Quite often when we think about repentance, we are referring
to committed sins, and we should, but there is more--The sin of
omission! That's when we neglect to carry out God’s commands; it
affects our relationship with Him the same way our committed
sins do. Unfortunately, the sin of omission does not get quite as
much attention. God’s response to omissions is the same as to
commissions, because both are sins. Let us remind ourselves of
some of the times He has expressed concern over omissions.

• “Woe to you teachers . . . you hypocrites! You give a
tenth of your spices-mint, dill . . . But you have neglected
the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy
and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter,
without neglecting the former” (Matthew 23:23 NIV).

• “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled
houses, while this House (the temple) remains a ruin?” (Haggai 1:4).

• “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger
and you did not invite me in, . . . I was sick and in prison
and you did not look after me” (Matthew 25:42-43 NIV).

May the Lord make us increasingly aware of the responsibilities
we are neglecting, and may we be penitent about them as we
should!