May 8

Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” — Josh 3:5 BSB

To sanctify means to cleanse, to make holy. God won’t send His gifts to others in unclean vessels.

Every morning as we begin our day, we have promises of help, but these promises depend on us. We must be in the right heart and mind to receive them. God won’t place His holy gifts into hands that are stained with sin.

This is a lesson for us all when we go to God in prayer, asking for His blessing. If, while we pray, we are holding on to unconfessed and unrepented sins in our hearts, we can’t expect God to answer. Jesus Himself said that if we’re about to offer a gift at the altar and remember that someone has something against us, we should leave our gift, go be reconciled, and then come back to offer it.

One of the psalms says that if we cherish sin in our hearts, the Lord won’t hear us. The reason for many unanswered prayers may be the sins we’re holding onto.