July 23 Pastor’s Roundtable
Why does God not answer prayer?
Pastor Dave Chambers
Pastor Tom Schierkolk
Pastor Ted Jolls
Pastor Jon Michael
Category Archives: Prayer
Why Doesn’t God Answer Prayer?
The problem of unanswered prayer is one that perplexes many religious people. If God promises to answer prayer, and He does, then why does it seem that God often refuses to answer the earnest prayer of sincere people? Why does God seem to be unwilling to intervene in the circumstances of this world?
Everyone who prays must remember God is not a genie who promises to grant every wish. God places restrictions on the kinds of prayers He will answer and on the kind of people whose prayers He will answer. God answers the prayers of His children. God never promises to answer the prayer of every person in the world. The Bible does not contain one single promise that God will answer the prayers of the unsaved. God promises to answer the prayers of only those who have by faith received Jesus as their Savior. Those who have not received Jesus cannot expect God to hear their prayers because they are not members of the family and kingdom of God. Americans have no right to expect the Chinese government to protect them or provide for the stability of the United States. Likewise, those who are not the children of God and citizens of the Kingdom of God have no right to expect Him to give them what He has promised to His people.
The Bible also warns that Christians living in sin will not have their prayers answered. (Psalm 66:18) Christians who are refusing to repent of known sin cannot claim God’s promise of answered prayer. Instead, the promise of answered prayer is dependent on the Christian being in a right relationship with God.
God promises to answer the prayers of His children if those prayers are not selfish and are seeking His will. God does not always answer in expected ways, but He does answer the proper prayers of His people. Consider the following Biblical accounts of answered prayer. When King Hezekiah prayed for protection from the armies of Assyria, God wiped out the Assyrian army in one night. (2 Kings 19:15-20, 35-37) When Solomon prayed for wisdom, God gave it to him in great abundance. (2 Chronicles 1:7-12; 1 Kings 3:16-28) When the Corinthian church prayed for Paul, God delivered him. (2 Corinthians 1:10-11) Other examples of answered prayer could be given from the lives of Abraham, Isaac, the Israelites, Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, Elisha, Elijah, Daniel, Nehemiah, Paul and Peter. The Bible shows that God hears and answers the prayer of His people. The personal testimony of thousands of Christians shows that God still answers prayer. Specific examples can be found in the life stories of George Mueller, Charles Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, William Carey and Elizabeth Elliott. Faithful Christians living today can give personal testimony of God answering their prayers.
The problem of unanswered prayer is not a problem with God or with His faithfulness. Unanswered prayer is the problem of sinful people. Prayer for wrong things, prayer from wrong motives and prayer from those who are not right with God will not be answered. The children of God who truly delight in the Lord will have the desires of their heart. (Psalm 37:4)
How Can I Get My Prayers Answered?
Jesus makes great promises about prayer. He said, “Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do.” (John 14:13) “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7) “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you.” (John 16:23) “Ask and it will be given to you.” (Matthew 7:7) God’s promises to answer prayer are repeated in First John. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14) Since the Bible makes such wonderful promises about prayer it should be easy to have our prayers answered. For most people, this is not the case. Why? Either God does not keep His promises or the people praying are missing something important.
God is undoubtedly a promise keeping God. The testimony of Scripture and the experience of countless Christians shows that God always does what He says He will do. Since the problem is not in God, it must be in people. The first step in getting prayers answered is a simple one. You have to pray. “You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2) Wanting something is not the same as praying for it. Imagining you have something or thinking about how nice it would be to have something is not the same as praying. Prayer is a conversation with God in which the person makes specific requests to God. If you have never asked God, He cannot be blamed for not giving what you never asked for.
The promises of answered prayer all have specific conditions attached to them. Answered prayer is dependent on a right relationship with God in Christ. You must be walking closely with Jesus so that He is a vital part of every day. God does not promise to answer your prayer if you are holding on to sin. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18) You must be asking for that which is in agreement with His will. God will never answer prayers for sinful things. You must be asking for the right reason. Selfish prayers will not be answered. “You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your own pleasures.” (James 4:3) An honest evaluation of prayer would reveal that most of our requests are for things we want simply for our own self-gratification. God never promises to answer self-serving prayers.
God answers prayers through Jesus. Praying in Jesus’ name is coming to God through Jesus and in dependence on Jesus. This means God only promises to answer the prayers of His children. You must be saved to lay claim to the promises of prayer. You must also pray in dependence on Jesus. You must rely on God the Son to bring you and your requests to the Father. The person who attempts to come to God based on their own good works or their own devotion will not be pleasing to God. The person who tries to bargain with God will not have their prayers answered. Prayer that is in dependence on the work of Jesus will receive answer from God. We must also pray in accord with the character of Jesus. We must pray for things that please Him. We must pray in submission to His authority over every aspect of life.
