Mathanzua
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 4, 2017
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- 22,714
7 Reasons our prayers are “unanswered”
Have you ever asked God for something with a huge opportunity, but the opportunity came and went? Have you ever prayed for wisdom to make an important decision, but in the end you made the wrong decision? Have you ever sought God for His provision, but the gap between abundance and lack only grew wider?Some prayers go unanswered.But maybe I should also say, some prayers are answered, just not the way we’d like.
But perhaps God’s not always the one to blame. Maybe our shortsighted perspective of prayer has caused us to pray in the wrong manner. As we look at Scripture, we discover several causes of unanswered prayer. Here are seven reasons our prayers often go unanswered.
1. We Don’t Ask
I know this sounds rather obvious, but it’s the place we must begin. James 4:2 says, “…you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” Instead, we have a tendency to worry, whine, and work. We worry about what might happen, whine about what we don’t have, and work ourselves to death trying to fix our problems. We have to remember that 100% of the prayers not prayed will go unanswered.2. We Ask with Wrong Motives
James, the brother of Jesus, continues with these words: “And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:3). How easy it is to forget that God weighs the motives of the heart, and our motives are never hidden from His sight.3. We Ask with Unconfessed Sin in Our Life
We hate to admit that we are sinners even though Scripture is quite clear on the matter (Romans 3:23). We’d rather blame our personality, culture, parents, or past for our behavior. But when we rationalize our sin, we simultaneously rob our prayers of their power.When we rationalize our sin, we simultaneous rob our prayers of their power.”The question is not, “have you sinned?” but rather, “Are you knowingly living with unconfessed sin in your life?” 1 John 1:9 says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
The word confess means to admit to the truth.
God’s willingness to forgive is always hinged to our willingness to confess. If we don’t acknowledge the sin in our lives and seek God’s cleansing, we simultaneously block our prayers. 1 Peter 3:12 says, “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil. We must admit to the truth with specific confessions. Vague confessions only create repeat offenders.
4. We Ask Outside of God’s Will
1 John 5:14-15 says, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”Perhaps the reason we pray outside of God’s will is because we’re really not interested in God’s will. We simply pray whatever we wish and want on a whim.
5. We Ask in Doubt
James 1:5-8 says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”What causes a person’s loyalties to be split between God and the world? It’s their doubt of God. Loyalties are split when we say, “I’m not sure God’s going to do this, so I’m going to look elsewhere for help.” When you doubt God’s ability to answer, your loyalty can be slowly lured into a state of compromise.
6. We Ask in Pride
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a story about two men who went to the Temple to pray. One of them was a religious Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector (who were generally despised in Jesus’ day). This is how the Pharisee prayed:Wow! That’s pretty arrogant. But look at the tax collector’s response.
So what does Jesus think about the tax collector?
The difference between answered prayer and unanswered prayer was humility. The despised tax collector received forgiveness because his heart was humble before God. While pride focuses on what I have done, humility focuses on what God can do. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Pride focuses on what I have done,can do and will do. humility focuses on what God can do.
7. We Ask Without Relationship
In the Gospel of John, Jesus describes Himself as “the Vine” and his followers as “the branches.” When we remain in Christ (the Vine), and He remains in us (the branches), we will produce a fruitful life. Jesus even goes as far to say that apart from Him we can’t do anything. Then he says these words:What was Jesus’ point? Relationship comes before requests. A once-a-week check-in at church isn’t enough if you want to get your prayers answered. Prayer is first and foremost about a relationship, not about our list.
What do all seven of these points have in common? They are all issues of the heart.
- When we don’t ask, our hearts are filled with dependence on self.
- When we ask with wrong motives, our hearts are filled with deceit.
- When we ask with unconfessed sin, our hearts are filled with defiance.
- When we ask outside of God’s will, our hearts are filled with selfish desires.
- When we ask in doubt, our hearts are filled with duplicity.
- When we ask in pride, our hearts are filled with destruction.
- When we ask without relationship, our hearts are filled with distractions.
I believe God loves to answer prayer. I also believe God loves for us to know Him. Carefully guarding your heart from these seven distractors will deepen your relationship with the Lord and provide a proper perspective toward answered prayer.
