Don't Stop God From Working

Psalm 66:16–19 (ESV) Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. 17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

The Psalmist has a lesson for us. God has acted on his behalf. He prayed and praised God and God answered. But he didn't just pray, he confessed his sin. 

The Word for "cherished" here can be "to see" as in we see a sin in our lives and we are unwilling to confess and forsake it.  

We must not let sin stop God's activity in our lives. God's desire is to prosper and bless us. Sin is the stopper should we chose to hold on to it.

Proverbs 28:13 (ESV) Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

The people of Israel were stopped dead in their tracks taking the land of Canaan because Achin sinned in regard to the devoted things. He looked and coveted and kept for himself that which God said was His own... and the nation suffered a terrible setback in Joshua 7.

The New Testament church saw Ananias and Sapphira fall to immediately to their deaths as they concealed and covered up their sin before others. Sin has a detrimental affect upon our future.

James 5:16 (ESV) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

It's interesting how often the Scriptures tie confession of sin and prayer together. Prayer is our plea for God to move in our lives. Sin stops that very same thing. And because of Jesus we can live free from sin, ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in righteousness and walk forward by faith.

Don't let sin stop God from working in your life.