Why are prayers unanswered?

[just-us-2]

Many people profess to pray regularly so it seems like we should hear of an abundance of prayers answered every day…but we don’t. I’ve been wondering why this is and began to study the subject.

As I read 1 Peter 3:7, “ You husbands, likewise, conduct your married lives with understanding. Although your wife may be weaker physically, you should respect her as a fellow-heir of the gift of Life. If you don't, your prayers will be blocked,” I thought I would start with looking for other passages that tell us why God refuses to answer our prayers as we think they should be answered.

The first thing I found was “sin” in Psalm 66:18 (CJB): “Had I cherished evil thoughts, Adonai would not have listened.” In all honesty, this sounds like a no-brainer – of course God isn’t going to answer the prayer of a person who harbors evil thoughts/iniquity in his heart. We all know that. But as I meditated on why God would have to tell us something so obvious, it became clear. We do not look at ourselves objectively, without rose-colored glasses, because that is contrary to human nature.

James 1:23 (CJB) For whoever hears the Word but doesn't do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror,
24 who looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But if a person looks closely into the perfect Torah, which gives freedom, and continues, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires, then he will be blessed in what he does.
26 Anyone who thinks he is religiously observant but does not control his tongue is deceiving himself, and his observance counts for nothing.

 

[nogard]

The issue of God answering prayers has always been an interesting one. Christians realize that many prayers go unanswered, and they rationalize it by listing all these exceptions in the Bible. Let's look, though, at what Jesus had to say about prayer:

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"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7) (sermon on the mount)

"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 18:19) (a promise that if two or more gather together and ask God for something, it will be done)

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matthew 21:22) (a promise that you will receive whatever you ask if you have faith that it will happen)

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24) (same story as in Matthew 21:22)

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:9-13) (a sermon on prayer where Jesus confirms that He will give us what we ask for)

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." (John 14:12-14) (another promise that He will give whatever we ask)

"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." (John 16:23)(yet another promise)

---

What is interesting about these passages, even when you read them in context, is that Jesus never once lists any exclusions or reasons why prayers won't get answered. Instead, we find Jesus boldly proclaiming again and again that anything we ask for in His name, we will receive it. In Luke 11, he even uses several metaphors to show this very simple promise.

So why doesn't this happen? Why, when we ask for fish do we sometimes get scorpions (see Luke 11)? Why does Jesus mention in Matthew 26 how God feeds and clothes the birds, and that we are so much more valuable then that, when millions of children die hungry and naked in this world?

 

[Huckleberry]

Many people profess to pray regularly so it seems like we should hear of an abundance of prayers answered every day…but we don’t. I’ve been wondering why this is and began to study the subject.

I said it before to Garth Brooks, and now I'll say it to you:
God answers every prayer.
Sometimes the answer is "No".

 

[nogard]

I said it before to Garth Brooks, and now I'll say it to you:
God answers every prayer.
Sometimes the answer is "No".

Looking at those quotes from Jesus, I wasn't getting that kind of a vibe from Him. "Whatever you ask for you will receive" does not sound like "sometimes the answer is no"

 

[Blain]

My prayers are answered everyday, and the ones that aren't I have faith one day they will. If you want something bad enough you never give up praying for it even if you see little to no results

 

[cfultz3]

Blain Brother,

You are being missed in the Ken thread

 

[BrittanyJones]

Many people profess to pray regularly so it seems like we should hear of an abundance of prayers answered every day…but we don’t. I’ve been wondering why this is and began to study the subject.

As I read 1 Peter 3:7, “ You husbands, likewise, conduct your married lives with understanding. Although your wife may be weaker physically, you should respect her as a fellow-heir of the gift of Life. If you don't, your prayers will be blocked,” I thought I would start with looking for other passages that tell us why God refuses to answer our prayers as we think they should be answered.

The first thing I found was “sin” in Psalm 66:18 (CJB): “Had I cherished evil thoughts, Adonai would not have listened.” In all honesty, this sounds like a no-brainer – of course God isn’t going to answer the prayer of a person who harbors evil thoughts/iniquity in his heart. We all know that. But as I meditated on why God would have to tell us something so obvious, it became clear. We do not look at ourselves objectively, without rose-colored glasses, because that is contrary to human nature.

