Over the years, I have taught regularly that God answers some people’s prayers and not those of others. I have also taught that we intuitively know in our hearts how much prayer power we actually have and that many Christians don’t pray much because they know that not much will happen when they do pray. There are twelve different reasons why our prayers don’t get past the ceiling. I have called those barriers to effective praying “The Dirty Dozen.” Let me give you the first two.

The first of the “Dirty Dozen.” If we don’t listen to God much by not reading His Word, He isn’t going to listen to us much.
John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Proverbs 28:9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

This is the second of the “Dirty Dozen.” If we do not obey His commandments in His Word and work hard to please Him with our behavior, our prayer power will be weak.
1 John 3:22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

Prayer to God is the most essential way for us to be partnered with God to accomplish His will. Paul uses the phrase “working together with Him.” We can achieve a lot and change a lot through the infinite power of prayer, but only if we have gotten rid of the “dirty dozen.”

How motivated are you to pray? How much faith do you have that God listens and works powerfully when you pray? Our apathy or drivenness to pray is a pretty good indicator of how much the “dirty dozen” is part of our life.