Prayer - Appropriate God's Grace (T. Martin)

If you look back to the OT in Leviticus, Aaron was instructed to offer animal sacrifices to make atonement for the sins of Israel. Aaron could not enter the sanctuary area without the sin offering and burnt offering. So in the way we could direct it towards us is that God would be saying in effect, “If you desire to enter My presence, your sin has to be dealt with.” Therefore the first subject of prayer should not be our list of petitions, but instead we should ask ourselves if we are in a position to approach God in holiness? Have we examined our lives? Have we explored the possibility of things in our lives being contrary to God’s Word?
Our sins are not always in your face obvious either. Sometimes they will be very subtle and often overlooked. A great book was written on this subject by Jerry Bridges called “Respectable Sins”. God wants to bless us and answer our prayers. That is why He tells us to deal with our sins. We need to make clean the secret closets of sin and disobedience with us so we can be effective in prayer. We are forgiven of our sins when we go to Christ. He covers us with His blood, and we are cleansed. The Word says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We need that continual cleansing so we can live before God in holiness, the holiness that Christ died to provide for us.
We have to be in right standing to do “business” with God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear you.” We can even ask forgiveness for sins we do not even realize we are committing. If you look in Psalms 19:12 King David proclaims, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.”
So, obviously we don’t do the whole animal sacrifice thing now as they did in the OT, but we still must have our sins atoned for by blood. But, principles in the OT are still in effect in the NT. Yet the NT reveals their deepest application and significance. In Hebrews 9 the law requires everything to be cleansed with blood, without it, there was no forgiveness. The difference now as you know is that the sacrifice was fulfilled once and for all in Christ, the Lamb of God. Conformation for that can be found in John 1:7. The verse is talking about relationship. When we are cleansed with the blood of Jesus, everything is all right because there is nothing in between God and us. Then, we can genuinely fellowship with Him.
God is serious about holiness and obedience. We simply cannot live in sin and unbelief if we want our prayers answered. So, I say this to myself as much as you guys, surrender whatever sin(s) you are struggling with to God, and ask Him to purify you from it, and seek mature counsel if you need to, because you do not want anything hindering your relationship with God, ya dig.

Somebody please post this to the site, I would appreciate it. For the life of me, I do not know how to do it.

trying to die to myself,
-todd