Psalms 66:18 Meaning: What 'Cherished Sin' Really Means
If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear:
Iniquity, if I have seen in my heart, The Lord doth not hear.
Had I regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear.
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 66:18 says cherished sin blocks prayer. But what counts as 'cherished'? Learn the difference between struggling with sin and clinging to it.
Context
Psalm 66 is a song of thanksgiving, likely written after a great deliverance. The psalmist calls the whole earth to praise God for his awesome deeds. Then, in verse 16, he shifts to a personal testimony: “Come and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul.” He describes how he cried to God in distress and how God heard him. Verse 18 sits right in the middle of that testimony. The psalmist is not teaching a general doctrine about prayer. He is explaining why his own prayer was answered. He points to the honesty of his heart before God, and the result is a burst of praise in verse 20: “Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer.”
Key Words
The Hebrew word behind “cherished” is ra’iti, from ra’ah, meaning “to see.” But the commentators agree: in this verse it means more than just seeing sin in your heart. It means looking at it with approval, nourishing it, taking pleasure in it. The psalmist isn’t claiming he never had sinful thoughts. He’s saying he didn’t feed them. The word for “iniquity” is aven, which carries a sense of trouble and wickedness, but also suggests idolatry, putting something else in God’s place. And the word “listen” is shama, the same word used for God hearing and answering prayer. The point is tender: God does not turn a deaf ear to honest struggle. He turns away when we turn toward sin on purpose.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions agree that this verse calls for a sincere heart in prayer. Reformed readers often emphasize that even our best prayers are imperfect, yet God hears us because of Christ, not our goodness. Wesleyan voices stress that willful, cherished sin does block communion with God, and that we must confess and turn from it. Catholic and Orthodox teaching points to the need for repentance and the healing of the heart through sacramental confession. The common thread is this: the verse is not about sinless perfection but about a heart that is not pretending. Whether we struggle with sin is not the issue; whether we are clinging to it is.
A common misunderstanding
The common mistake is reading this verse as if any sin, even a hidden or unintentional one, makes prayer useless. In fact, the psalmist uses the word “cherished”, willfully holding onto sin, delighting in it. He is not talking about the sins we fight against or confess. He is talking about the sins we have made peace with. The difference matters. God is not looking for a perfect heart, but an honest one.
Living This Out
This week, try this: before you pray, pause and ask yourself if there is a sin you are holding onto because you enjoy it. Maybe it is a grudge you keep rehearsing. Maybe a habit you know is wrong but you are not ready to give up. The verse does not ask you to be sinless. It asks you to be honest. If you find something you are cherishing, you can tell God about it. That honesty is itself a prayer. You do not have to clean yourself up first. You just have to stop pretending.
Main takeaway: God hears the prayers of those who are honest about their sin and willing to let it go.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Sometimes we want to ask God for help, but we are holding onto something wrong. This verse says that if we love our sin too much to let it go, it is hard to hear God. But if we tell God we are sorry and really want to stop, He always listens.
For ages 9, 12
Psalm 66:18 is about the difference between struggling with sin and cherishing it. Everyone sins. But if you secretly enjoy a sin and keep doing it on purpose while pretending to follow God, that can block your prayers. The good news is that being honest with God about your struggle opens the door. You do not have to be perfect. You just have to be real with Him.
Questions People Ask
What does 'cherished sin' mean in Psalm 66:18?
The Hebrew word behind 'cherished' means 'to see' or 'regard' but with a sense of approval and pleasure. It does not mean simply having a sinful thought. It means looking at sin with delight, nourishing it in your heart, and being unwilling to let it go. The psalmist is describing a willful, ongoing attachment to sin, not a momentary failure.
Does Psalm 66:18 mean that God will not hear sinners at all?
No. The psalmist is not saying that only sinless people get their prayers answered. He is saying that if you are deliberately holding onto sin and refusing to repent, that closes the channel of communication. But other psalms show that God hears the cry of repentant sinners. The key is the state of the heart, are you clinging to sin or turning from it?
How can I know if I am cherishing sin in my heart?
Ask yourself: Is there a sin I am not willing to give up? Do I make excuses for it? Do I enjoy thinking about it or doing it even though I know it is wrong? Am I hiding it from others but comforting myself with it? Honest answers to these questions reveal whether sin is cherished or merely struggled with.
Is this verse teaching that we must be sinless for God to hear us?
No, that would contradict the whole gospel. The psalmist himself had sin in his heart (as all do). The point is sincerity and willingness to forsake sin. The New Testament clarifies that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who makes our prayers acceptable even when we still struggle with sin. This verse calls us to examine our hearts, not to achieve perfection.
Why is this verse often quoted in discussions about unanswered prayer?
Because it directly links the condition of the heart to whether God 'listens.' It is a sobering reminder that prayer is not a ritual; it is a relationship. If we are harboring sin, we are living in contradiction to our prayers. But the verse is also hopeful: the psalmist goes on to say that God did hear him, because his heart was not set on sin. It invites self-examination and honest repentance.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study