WHY MY PRAYERS AREN'T ANSWERED

                          WHY MY PRAYERS AREN’T ANSWERED

                                       (For the local newspaper)                          

   Years ago I was encouraging a colleague to turn his life to Jesus. He told me that God doesn’t answer his prayers. He went on to state that he had asked God for five things and never got them. I replied, “What did you pray for?” As he attempted to rebuttal my position, each time he was about to speak, he said, “Well, He did answer that, and that, and that one too… but I asked Him for a car and never got one.” I suggested, “Why don’t you just go and buy one?”

  We often expect our prayers to be answered on our terms. As with this fellow, how many of our prayers have been answered and we simply did not recognize it. We know that God is not some big genie in the sky who is there to answer our every beckon and call. We can see throughout creation, and the Biblical morals, that God is a God of laws and principles. Certainly, if we want our prayers to be answered, He has terms and conditions.  Let’s look at some:

-FAITH – “But let him ask in faith nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like the waves of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord”. James 1:6-8 

- ACCORDING TO HIS WILL – “…if we ask anything according to His will, we know He hears us. And if we know He hears us…we know we have the petition we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

-WRONG MOTIVES – “You ask, and you receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:3 

-DEFIANCE AND REBELLION- “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm 66:18.  No different than as children with their parents, can we be walking in willful disobedience and expect God to answer our prayers.

-THE ACTION OF FAITH – I will park on this for a moment. We know we must have faith to please God, but our faith may require action. Abraham was a man of faith, yet in His faith he did what He knew God required of him. God is gracious regarding our weaknesses and ignorance, and He might answer our prayer, but there is a point where it is time to step out and do what God expects of us. For instance, if you are praying for a job, maybe you should put feet to your faith and knock on some doors. Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; Seek, and you shall find; Knock, and the door shall be opened.” Mathew 7:7

-PATIENCE- “You have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:36

  Faith also requires patience. For God to answer prayers, we have no idea how much may be involved for Him to grant our request. It may require Him to work with the will, abilities, weaknesses, even the oppositions of others, and furthermore, He must orchestrate everything together according to His principles and purposes. Obviously this depends on the type of prayer request. As an example, for those of us who are waiting for Jesus to return, "He must remain in Heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets." Acts 3:21 Another example is when the prophet Daniel was praying and fasting for 21 days, and his answer was delayed because the conflict in the heavenlies hindered the messenger angle from getting to him Daniel 10

-FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST- Outside of faith in Jesus Christ, we are still in our sins and cut off from the presence and promises of God. If you come to God by faith in Jesus Christ, Who paid for your sins by His death on a cross, He will receive you with wide open arms. That is the greatest answer to prayer!

  Jesus said that we must always pray and not give up! Keep praying, He will come through! He loves you.