Question: Dear Greg,

A conversation with other Christians has brought up this question. Last night, Wednesday, a dozen or so of us men and women got together for a prayer time focused on our church problems. I have been realizing our church needs to repent within ourselves and seek God more deeply. The second time I prayed with the group last night, I prayed in a repentant attitude rather strongly. When I finished, a brother in Christ asked the people close to me to lay their hands on me while he prayed for me and said I had a "loveblock." After he finished, a conversation ensued about what a "loveblock" is. He explained I was not allowing God to love me. Something was stopping me from allowing God to love me.

After he explained this, I told him and the group I felt we as a group needed to repent and really allow our Father to live in us. This was rejected fairly strongly by at least three of the group and some of the rest. At least two seemed to agree with me. The others were not revealing how they felt.

One of the ones who disagreed showed me in Romans where even the Apostle Paul said what he wanted to do he didn’t, what he didn’t want to do he did. This is my question.

In Christ,

Ron

Answer: Dear Ron,

It is good for Christians to pray together, and to fellowship together, but it is not good for Christians to tell each other what God wants, and what he doesn’t, and how things ought to be done, and how they shouldn’t, what God’s will is, and what it isn’t – when those things are not clear in Scripture.

I have never heard of a "love-block" (I have heard of sun-block!!!). That doesn’t mean that a love-block doesn’t, in fact, exist, but I do know that the Bible does not speak of this term, and I do know that the use of such a term (and many others) can become cultic and mystical, i.e. the idea being, "If you don’t use this language, this term, jump through these hoops, worship in a particular way, pray in a particular way, have a particular posture, then you aren’t quite as deeply converted as others – you may not even be ‘listening’ to God."

We should realize how legalistic and how cultic such behaviors can be. It seems we humans are not satisfied with the gospel of Jesus Christ, its simplicity, its sincerity, and what it means to be a Christian. We want to codify, ritualize, draw lines and boundaries, but what you are describing simply is not a central part of Christianity.

As you are explaining how the passage in Romans was applied, I would have to say that the interpretation is way out of its context, and had nothing to do with whether someone felt that they need to repent, or whether someone felt it necessary to pray for a "love-block" or to avoid being prayed for – for such a thing. The passage has an altogether different meaning than this in its context.

Hope this helps, Ron. Sometimes we can be sincere about new ideas, etc., but those "new" ideas can become more important than the central and core teachings of the gospel.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht