Unanswered Prayer
One of the greatest benefits afforded to every Christian is the privilege of
answered prayers. In the Bible, Jesus made this tremendous promise,
“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt
21:22). However, despite the Lord’s willingness to answer prayer, it is
obvious that some prayers have gone unanswered. Why is this? The
following are the most common reasons why some prayers do not get
results:
1. Lack of Fellowship with God and His word
John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask
what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Unanswered prayers are sometimes a result of absence from fellowship
with the Lord and His Word. Jesus promised that if we would remain in
His fellowship, and allow His Word to remain in us, this would produce
results in prayer.
2. Not seeking to Please the Lord
1 John 3:22 “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep
His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
Answers to prayer come when we seek to keep His commandments and
please the Lord with our life. This is not to suggest that we “earn”
answered prayers, any more than we can earn salvation which comes only
by faith (Eph. 2:8-9). He answers our prayers from his “grace” and
“mercy” (Heb. 4:16), not merely from our good deeds. However, keeping
His commandments and pleasing the Lord is a product of our obedience
to His word, which is faith in action (James 2:20). What are His
commandments? He commanded that we are to love the Lord with all our
heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourself (Mark 12:30-
31). Further, Jesus said we are to love our brethren as He has loved us.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you” (John 15:12). Lack of love, bitterness, unforgiveness is the root of
many unanswered prayers, since faith works by love (Gal 5:6).
3. Unconfessed Sin in One’s Life
1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His
ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those
who do evil.”
There is no doubt that sin will disrupt the flow of God’s blessings and
answers to prayer. The psalmist, David wrote, “If I regard iniquity in my
heart, The Lord will not hear” (Psa. 66:18). All acts of rebellion and
disobedience to God is considered sin. Sins of “commission,” are those
overt acts which are done in disobedience. However, sins of “omission,”
are those things we don’t do in obedience, but know we should (James 4:
17). The remedy for all sin is to confess it to God, forsake it, and ask Him
to forgive you (1 John 1:9).
4. Improper Motives
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you
may spend it on your pleasures.”
Our motives in our prayer requests are of concern to the Lord. He wishes
to help us in our time of need, but is not obligated to answer prayers
which will merely feed our carnal, worldly appetites and (lustful) pleasures.
Our motives and desires can be corrected by humbling ourselves, and
drawing near to God (James 4:8-10).
5. Not asking in God’s will
1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if
we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that
He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that
we have asked of Him.”
God will only answer those prayers that are in “His” will. When we ask
anything that is in His will, we can have assurance that those “petitions”
(requests) are granted to us. God’s will is revealed through His Word, the
Bible. Anything promised by His Word is His will, and we can be confident
that He’ll honor our prayers based on His Word.
6. Don’t know how to pray
Luke 11:1 "...Lord, teach us to pray...”
Some lack effectiveness in prayer simply because they don’t know what
the scriptures teach about prayer. Jesus gave His disciples an outline for
prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Take the time to study it. Other passages
teach that prayer is primarily to be a private, intimate time with the Lord
(Matt. 6:6), to be intermingled with praise and thanksgiving (Acts 16:25,
Phil. 4:6). Times of fasting with prayer are beneficial to strengthen our
faith and power in prayer (Acts 14:23, 1 Cor. 7:5). Jesus often went to
secluded places to spend prolonged periods in prayer (Luke 6:12, Matt. 4:
2).
7. Lack of Faith
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him.”
We cannot please God without faith. Prayer is not merely “begging” from
God. It is “believing” God and His Word! Faith will come forth and grow as
we devote our attention to the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Our faith
can also be “built up,” by praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20).
8. Misunderstanding of Faith
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Many do not
understand that faith is believing in the reality of things, even though we
cannot see them (Heb. 11:1). Jesus said that “when” you pray, you must
believe that you “receive” your answer at that moment. The word,
“receive” comes from the Greek word, LAMBANO, which means “to receive
now” (present tense). He then says we will “have” them. "Have" comes
from, ESOMAI, which means “to possess later” (future tense).
So, when we pray we must believe in the finished results of our prayer,
and we will eventually experience the tangible results sometime later.
9. Wavering faith
James 1:6-7 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let
not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;”
There are those who allow every “wind” of feelings or circumstances to
influence or discourage their faith. They vacillate back and forth, like the
waves tossed about in the sea. One day they believe, but the next, they’
re ready to give up, and so forth. Such persons usually base their faith
on their feelings or emotions instead of God’s Word. They who waver in
their faith cannot expect to receive “anything of the Lord.” Our faith must
become stable, steadfast, and consistent to receive from God.
10. Failure to apply spiritual Authority
Mark 11:23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,
Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever
he says.”
There are times that some prayers may not get far until we incorporate
the spoken authority of the name of Jesus. The reason for this is that
the problems we face may “sometimes” be a product of an evil spiritual
origin. As Paul writes, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”
(Eph 6:12). In such cases, our prayers may need to engage in what we
call “spiritual warfare” to obtain results.
The need for this type of prayer is most obvious whenever Christians deal
directly with demonic activity. For this evil operation to cease, our prayers
need to include the exercise of spiritual authority against the devil in the
name of Jesus, commanding him to leave (Acts 16:18). Therefore, as
Jesus indicated, there will be times that we may need to literally speak to
mountains (symbolic of obstacles and problems) and tell them to move in
Jesus’ name.
11. Lack of Perseverance
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due
season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
Probably the greatest reason that some prayers go unanswered is
because many give-up praying and believing before they receive their
answer. As long as we have the promise of God’s Word, be patient and
persistent - keep believing, and don’t quit, no matter how long it takes!