Prayer was never intended as a means for people to get anything they want. God is not a genii who grants wishes. He is not Santa Clause who exists only to give presents to good people. Prayer is not magic. Saying the right words in the right order with the right feeling will not assure you of answered prayers. God created people to have a relationship with Him. The most important step in having your prayers answered is to have a close relationship with God. When prayer is relational it will be focused on the conversation with God instead of the wish list. When prayer is relational, God will answer. Walking closely with God in obedience to Him will lead you to pray for that which is right and good. When you pray in a right relationship with God He promises to give you what you desire. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
Why Do We Pray?
Why are my prayers not answered?
In the gospels Jesus gives incredible promises about prayer. One of these promises is, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14) Yet, many people pray and do not have their prayers answered? Why is this? Since Jesus gave broad, sweeping promises about prayer, should not every one who prays get what they ask for? Why are many prayers not answered?
First, the promise of answered prayers is only given to believers. The Bible never promises the unsaved that God will give them what they ask. God may graciously answer some of the prayers of the unsaved, but He does not promise to do so.
Second, every one of Jesus’ promise of answered prayers is conditioned upon the properness of the prayers. The gospel of John contains the most remarkable of Jesus’ promises. The promises in John are all dependent based upon the one praying being in a right relationship with Jesus. This propriety in prayer is described in one place as,“asking in Jesus name.” Asking in Jesus name is more than ending a prayer with “in Jesus name, amen.” Asking in Jesus’ name is asking under the authority of Jesus and in agreement with His character. Sinful prayers or prayers for things opposed to the increase of the kingdom of God will not be answered. The promises of answered prayers are not unlimited promises from God that He will give whatever the person asks for, no matter what. The promises are dependent upon the requests being in submissive obedience to will of Jesus.
James 4 gives another reason prayers are not answered. Requests are not answered if they are never asked.“Ye have not because ye ask not.” A desire for something is not the same as praying for something. To have your prayers answered you must speak to God and ask Him to grant your desires.
Sin in the life of the believer will cause prayer to go unanswered. Sin hinders the Christian’s relationship with God, and if a Christian willfully continues to disobey God he cannot not expect God to grant his requests. God is gracious. He often answers prayers despite our sin and He does not withhold answers because of inadvertent or unnoticed sins. The Christian need not fear that some forgotten sin is keeping God from answering his prayer. Rather, it is when the child of God “Regards iniquity in his heart” (Psalm 66:18) that the Lord does not hear.
One final reason God may not answer your prayer is if your requests are selfish. “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your own lusts.” (James 4:3) This is related to the promise of answered prayer in 1 John, “If we ask anything according to His will He heareth us.” God does not promise to give you whatever you want whenever you ask. He is not in the business of spoiling His children. When the Christian asks for something merely to gratify his own desires, he must not expect God to give it. When the Christian asks for good things, for the glory of God and the increase of the kingdom of God, God promises to give His child the desires of their heart. God answers prayers that are selfless and seeking the furtherance of His kingdom.
Does praying repeatedly for something show a lack of faith?
Biblical faith is believing God’s Word and trusting Him to do all He has promised. Faith relies on God. A strong faith gives peace in difficult times and comfort in afflictions because it trusts God to do what is best for His children. Faith is most evident when circumstances are unpleasant or when we do not understand why things happen like they do. If a Christian is trusting God in a difficult situation does that mean he will not have to keep praying about it? Will the peace that comes from trusting Him forego the need of continuing to pester God about the problem?
Luke 18 records Jesus’ parable about a widow who had been wronged. She went to a judge to seek judgment against the one who wronged her. The judge was not interested in justice, but the widow persisted in bothering him demanding for justice until he finally issued judgment on her behalf. Jesus told this parable to teach, “that men ought always to pray and not to faint.” (Luke 18:1) If an unjust judge will do right because of someone’s persistent pleadings how much more will the Christian’s heavenly Father answer the prayers of His children?
Jesus Himself prayed and prayed earnestly. Did He lack faith? Jesus prayed earnestly because He trusted His Father. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed intensely and repeatedly because He was relying on His Father to strengthen Him for the brutal task ahead. Jesus prayed when He already knew His prayer was answered. (John 11:41-42; 12:27-28) Jesus prayed at all times because He trusted His Father.
