有的人求是求了，也沒有妄求，可是神還是沒有聽他的禱告。那是因為有一個基本的攔阻，就是他與神之間有罪的攔阻。『我若心裡注重罪孽，主必不聽。』（詩六六18。）一個人如果有明顯的、自己知道的罪在心裡注重，在心裡捨不得，在心裡留下，（要注意這一個『心』字，）主必不聽他的禱告。有這一個大攔阻，主就不能聽他。
甚麼叫作『心裡注重罪孽』？就是說有一個罪，是你心裡捨不得的；有一個罪，是你自己知道的，你心裡卻繼續的保留牠。不只在行為上、外表上有這一個軟弱，並且是在心裡注重。羅馬七章那一個人就兩樣，他雖然有失敗，但他所作的，是他所恨的。這裡的一個人，是心裡注重那一個罪，留下那一個罪，捨不得，放不掉。那一個罪，不只在行為上放不掉，並且在心裡面放不掉。這樣的人的禱告，主必不聽。只要有一個罪，就殼攔阻你的禱告蒙神垂聽。所以，我們不要再在心裡存留甚麼捨不得的罪，所有的罪都得承認是罪，都得把牠們擺在血的底下。主能體恤我們的軟弱，但主不能任憑我們心裡注重罪孽。你即使在外表上脫離了所有的罪，可是在你心裡如果注重罪，捨不得，放不掉，那你禱告也沒有用。所以你一起頭作基督徒，就要求神施恩，保守你不跌倒，在行為上聖潔。同時在你心裡面，必須徹底恨惡所有的罪，不能在心裡面留下一個罪，注重一個罪。罪如果在你裡面，你禱告就沒有用，主必不聽你的禱告。
箴言二十八章十三節：『遮掩自己罪過的，必不亨通；承認離棄罪過的，必蒙憐恤。』罪必須承認，你必須對主說，『有一個罪，是我心裡所注重的，我放不掉；現在求你赦免我，我要離棄牠，求你拯救我脫離這一個罪，不讓這一個罪在我身上，我不要牠，我拒絕牠。』你如果在神面前承認，你就得著赦免，主就讓你過去。這樣，你的禱告纔能蒙神垂聽。這一件事，千萬不要隨便放鬆。不求，就得不著；妄求，也得不著。就是求了，也不妄求，而私下在心裡面留著一個喜歡的罪、看重的罪，那也必定叫主不能聽你的禱告。
Dealing with Sins
Some do not ask evilly, but God does not answer their prayers. This is because there is a basic barrier between them and Godin. "If I regard iniquity in my heart,/The Lord will not hear" (Psa. 66:18). If a person has obvious and known sins in his heart, yet is unwilling to drop or part with them, the Lord will not answer his prayer. (Note the words in my heart.) The Lord cannot answer a person's prayer when there is such a great hindrance.
What does it mean to "regard iniquity in my heart"? It means to keep a sin in one's heart, being unwilling to part with it. Such a person knows something is a sin, yet he continues to cherish it. It is not only a weakness in conduct or appearance but also a craving in the heart. This is different from the person spoken of in Romans 7. Although the person in Romans 7 has failed, he hates what he is doing. The person here, however, regards iniquity in his heart. This means he keeps the iniquity to himself and is unwilling and reluctant to let go of it. The sin remains not only in his conduct but also in his heart. The Lord will not hear such a one when he prays. So long as there is one sin, it will hinder God from answering our prayer. We should not keep any favorite sin in our heart. We should acknowledge all sins as sins and should put them under the blood. The Lord can sympathize with our weakness, but the Lord will not allow us to regard iniquity in our hearts. Our prayers will not prevail if we have removed all the sins outwardly but still regard them in our heart and are unwilling and reluctant to part with them. The moment we begin our Christian life, we have to ask for the Lord's grace to keep us from falling and to sanctify us in our conduct. At the same time, we must thoroughly reject all sins in our heart. We should not retain or regard any sin in our heart. Our prayer will be useless if sin remains in our heart. The Lord will not listen to such a prayer.
Proverbs 28:13 says, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:/but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." You must confess your sins. You must tell the Lord, "I have regarded a sin in my heart. I cannot give it up. I ask You to forgive me. I want to forsake this sin. Please deliver me from this sin. Do not let this sin remain in me. I do not want it. I want to reject it." If you confess to the Lord this way, the Lord will forgive; you will receive forgiveness. Then, your prayer will be heard. You must never be loose in this matter. You will not receive anything if you do not ask. You also will not receive anything if you ask evilly. Even if you do not ask evilly, the Lord will not answer your prayer as long as you keep back a favorite sin and regard it in your heart.
