Why Your Prayers Aren’t Getting Answered

Who Are You Praying For?

I don’t mean interceding or praying on the behalf of someone, I mean are you praying for your own gratification or for God’s glory. Are you praying for yourself, so that you can be spiritual, so that God will do what you want Him to? 

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

—Luke 18:11

Or are you praying for God, so that He can hear from His child and answer their pleas?

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

–Luke 18:13

To Whom Are Praying?

There is a specific formula in Scripture for a successful prayer life and one of the key ingredients is praying in the name of Jesus; John almost overemphasizes this.

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

–John 14:13

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

–John 14:14 

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

–John 15:16

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

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
 

–John 16:24

At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 

–John 16:26

Praying by or in Jesus’ name is praying that what we ask be fulfilled according to His will. If we are not praying in the name of Jesus, we aren’t praying according to God’s plan and our intercessor with God will not relay our words to Him.

How Are You Praying?

Is a prayer a time set aside where you speak to God by formality, routine, or obligation?

Pray without ceasing.

–1 Thessalonians 5:17 

If praying is an event, it is not how God intended it to be. Obviously we cannot always be talking, but prayer isn’t one-sided either. If a prayer is all talking and no listening, it will not be answered. If you don’t listen to God’s words, why should He listen to yours. We listen by being still and waiting upon God. We listen by reading His written Word and praying according to it and by it. We listen by being aware of God moving in lives around us. 

How Are You Living?

This is the biggest one for me. If your actions don’t love Jesus, your words will not love Jesus.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

–Psalm 66:18

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

–Isaiah 59:2 

If we don’t live like we believe, why would God answer our prayers. If we don’t repent of our sins we cannot speak to God because He cannot be in the presence of sin. If we cling to sin, regarding it in our hearts, God will not hear us. If we hold onto sin, how can we believe He can deliver us from Him. God will not hear an unrepentant prayer. 

So before you bring your request to God, ask forgiveness from your sins, don’t send up your prayers to heaven from a sin-filled  heart: they won’t make it if you do. Make sure your life is right, your heart is right, and believe by faith that God will do what you ask if it is asked according to His Word and His will.

As always, thanks for reading.

—the anonymous novelist

I Will Speak

And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.
—2 Kings 22:14

This verse is great. It is coming from a prophet, but it applies to every Christian. The post will be a bit short today, but that’s not a bad thing. 

The words I want to focus on from this verse are “I will speak”. The I, is the identifier, it tells who, but also associates you with the following statement: it identifies you. The will, speaks not only intentionality, but firm, resolved expediency. To will and to do go hand in hand throughout Scripture. The speak, means the courage to verbally assert yourself to say the message. It is action we perform with charisma and energy when taken in light of the previous words and the nature of the statement. 

This man, the prophet Micaiah is saying that he is devoted to the Lord. He will speak the words that God says to him. Many people hear the words of God but keep them bottled inside of them. They don’t speak them to others. Any time you hear the voice of God, it is a blessing and a gift. We shouldn’t keep that gift from others by trying to keep it to ourselves. 

Micaiah has a relationship of immediacy with God. God speaks to him, he speaks God’s words to others. There is no interperetation, no translation, he doesn’t deliberate who needs to know and who need to hear. The priority is not on the person to whom the words are spoken, but on the words. God can use anyone to speak His words to others, we just need to lend ourselves to be used in that way. I whatever we do, we must be ready and willing to speak. The words of God idling in our hearts and minds do nothing to benefit a dying world. God wants people who will share his words, not hoard them.

I will speak, is a commitment and devotion to the words of God, a covenant to be God’s mouthpiece unashamedly. Many people who have been spoken to by God will not speak. And in a world of closed mouths and hushed voices, I will speak.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

The Shout of Silence

We may not often realize this, but silence speaks, sometimes louder than words.

“One of the finest means of communication is saying nothing.” –Adrian Rodgers

Silence can say “I love you”, as much as saying “I love you” can say “I love you”. Not to undermine words, but listening to someone is one of the most important parts of friendship. Everyone wants to be heard. As a friend, I’m really no good if I’m talking all of the time. Listening to someone tells them that you care about what they have to say; more importantly, it tells them that you care about them. I don’t think we listen enough: to our friends, to our parents, (and that works the other way too. Parents don’t listen to their children), and especially to God.

Conversation for human beings has always had two main elements: speaking and listening. Why does a conversation with God only contain one of those elements? It seems to me like prayer has become one sided in our day and age. Think about it. How many times can you recall spending three minutes praying and asking God for this and thanking Him for that? We praise; we repent; we intercede; but do we listen? God wants to hear your voice, but He wants you to hear His as well. We need to listen more.

Not just when we pray, we need to listen when we read His Word, when we sit under preaching or teaching of His Word, and when we go about our normal, daily lives. To truly have communion with The Father, we need to listen to what He has to say. By this, we show Him that we love Him and care about His Word, His commands, and His promises.

Listen to God more, but also, listen to others. The best thing you can do for a friend is to listen to them. Even if you don’t have a particular interest in the topic, just listen. It will strengthen your friendship and let your friend know that you care, and that they can trust you with their words.

Words are powerful. In words, we store information; that information means something to us. Words are our way of relating our feelings. This one may hurt a little, but, whenever you say or do something to upset your friend, listen to their screaming and yelling. When they get defensive over something said or done, listen to them, don’t continue to push a lemon wedge into an open wound.

I can’t speak for every person, and often times this is caused by pride, but when I become defensive and try to justify my actions and myself, I do so because I care so much about people that I don’t want them to think badly of me. So, when someone verbally attacks me, whether in front of my friends, or perhaps they are one of my friends, if I keep silent and take the abuse, I’m sending the message that I don’t care enough about what that person thinks of me to defend myself. However, should I speak up and that person not listen, they are sending the message that they don’t care enough about me to hear what I have to say.

Words are powerful when we use them correctly, but silence is just as powerful. When we can discern, (there’s my favorite word), when to use our words and when to remain silent, we will have discovered the secret of life, the secret of friendship, the secret of relationships. Don’t be afraid to speak, but know when to listen.

As always, thanks for reading.

—the anonymous novelist