Dead Zones of Disobedience

“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or His ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden His face from you
so that He does not hear” 

—Isaiah 59:1-2

I was driving along one afternoon, talking to my wife on my cell phone, when everything suddenly went silent.  I had entered a dead zone—the place outside the reach of a cell phone tower, where there is no service.  I continued driving on, waiting until I got back in range so that I could call my wife back and finish our conversation, which I did, just a short time later.

For the Christian, we have the opportunity and privilege of speaking to God in prayer.  And we know that, according to the Bible, God hears us (Psalm 4:3; 1 John 5:14).  However, there are times in life when we enter into dead zones where communication is cut off.  They are dead zones of disobedience.  And when we are in a dead zone of disobedience, God doesn’t hear our prayers.

The prophet Isaiah captured this idea when he wrote about our iniquities making a separation between God and us.  Isaiah states that God can easily save an individual, and answer prayer, but He won’t because the people have chosen sin and disobedience over God and obedience.  God hides His face from us when we choose to live a life contrary to His Word.

I have been around many men and women who express a belief in prayer and think that God hears them simply because of their sincerity, but such a view is unscriptural and misleading.  God is not obligated to hear us when we pray—no matter how sincere or good our intentions.  He hears us only because of His gracious will.  And this grace has only been made available to us in and through Jesus Christ and what He accomplished on the cross (Ephesians 2:14-18; 3:12).

By believing in Christ and obeying His will, we stay in range of God’s ear and stay out of the dead zones of disobedience.  I hope all of us will steer clear of those dead zones, but if we do find ourselves in one, then I hope that we might quickly confess and repent.  That is the only way we can get back in range of God’s ear. And when we do, we can be sure that He will hear and answer us.  Amen.