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Unanswered Prayer:
Many believers have prayed for something only to see their prayers go unanswered. Some pray and have “given up” because either they have become discouraged through a weakness of faith or have concluded that whatever they have been praying for isn’t God’s will. Nevertheless, how we deal with unanswered prayer is not just for our own benefit but for the benefit of others as well. When we pray, we are engaging in the most precious and God-given act of communication with the One to whom we are accountable in all our affairs. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures"James 4:3 (NKJV). We have been truly bought at a steep price, which is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and henceforth we belong to God. Our privilege of prayer is from God, and it is as much ours now as when it was given to Israel."For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?" (Deuteronomy 4:7 NKJV)
Yet, when we pray or speak to the One in Heaven, there are times when He seems not to answer. There can be many reasons for this, and the Scriptures suggest why and how our prayers are being dealt with by the One who is so tender and loving, who Himself loves our communing with God the Father, for He, Himself, is our representative. "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin"Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV). A primary reason why prayer is unanswered is sin. God cannot be mocked or deceived, and He who sits enthroned above knows us intimately, down to our every thought. "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up;You understand my thought afar off. You [a]comprehend my path and my lying down,And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue,But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether" (Psalm 139:1-4).
If we are not walking in the Way or we harbor enmity in our hearts toward our brother or we ask for things with the wrong motives (such as from selfish desires), then we can expect God not to answer our prayer because He does not hear. If I regard iniquity in my heart,The Lord will not heart" Psalm 66:18 (NKJV). Sin is the “stopper” to all the potential blessings that we would receive from the infinite “bottle” of God’s grace and mercy. Indeed, there are times when our prayers are dreadful in the Lord’s sight, most notably when we clearly do not belong to the Lord either because of unbelief (Proverbs 15:8) or because we are practicing hypocrisy (Mark 12:40). But, our Heavenly Father is faithful and loving, and He will receive anyone accepts Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior as one of His own. "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land"(2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV).
Another reason why prayer seems to go unanswered is that the Lord is drawing out of our faith a deeper reliance and trust in Him, which should bring out of us a deeper sense of gratitude, love and humility. “Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble” Proverbs 3:34 (NKJV). In turn, this causes us to benefit spiritually, for He gives grace to the humble. “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” James 4:6 (NKJV). You can’t pray for your sins to be forgiven each day if you have to be free from all sin in order to have your prayers answered. And Jesus did teach us to pray that our sins be forgiven. “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors” Matthew 6:12 (NKJV). There is a difference between a perfect child and one who is characteristically obedient but not perfect. We must not presume to think that we can get God to do whatever we want if our hearts are not set on doing what he wants. God may often seem silent to us, but He never sends us away empty-handed. Even if prayer has not been answered, we must rely upon God to do so in His own time. Even the exercise of prayer is a blessing to us; it is because of our faith that we are stirred to persist in prayer. It is faith that pleases God, and if our prayer life is wanting, does that not reflect our spiritual standing also. God hears our impoverished cries for mercy, and His silence inflames us with a sense of persistence in prayer. He loves us to reason with Him. Let us hunger for the things that are after God’s heart and let us walk in His ways and not our own. If we are faithful to pray without ceasing, then we are living in the will of God, and that can never be wrong. “Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18 (NKJV).
Lastly, the following are more reasons that prayers go unanswered:
1. Disobedience:
Deuteronomy 1:42 –45; Isaiah 1:19 –20; Hebrews 4:6
2. Prejudice and Hate:
Proverbs 26:24–28; 1 John 2:9–12; 3:15–22
3. Unrepented Sin:
Psalm 19:12–13; 66:18; Isaiah 59:1–2
4. Overindulgence and Properly caring for your body, which is God’s temple:
Proverbs 23:1 –8; Luke 21:34; 1 Corinthians 3:16
5. Attacking/Touching God’s anointed:
1 Samuel 26:5 –11; Psalm 105:15
6. Fear:
Psalm 56:4,11; Proverbs 29:25; 1 John 4:18
7. Not Examining yourself before commune:
1 Corinthians 11:27–31
8. Despising God’s Word:
Proverbs 28:9
9. Indifference:
Proverbs 1:24–28
10. Neglect of mercy:
Proverbs 21:13
11. Not honoring one another:
Deuteronomy 5:16; 1 Peter 3:7
12. Idolatry (worshiping people and things above God):
Deuteronomy 7:25 –26; Joshua 7; Ezekiel 14:3
13. Speaking evil of brethren
Galatians 5:26; James 4:11; 5:9