Prayer is a divine gift through which God graciously and gracefully invites humanity into a real living fellowship with him, bridging the distance between earth and heaven and drawing finite creatures into communion with the eternal Creator. Scripture consistently affirms that God ALONE is the object of prayer. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matt 6:9), one psalmist declared, “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come” (Ps 65:2), and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 commands believers to “pray without ceasing.” God does not command nor call people to pray if he did not intend to respond. He assures them that he hears and answers, saying, “Call to me and I will answer you” (Jer 33:3) and “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find” (Matt 7:7). In calling people to prayer, God reveals not only his sovereignty but also his desire for relationship with people. He therefore invites people to participate in his purposes, to align their wills with his will, and experience the transforming reality of his presence and power in their lives that come by prayer.
Some of us may feel like we pray and pray, and it seems to us like we never receive a response from heaven. There are two common reasons for unanswered prayer. One has to do with us, and the other has nothing to do with us; let me explain. The first reason is that we do things that hinder our own prayers, and the second reason is that devils hinder our prayers. There are at least 5 common ways that we hinder our prayers to and from heaven. These are not limited to but are the most common reasons as follow: our mistreatment of others, the way we treat our spouses (for those who are married), the presence of sin and unrepented sin in our lives, the lack of faith through doubt and unbelief, and selfish prayers. One of the reasons that seem like unanswered prayers has nothing to do with us. On many occasions, the Lord uses angels to bring us the answers to prayers. In the process, there are territorial demonic princes that fight to keep angels out of what they believe to be their jurisdiction. In the process of God to dispatching the answer, a spiritual war or battle is presently being fought to which we may be unaware in the second heavens; and the angels sent from God are held up by demonic forces to which we are unaware. To us however it would seem like the prayer was not answered. We are also involved in warfare, which is why God wants us to pray without ceasing. If the devil can make us give up, it will empower the demonic realm against the angels of God. When we continue prayer through… it empowers the angels of God against the demonic realm. This all may seem like science fiction but it is all true. It is an insult to God and to other believers for a person to claim to be a Christian but yet mistreat the people around them. God determines how you feel about Him based on the way we treat others. Consider the affirmation concerning how we say we love God whom we cannot see and yet despise people who we see every day? Jesus’ command to love your neighbor as yourself was not a suggestion. It was the second greatest commandment to which all the Law and Prophets hang. We hinder our prayers when we mistreat or do wrongs to other people, becomes one of the ‘highlighted’ ways that we offend the Lord with our lifestyles.
AT LEAST 9 BIBLICAL REASONS FOR UNANSWERED PRAYER
(1) Praying with unrepentant sin. If a person is living in or practicing sin, prayers are hindered, and the only prayer is according to God’s will, repentance – Psalm 66:18 and Isaiah 59:1-2.
(2) Praying with hypocrisy or for show publicly while the person’s private devotion is shallow – Matthew 6:5
(3) Praying with Wrong Motives. God does not answer selfish and self-centered prayers.
God does not fund selfish agendas. Prayer is not a spiritual vending machine when the center of it is on self rather than on God’s will – James 4:3
(4) Praying Without Faith, and prayer that is treated like a religious ritual or duty rather than praying out of a relationship with Jesus. So, prayer done in these manners goes unanswered – James 1:6-7
(5) Praying with unforgiveness (refusing to forgive others) in one’s heart blocks prayer. God takes this one very seriously – Matthew 6:15
(6) Praying with empty repetition, lengthy praying to impress others – these prayers go unanswered by God – Matthew 6:7
(7) Praying while ignoring God’s Word. In other words, God does not answer prayers that reject His voice – Proverbs 28:9
(8) Praying while oppressing other people keeps prayers from being answered. It is because God hears the cry of the oppressed before the prayer of the oppressor – Proverbs 21:13
(9) Praying contrary to God’s Will are prayers God will not answer. Some prayers are simply denied not because God is absent, but because He is faithful. The person essentially does not know what they are asking – Matthew 20:22
– Blessings to all of you.
Hi John, as your oldest sister I couldn’t be more prouder that you are my brother. I have always watched God move in your life and I praise him for his faithfulness. The answers on prayer is particularly important, because these are questions that I have wondered about. Thank you for the insight provided. May God continue to use and bless you in such a time as this.