Overcoming Sin through Christ

A Comprehensive List of Sins

(Alphabetically Arranged)

Richard Hollerman

The plan of this study is simple.  We will look at a large number of sins, one by one, alphabetically.  We will define the sin, describe it, and comment on it, along with noticing Scripture references on the particular entry.  Some illustrations will be offered along with the description.

Prayerlessness

Prayer is a leading activity in the lifestyle of God’s children.  It is the natural and expected response of His children to the Heavenly Father.  One of the chief characteristics of people who please God is their prayerfulness.  The psalmist says, “The prayer of the upright is His [God’s] delight” (Psalm 15:8b).  Further, “The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous” ( 15:29).

Jesus Himself was devoted to prayer.  Mark says, “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (1:35).  On another occasion, we read, “He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).  He had a rich prayer experience with God His Father (John 17).

Again and again in Scripture, we see the heart of God regarding  prayer.  Luke says that “at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1).  Paul also emphasized how vital prayer is to us and how much God wants us to pray.  “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).  He says, “Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).

Again, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). “Praying in the Holy Spirit” is central in our relationship with God (Jude 20b).  We can see that prayer is the very atmosphere in which we live.  It is our means of communication with the Father.

If God desires our prayers and if He shows how much we need to pray, it is surprising that so many people have difficulty praying or habitually omit prayer from their daily essentials.  Evidently, they must find prayer boring, or too time-consuming, or not needed, or ineffectual, or they just don’t have faith in God’s revealed word.  It may also be that prayerless people don’t love God as they should.

If you love your wife, do you need a command to speak with her?  If you love your husband, do you need to be coerced into talking with him?  If you love your children, do you need warnings to daily communicate with them?  Similarly, if we love God as our Father, it shouldn’t be painful to spend regular time with Him in prayer, thanksgiving, and worship.  Jesus said, “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” (John 4:23).

If prayer and worship in general is so desirable to God and so needful for us, we can conclude that failure to pray is a serious sin indeed.  When Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane came to the disciples, He found them sleeping.  Jesus responded, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?  Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40-41).  Is this what Jesus would say to us when he knows that we fail to pray as we should?