The consistent pattern in the Bible is that God delights in those who pray with fervency, intensity and tenacity. He is never annoyed by persistence in prayers. One danger to avoid is willfulness is prayers. God is not pleased with those who insist on praying for something they should not have. Those who make improper demands of God may find themselves like the Israelites in the wilderness. They were given quail to fill their bellies but it came at a great spiritual cost. “He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.” (Psalm 106:15) The Christian who asks rightly for right things can ask with boldness and persistence, knowing God is pleased when we trust Him enough to never quit asking Him to supply our need.
Absence of prayer is an absence of faith. The one who relies on God for all things is one who will pray continually. Faith filled prayers trust God to work. Those who trust God are quick to lay their requests before God. The absence of prayer is not a sign of spiritual strength but of spiritual immaturity. A lack of prayer indicates the person either does not care enough to pray or is trusting something else to supply the need. E.M. Bounds said, “Our praying needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage which never fails.” Those who truly trust God “pray without ceasing.”
Did Jesus promise to answer every prayer?
“If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:14 seems like a very straightforward promise. Anything you ask for, Jesus will do. Did Jesus give a blanket promise to do everything that people pray for? Any one who has done much praying knows we do not always get what we ask God to give. Does God not keep His promises or is there something else in John 14:14 that shapes the nature of the promise?
The overlooked phrase is one of the most important of the verse. Jesus said if you pray “In my name.” That is much more than ending prayer with, “In Jesus name we pray. Amen.” Doing anything in the name of someone means acting as an official representative of that person. John MacArthur says that praying in Jesus name is asking for things that are consistent with who He is and asking for what Jesus would want. In other words, praying in Jesus’ name is praying selflessly for the will of God. Jesus will not answer the adulterer’s prayer for another partner. The person praying selfishly for a brand new sports car is not promised to have his prayers answered.
The book of 1 John spends a lot of time discussing certain key aspects from the Upper Room discourse, including John 14. 1 John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” The book of 1 John says the condition of answered prayer is asking according to the will of Jesus. Praying in Jesus’ name is asking in earnest desire for His will to be accomplished. It is not saying, “God I really want this, but if it’s not your will I really wish you would make it your will.” Asking in Jesus name genuinely desires the accomplishment of His will. It is saying, “God I would like this, but what I really want is your will to be done, your kingdom to be increased and your glory to be revealed.” When we pray this way, we know He will give us what we ask for. The remarkable testimony of those who have learned to pray this way is that when we learn to ask for what God wants then we find God is incredibly generous to His people.
This does not mean we cannot pray for things that we do not know if they are His will. We can ask or healing, a job, a spouse and many other things that we cannot know for certain if we are praying according to the will of God. In those situations where we do not know the will of God, we pray making our desires known and also knowingly submitting our desires to the will of God. We bow before God to ask His favor. We specify what we would like to receive of Him while confessing that we trust Him to do what is right and best. We confess we trust God if it is something different than what we requested. The promise of God is we will have what is good for us and what is in accord with the character and plan of God.
This principle of praying in Jesus’ name finds its Old Testament parallel in Psalm 37:4, Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
Why do Christians pray before eating?
A regular part of family gatherings used to include the family sitting around the table to enjoy a meal together. Once everyone was seated, the family would pause to pray before the meal began. Many Christian families still make this a habit at every meal. Why do people pray before eating?
Whether you call it “blessing the food” or “giving of thanks,” the prayer before a meal is a reminder that every good thing comes from God. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father.” Christians pray before meals to remind themselves every good thing we have comes from God.
“Saying the blessing” is an act of giving thanks to God for giving us our daily bread. In the Lord’s prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” If you have been praying for God to meet your daily needs, then the meal you are about to enjoy is a specific answer of God to that specific prayer request. The wise Christian seated before a plate of Divine provision will stop to give God thanks for answering his prayer.
Some may not realize the Bible specifically teaches about giving thanks to God for food. In 1 Timothy 4:5 Paul warned about false teachers. Their wrong teachings included forbidding marriage and forbidding the eating of meat. Paul rebuked these errors and said, “Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused.” The restrictions of the Old Testament law have been done away with by Jesus. Now, the Christian may eat any animal he desires. This means the Christian can eat snails, raw fish, lutefisk, livermush or any other unpalatable dish he desires. Give thanks for the freedom to eat that we have in Christ.
In 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul had to correct problems the church in Corinth was having with food. Christians were divided over whether they could eat things that had been offered to idols. Paul taught the church to not eat with selfishness, but to eat with concern for how their dining affected the spiritual well-being of others. Paul’s instructions are summed up with these words. “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) Prayer before meals reminds the Christian that even when eating we are to bring glory to God.
The sanctifying act of prayer sets the food and the person apart as offerings to the Lord. Praying before a meal confesses that the food is not to be consumed merely as fuel for the achievement of the individuals personal desires. Prayer recognizes the meal is a gift given by God enabling the believer to live for the Him.
