Being Out Of Fellowship

In your response to a reader in the Hearing Our Prayers answer (posted 2May2007), you made the comment that “We can’t petition Him while we’re out of fellowship, except to ask for forgiveness and receive restoration.” I was wondering if you could expand on that further.

Q. First, thank you for sharing your God given talent of ministry – your site is a daily stop for me.

In your response to a reader in the Hearing Our Prayers answer (posted 2May2007), you made the comment that “We can’t petition Him while we’re out of fellowship, except to ask for forgiveness and receive restoration.”

I was wondering if you could expand on that further.

A. As believers, when we’ve sinned and have either refused or neglected to ask for forgiveness, we become estranged from God and are no longer in communication with Him. We remain in this state until we confess and receive forgiveness at which time we’re purified from all our unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

We don’t lose our salvation over this, but our relationship is interrupted. The parable of the Prodigal Son explains this. (Luke 15:11-31) When the son went off and lived a life of sin, he didn’t stop being the child of his father but he did lose the benefits of the relationship. When he realized the error of his ways and asked for forgiveness, he was immediately restored. But until he did so, he was on his own. So it is with us.