Last year, while attending my brother’s funeral, we stayed in a hotel for its proximity to the church and his residence rather than quality of service. After the funeral, my family stayed a day extra to take care of any issue that may arise. I used the hotel intercom to place an order for breakfast one morning. About forty minutes later, the food had not arrived. So I called again, and to my chagrin, I was told that no such order was taken. Well, we had to leave without any meal that morning.

“…when we pray it’s like placing an order for some things out of heaven’s table. However, it is not all such orders that make their way to heaven…Sin will block access to heaven, no matter how hard we pray.”

It was then I began to reflect on the subject of prayer. In some sense, when we pray it’s like placing an order for some things out of heaven’s table. However, it is not all such orders that make their way to heaven. Many times we are concerned with how long we have been praying over a matter. We don’t check to know if the prayer is received in heaven, to begin with. It is an illusion to think that an order that has not been registered in heaven will fetch us any tangible returns. A long list of things can be responsible for our prayers not making it to heaven; one of which is sin. In our text, a man whose sight was restored noted that God does not hear sinners. About the only prayer of a sinner that will make sense in heaven is repentance; outside of this, it is a waste of time. Sin will block access to heaven, no matter how hard we pray. Those who want to make the most of prayer must learn to keep themselves from all sin pollution.