James 1:23 (CJB) For whoever hears the Word but doesn't do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror,
24 who looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But if a person looks closely into the perfect Torah, which gives freedom, and continues, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires, then he will be blessed in what he does.
26 Anyone who thinks he is religiously observant but does not control his tongue is deceiving himself, and his observance counts for nothing.

Yep, also our prayers can be answered in a way that is better than what we asked for, but we start complaining that God doesn't hear because the prayer wasn't answered how we asked it to be. Later we often see how wonderful it is that God did not answer our exact prayer!

[SUP]
26 [/SUP]Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[SUP][b][/SUP] with groanings which cannot be uttered. [SUP]27 [/SUP]Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
[SUP]28 [/SUP]And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8


And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. [SUP]9 [/SUP]In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
[SUP]10 [/SUP]Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
[SUP]11 [/SUP]Give us this day our daily bread.
[SUP]12 [/SUP]And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
[SUP]13 [/SUP]And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.[SUP][c][/SUP]
[SUP]14 [/SUP]“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [SUP]15 [/SUP]But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6

 

[RedTent]

The problem comes in when we go to what is not really God in a land where God doesn't live with our requests. God is within His Kingdom, and sin doesn't live there. God tells us what to do about sin, so we can commune with Him.

This world of the spirit is all powerful, and rules our material world even. I love going to the ocean and watching the order and precision God rules that huge body of water. We could not ask God to put off the turn of the tides by even a second, for we must live within the kingdom of God, and that precision is part of it.

There is a book I really love, it is "Prayer Can Change You Life" by Parker. Parker doesn't have a complete picture of prayer, but he makes some very good points. He explored it scientifically, using his job as a professor of psychology to help organize a test of prayer. It wasn't a very complete test, either, as he used only 45 people in groups of 15. Each person in each group had serious problems they needed God's help with like cancer, alcoholism, or nervous breakdown. The result of his test was that people who prayed for 1/2 hour a day every day had no results. Parker said they didn't pray in the way that God shows us to do it, they simply repeated the problem over and over to the Lord when the Lord knew the problem in the first place. The second group believed psychiatry and they got some help. The third group spent most of their time exploring what God has to say about how He wants us to pray and worked at fitting their prayers into that framework. The meat of the book is describing what they felt was the framework for prayer and praying in line with that. The results, says Parker, were amazing with miracles happening.

Our problem with praying with fruits following is learning what God wants of us as our part in our requests. Most of the people who got results in Parker's group spend most of their time with God's instructions on holding grudges and judgments. For instance, in one case the book describes, a woman had to live with an impossible mother in law. She was told to love this impossible awful woman. Her group decided that being she couldn't love her, she was to act as if she did. As she began acting out love, the actual love came and it was a big step in her prayer life. With this done, it freed her to go to the Lord for help with her real problem.

 

[joeyruready]

My prayers are answered continually. Sometimes the answers take years to come. Sometimes the answer is ye, sometimes its no, sometimes its wait...sometimes its yes and no...sometimes its no but wait, sometimes its yes but wait. In fact as many are the differences between my prayers and the things I ask God for, the answers vary also.

I do think we need to practice the word. I also think some of the most important things to practice are humility, love and mercy.

 

[Blain]

My prayers are answered continually. Sometimes the answers take years to come. Sometimes the answer is ye, sometimes its no, sometimes its wait...sometimes its yes and no...sometimes its no but wait, sometimes its yes but wait. In fact as many are the differences between my prayers and the things I ask God for, the answers vary also.

I do think we need to practice the word. I also think some of the most important things to practice are humility, love and mercy.

I agree, Love humility and mercy are very important to practice daily. And I know exactly what you mean by prayers continually being answered. My most precious prayers are the kind that cannot be answered instantly. they are the kind that can only be answer slowly yet surely day by day

 

[crossnote]

As one current song states. "Because He is God and that's just the way it is".

 

[hospitalpharmacist]

God let us the freedom to follow Him or to follow the evil. He listen to the prayers of the people who look for him, love Him and follow His path, no matter if they are sinners. Christ just has been sent to save sinners. But you have to be ready to change your own heart if you want to be listened by God and try to follow what Gospel teaches us everyday in your life. This is the only key to be listened and be forgiven by God.