God has a “due season” when He will bring the answer to pass.
answered prayers. In the Bible, Jesus made this tremendous promise,
“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt
21:22). However, despite the Lord’s willingness to answer prayer, it is
obvious that some prayers have gone unanswered. Why is this? The
following are the most common reasons why some prayers do not get
results:
1. Lack of Fellowship with God and His word
John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask
what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Unanswered prayers are sometimes a result of absence from fellowship
with the Lord and His Word. Jesus promised that if we would remain in
His fellowship, and allow His Word to remain in us, this would produce
results in prayer.
2. Not seeking to Please the Lord
1 John 3:22 “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep
His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
Answers to prayer come when we seek to keep His commandments and
please the Lord with our life. This is not to suggest that we “earn”
answered prayers, any more than we can earn salvation which comes only
by faith (Eph. 2:8-9). He answers our prayers from his “grace” and
“mercy” (Heb. 4:16), not merely from our good deeds. However, keeping
His commandments and pleasing the Lord is a product of our obedience
to His word, which is faith in action (James 2:20). What are His
commandments? He commanded that we are to love the Lord with all our
heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourself (Mark 12:30-
31). Further, Jesus said we are to love our brethren as He has loved us.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you” (John 15:12). Lack of love, bitterness, unforgiveness is the root of
many unanswered prayers, since faith works by love (Gal 5:6).
3. Unconfessed Sin in One’s Life
1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His
ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those
who do evil.”
There is no doubt that sin will disrupt the flow of God’s blessings and
answers to prayer. The psalmist, David wrote, “If I regard iniquity in my
heart, The Lord will not hear” (Psa. 66:18). All acts of rebellion and
disobedience to God is considered sin. Sins of “commission,” are those
overt acts which are done in disobedience. However, sins of “omission,”
are those things we don’t do in obedience, but know we should (James 4:
17). The remedy for all sin is to confess it to God, forsake it, and ask Him
to forgive you (1 John 1:9).
4. Improper Motives
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you
may spend it on your pleasures.”
Our motives in our prayer requests are of concern to the Lord. He wishes
to help us in our time of need, but is not obligated to answer prayers
which will merely feed our carnal, worldly appetites and (lustful) pleasures.
Our motives and desires can be corrected by humbling ourselves, and
drawing near to God (James 4:8-10).
5. Not asking in God’s will
1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if
we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that
He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that
we have asked of Him.”
God will only answer those prayers that are in “His” will. When we ask
anything that is in His will, we can have assurance that those “petitions”
(requests) are granted to us. God’s will is revealed through His Word, the
Bible. Anything promised by His Word is His will, and we can be confident
that He’ll honor our prayers based on His Word.
6. Don’t know how to pray
Luke 11:1 "...Lord, teach us to pray...”
Some lack effectiveness in prayer simply because they don’t know what
the scriptures teach about prayer. Jesus gave His disciples an outline for
prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Take the time to study it. Other passages
teach that prayer is primarily to be a private, intimate time with the Lord
(Matt. 6:6), to be intermingled with praise and thanksgiving (Acts 16:25,
Phil. 4:6). Times of fasting with prayer are beneficial to strengthen our
faith and power in prayer (Acts 14:23, 1 Cor. 7:5). Jesus often went to
secluded places to spend prolonged periods in prayer (Luke 6:12, Matt. 4:
2).
7. Lack of Faith
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him.”
We cannot please God without faith. Prayer is not merely “begging” from
God. It is “believing” God and His Word! Faith will come forth and grow as
we devote our attention to the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Our faith
can also be “built up,” by praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20).
8. Misunderstanding of Faith
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Many do not
understand that faith is believing in the reality of things, even though we
cannot see them (Heb. 11:1). Jesus said that “when” you pray, you must
believe that you “receive” your answer at that moment. The word,
“receive” comes from the Greek word, LAMBANO, which means “to receive
now” (present tense). He then says we will “have” them. "Have" comes
from, ESOMAI, which means “to possess later” (future tense).
So, when we pray we must believe in the finished results of our prayer,
and we will eventually experience the tangible results sometime later.
9. Wavering faith
James 1:6-7 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let
not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;”
There are those who allow every “wind” of feelings or circumstances to
influence or discourage their faith. They vacillate back and forth, like the
waves tossed about in the sea. One day they believe, but the next, they’
re ready to give up, and so forth. Such persons usually base their faith
on their feelings or emotions instead of God’s Word. They who waver in
their faith cannot expect to receive “anything of the Lord.” Our faith must
become stable, steadfast, and consistent to receive from God.
10. Failure to apply spiritual Authority
Mark 11:23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,
Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever
he says.”
There are times that some prayers may not get far until we incorporate
the spoken authority of the name of Jesus. The reason for this is that
the problems we face may “sometimes” be a product of an evil spiritual
origin. As Paul writes, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”
(Eph 6:12). In such cases, our prayers may need to engage in what we
call “spiritual warfare” to obtain results.
The need for this type of prayer is most obvious whenever Christians deal
directly with demonic activity. For this evil operation to cease, our prayers
need to include the exercise of spiritual authority against the devil in the
name of Jesus, commanding him to leave (Acts 16:18). Therefore, as
Jesus indicated, there will be times that we may need to literally speak to
mountains (symbolic of obstacles and problems) and tell them to move in
Jesus’ name.
11. Lack of Perseverance
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due
season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
Probably the greatest reason that some prayers go unanswered is
because many give-up praying and believing before they receive their
answer. As long as we have the promise of God’s Word, be patient and
persistent - keep believing, and don’t quit, no matter how long it takes!
God has a “due season” when He will bring the answer to pass.
Jubilee Worship Center - Deltona, FL
Caring for Lives
Caring for Lives
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