Cherishing Sin: A Barrier to Prayer

To cherish something is to focus on it, treasure it, and give it devoted attention—not merely to possess it but to delight in it and refuse to let it go. The verb conveys intentional affection and prolonged enjoyment, the kind of devotion spoken of in marriage vows and other serious commitments [08:27].

A vivid way to understand this is to imagine a toffee in the mouth. Instead of quickly swallowing it, the person moves it slowly around the tongue, savoring every moment, unwilling for the experience to end. That deliberate, lingering enjoyment illustrates what it is to cherish: holding something deliberately and savoring it rather than dismissing it or letting it pass [08:27].

Applied to moral life and spirituality, sin can be treated the same way. Cherishing sin means not merely committing a wrong act but savoring, clinging to, and protecting it in the heart. It is the difference between a regretted lapse that is confessed and released, and an indulgence that is nurtured, enjoyed, and preserved for future repetition [08:27].

This inward devotion to sin has a decisive spiritual consequence: Scripture makes clear that sin cherished in the heart creates a barrier to being heard by God. The psalmist states explicitly that if sin had been cherished in the heart, the Lord would not have listened [07:44]. Cherished sin corrupts the posture of prayer and undermines communion with God.

The condition of double-mindedness further explains why such prayers are ineffective. A double-minded person is divided in loyalty—asking God for forgiveness while intending to return to the same sin, or refusing to renounce what is secretly loved. Because the heart is split, such a person is unable to receive from the Lord; requests made in that divided state are powerless [08:59] [09:31]. By contrast, the righteous person hates sin, deals with it promptly, and keeps short accounts with wrongdoing; prayers arising from such integrity are strong and effective [09:31].

Cherishing sin therefore blocks access to God’s grace and diminishes the effectiveness of prayer. The pathway to restored hearing and spiritual power is clear: refuse to cherish sinful patterns, confess faults quickly, and maintain holiness of heart. Practically, this includes keeping short accounts with sin and confessing offenses to one another so that healing and restoration can occur [09:31] [04:28]. Embracing this discipline removes the obstruction between the soul and God and renews the life of prayer.

This article was written by an AI tool for churches, based on a sermon from Alistair Begg, one of 1769 churches in Chagrin Falls, OH