Why is Prayer is So Hard?
Christians recognize prayer as a wonderful privilege. Through prayer the individual can speak directly to the God of creation and Ruler of the universe. An invitation to the White House or a visit with the Queen of England is trivial in comparison with the opportunity afforded those who pray. Yet many find prayer to be difficult. Distractions, uncertainty of what to say and difficulty making time for prayer make a serious habit of talking with God a challenge for many Christians. Since prayer is such a glorious privilege, why is it so difficult?
Prayer is conversing with our Heavenly Father, but prayer is also warfare. When the Christian prays he is opposed by an array of enemies who actively seek to interfere. Daniel 10 gives a glimpse into the spiritual realities of prayer. Daniel prayed and God immediately sent out an angelic messenger to answer his prayer. However, an evil spirit opposed the messenger of God and delayed the answer to Daniel’s prayer by three weeks.
Other indications of this spiritual warfare are found in the New Testament. Paul told the Thessalonians that he would have returned to them, “but Satan hindered us.” (1 Timothy 2:18) The apostle Peter describes Satan as, “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) The believer’s prayers are actively opposed by the enemies of Christ. Prayer is less like a pleasant conversation between two family members and more like a lieutenant on the battle field radioing his father and commanding officer during a firefight while the enemy attempts to jam the radio signals.
The spiritual enemies of the Christian are aided and abetted by the many physical distractions of this world. The abundance of entertainment and the constant demands of instant communication make it very difficult to silence the noise outside us and practice a silent discipline like prayer. But, one simple habit can help overcome some of the distractions. Praying out loud can help keep your mind on track as you converse with God.
Sin in the person’s life will be a significant hindrance to prayer. When the believer is holding onto sin, he is not going to want to pray. Those clinging to sin are not going to desire a serious relationship with God through prayer because as the Christian draws closer to God his own sin becomes more evident. The conviction of the Holy Spirit and the realization of the need to be growing in holiness discourages some from developing a strong prayer life. Unconfessed sin makes prayer more difficult, but those who love God deeply will be willing to forsake sin so they may have unhindered converse with Him.
Prayer is an essential part of a relationship with God. Through prayer the Christian talks with his loving Father and King. A life of prayer that is serious, disciplined and faithful willnot be easy. But the privilege of prayer is worth any difficulty endured to speak directly with the God of the universe.
Why did Jesus pray?
Jesus prayed often. The four gospels record dozens of times when Jesus prayed. Prayer was an important part of His life. Yet, Jesus was- and is- God. As God, Jesus had perfect fellowship with God the Father and God the Spirit. Why did He need to pray?
When God the Son became human He willingly set aside His power and glory as God. Jesus remained God but He emptied Himself of the glory of God., so that Jesus was fully human while remaining fully God. As a man, Jesus relied upon God the Father. The mighty miracles that Jesus did, He did by the power of God (Acts 2:22). Jesus prayed because He had willingly made Himself depended on the Father. He acknowledged and confessed that reliance through prayer.
Jesus prayed for the same reason that every Christian ought to pray. He prayed to converse with His Heavenly Father. In the eternity that existed before God created the universe, God the Father, Son and Spirit were in perfect fellowship and unity together. The Trinity shares a level of intimacy unlike anything humanity has experienced. The Bible tells us little about the fellowship between the three persons of the Trinity or how that relationship was affected by God the Son becoming man. But the incarnation changed that relationship. Jesus prayed because in prayer He had fellowship with God. Jesus prayed because He delighted in conversing with His Father. Jesus’ prayer was no mere duty or religious ritual. It was the expression of a loving relationship between Son and Father.
Jesus prayed for the benefit of His disciples, for others who heard Him pray and for ourselves. He prayed that we might believe He is the Savior. This is especially evident in John 12 when Jesus said, “I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.” Jesus’ prayers show a concern for the bystanders response to His prayer. He prayed that others may profit from hearing Him pray.
Jesus’ active prayer life is an example to us to pray. Christians are to become more like Christ , to be growing in imitation of Him. Christ’s life of prayer shows us how to pray. He specifically taught how to pray. He commanded perseverance in prayer. But He did not just teach, He modeled prayer for us. He showed Christians how to pray in deep distress, in success and in disappointment. He prayed early in the morning, late at night, at meals and before major decisions. Jesus prayed often and in doing so showed us how to pray.
Prayer was a vital part of Jesus’ life and ministry. He prayed in times of anguish. He prayed for rest and refreshment. He prayed before major events and miracles. He prayed for His disciples, for future believers and for unbelievers. He prayed for God’s glory and for God’s will. He prayed without ceasing. If God the Son prayed always, why don’t we?
Everlasting Truths 