 

[IntoTheVoid]

I was watching an atheist vs Christian debate on YouTube recently and the atheist asked a similar question about prayers being ignored.

The Christian said there was good prayer and bad prayer and referred to the people hijacked on one of the planes during 9/11.

He said bad prayer would be asking to destroy the hijackers. Good prayer would be asking God to be with them while they inevitably pass on.

I can't remember the exact wording, but it was along those lines and I accepted it as a satisfactory response.

 

[resurrection33]

Many people profess to pray regularly so it seems like we should hear of an abundance of prayers answered every day…but we don’t. I’ve been wondering why this is and began to study the subject.

As I read 1 Peter 3:7, “ You husbands, likewise, conduct your married lives with understanding. Although your wife may be weaker physically, you should respect her as a fellow-heir of the gift of Life. If you don't, your prayers will be blocked,” I thought I would start with looking for other passages that tell us why God refuses to answer our prayers as we think they should be answered.

The first thing I found was “sin” in Psalm 66:18 (CJB): “Had I cherished evil thoughts, Adonai would not have listened.” In all honesty, this sounds like a no-brainer – of course God isn’t going to answer the prayer of a person who harbors evil thoughts/iniquity in his heart. We all know that. But as I meditated on why God would have to tell us something so obvious, it became clear. We do not look at ourselves objectively, without rose-colored glasses, because that is contrary to human nature.

James 1:23 (CJB) For whoever hears the Word but doesn't do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror,
24 who looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But if a person looks closely into the perfect Torah, which gives freedom, and continues, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires, then he will be blessed in what he does.
26 Anyone who thinks he is religiously observant but does not control his tongue is deceiving himself, and his observance counts for nothing.

Sometimes we are not mature enough to understand the answer to a prayer, so we have to wait till we are. A first-grader is not ready to understand algebra, but in time he WILL be. The Lord will answer as soon as possible.

 

[MissLee]

The way I see it, all prayers are answered; we just don't always hear or see the answer because it's not what we wanted to see or hear.

 

[Jesus_lover_of_my_soul]

Yes anything you ask you will receive but there is another verse that says if it is "in his will" ... You see he knows us better then ourselves, sometimes we think we know what is best but we do not. A lot of times hardships happen because it creates character in us, and in return we can help others who are hurting. If we never faces any problems, why would we need to go to God? He breaks us so that we will know we need him. Everything he does is in love, if only we could turn to him and trust that he knows what is doing. Even when times seem to difficult to handle. I mean, a father who loves his child wouldn't give him anything he wanted when he asked; right? then we would be spoiled and probably not be a enjoyable person to be around. He is pruning us and making us more patient, and making us stronger in our faith. <3

 

[Hizikyah]

Isayah 59:1-4, "Behold, Yahweh's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your own iniquities have separated you from your Father; and your own sins have caused Him to hide His face from you, cso He will not listen. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness. No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and give birth to evil."

 

[Hizikyah]

Also sometimes the answer is......... NO.

It is according to Yahweh's will not our will, if what we ask does not line up with the will of Yahweh I find it hard to believe Yahweh is going say yes.

Yahweh is our Heavenly Father worthy of sincere reverence, He is not a genie in a bottle to freely grant wishes. (not saying any here do this, but I used to as a small child and I know adults that still do this)

 

[crossnote]

I was watching an atheist vs Christian debate on YouTube recently and the atheist asked a similar question about prayers being ignored.

The Christian said there was good prayer and bad prayer and referred to the people hijacked on one of the planes during 9/11.

He said bad prayer would be asking to destroy the hijackers. Good prayer would be asking God to be with them while they inevitably pass on.

I can't remember the exact wording, but it was along those lines and I accepted it as a satisfactory response.

Some though will say ''why ask God what He has already promised in His Word.''...(i.e. the part of God being with them)

 

[SpiritofFire]

Name prayers that do not get answered. What prayers are really being heard if God doesn't hear a sinner? The truth is what most think are miracles are done in lying wonders. And in a kingdom in which Satan casts out satan, how can it stand?

How many pray to see their loved ones again, or that crime or evil would stop only to have their prayers unanswered? It is because we cannot love God and mammon at the same time. How is Jesus better than Allah if both have to answer to com Ed or to people's gas?

If we want these things done away with, then declare the world free to all.