10 obstacles to a Vibrant Prayer Life

I was publicizing PlayMax to a group of church youth this morning and to my surprise, I saw an old acquaintance there. Someone who was in the same Bible study class with me like, 12 years ago? It was good to see him and know that he is one of the youth leaders there, serving actively for the Lord. After my publicity, he shared about 10 obstacles to a vibrant prayer life, which I found interesting and a good checklist for myself to watch my prayer life. Here are the 10 obstacles:

1. Unyielded lives (My Will vs. God's Will)
2. Unsound Theology (Wrong understanding of prayer and who God is)
3. Unconfessed Sins (Sin will keep us from praying, but praying keeps us from sin)
4. Untutored Spirit (Not fully trusting/believing in what we are praying for)
5. Uncrossed Bridges (Sins we resist in submission to God in obedience)
6. Unfounded Fears (We are afraid of what prayer entails and our brings with it)
7. Undefined Priorities (The amount of time we devote ourselves to pray)
8. Unresolved Guilt (We condemn ourselves)
9. Unwholesome Relationships (It can be BGR or people whom we have not come to forgive or reconcile)
10. Unrighteous Motives (For our glory or for God's Glory?)

As I look at these 10 obstacles, I found that at least for me, number 1, 3 and 5 are areas that will kill me. The older I grow as a Christian, there may be sins that I might have turned a blind eye to and worst, resist changing simply because I dun want to. This is a huge danger for any Christian, me included. And this really hinders prayer. In the end, what are we praying for if there are areas in our lives we still want control over? May the Lord continue to reveal to me the black spots within me and give me the courage and will to do something about it.