Why Was My Prayer Not Answered?

Have you ever wondered, why is it that so often when I pray nothing happens? Here are some thoughts that might help you to find the answer.

First, here are seven kinds of prayer that God says He will not respond to.

1. Sinful Prayers

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear."

Psalms 66:18

2. Selfish Prayers

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

James 4:3

It’s not wrong to ask for things for yourself. You ought to ask God to supply the things you need: even everyday things that most people take for granted. It’s an acknowledgement of how much you depend on Him. But when you ask, think about why you’re asking. Is it so that you can serve God better or give to others in need, or is it just for your own pleasure?

3. Unbelieving Prayers

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

James 1:5 – 8

If you don’t ask in faith, don’t expect to receive anything. When you pray for God to do something, do you believe He can do it, and do you believe He would want to do it? More importantly, do you believe God? Some of us will pray when we’re in a tight corner but our lives demonstrate that we don’t trust God. We won’t let Him tell us how to live. We want to do things our way. We think we know better than Him. If you think you know better than God you cannot be praying with faith.

4. Hypocritical Prayers

“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Mark 11:24 – 26

This is about asking God to do something that you have refused to do yourself. Asking for forgiveness when there are people you refuse to forgive or praying for the poor when you live in luxury and give little to help them, for example.

5. Prayers That Are All Show

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

Matthew 6:5 – 7

The kind of prayer that is made to impress or influence other people is not acceptable to God.

6. Impossible Prayers

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

John 15:7

Prayer that is not consistent with God’s Word is impossible because God cannot go against what He has written. Put negatively, you cannot pray for something that God forbids. Looked at positively, a mind steeped in Scripture will be more in tune with the mind of God. A person whose mind is like that will see more of His prayers answered. Prayer is a skill you will grow into as you get to know God better through His Word.

7. Prayers For The Wrong Reason

“If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

John14:14

To pray in Jesus’ name is to acknowledge that it’s only because of what He did on the cross that you can come to God, but praying in Jesus’ name also means praying for His sake. That means asking only for things that will bring honour to Him. Prayers for anything that will not bring honour to Jesus are not acceptable to God.

But there are things we pray for and we know it’s right and good to ask for them because God has told us in His word that it is. Sometimes, even when you pray for those things nothing seems to happen. We’ll think about why that might be next time.