“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
– James 5:16
“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”
– Proverbs 15:29
There are days when I lift my nose toward heaven, let out what I believe is a mighty bark, and it feels like it just bumps the living room ceiling and drops back down on my head.
You ever feel that way about prayer?
You bow your head.
You fold your hands.
You whisper your heart.
And it feels like nothing moves but the dust in the air.
From a dog’s point of view, that’s a bit confusing.
Because when I bark at my human, he usually hears me.
Sometimes he ignores me (usually when I’m begging for bacon).
But he hears me.
So when heaven seems quiet, we start to wonder.
Did God step out?
Did He turn down the volume?
Did my prayer get lost in the rafters?
But the Bible my human reads tells a different story.
James says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Not loud.
Not fancy.
Not poetic.
Powerful.
Effective.
That means something’s happening… even when I can’t see it.
Now let’s sniff over to Proverbs.
It says the Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
That doesn’t mean God has selective hearing like I do when someone says “bath.”
It means relationship matters.
The heart matters.
The posture matters.
Sometimes when my bark feels like it hits the ceiling, the problem isn’t with the ceiling or with God.
It’s my heart.
James tells us to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other.
Confession clears the air.
It opens the windows.
It sweeps the kennel clean.
Unconfessed sin is like mud in my fur.
It doesn’t stop me from being a dog, but it sure makes a mess of things.
When I humble myself—when I stop growling, stop pretending, stop blaming—and I come clean before God… something shifts.
The ceiling isn’t the barrier I thought it was.
And sometimes heaven feels silent not because God isn’t listening, but because He’s working in ways quieter than my bark.
And sometimes the delay isn’t denial… It’s training and preparation.
My human has taught me that not every bark gets an immediate response.
Sometimes I have to sit.
Stay.
Wait.
Waiting doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me. It means he’s shaping me.
If your prayers feel like they’re hitting the ceiling today, don’t stop praying.
Check your heart.
Confess quickly.
Forgive freely.
Walk upright.
Then keep lifting your voice.
Because according to God’s Word, your prayer isn’t bouncing off drywall.
It’s reaching the throne.
And this old dog believes with all his heart… when we pray in righteousness and humility, heaven leans in closer than we think… and hears.
So lift your head.
Clear your heart.
Keep praying.
The ceiling isn’t the limit.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
