Six reasons why God does not answer our prayers

The devil's final strategy of deceiving believers is that of making them doubtful about God's faithfulness in answering prayers. Satan would like us to believe that God has closed his ears to our entreaties, leaving us alone with our problems.

I believe that the greatest tragedy in today's church of Jesus Christ is that very few believe in the power and efficacy of prayer. Without wanting to be blasphemous, we can listen to many in the people of God while they complain: “I pray, but I do not receive an answer. I prayed long, vehemently, to no avail. All I want to see is a small proof that God is changing things, but everything remains the same, nothing happens; how long will I have to wait? ". They no longer go to the prayer room, because they are convinced that their petitions, born in prayer, cannot reach the throne of God. Others are convinced that only the types like Daniel, David and Elijah manage to get their prayers to God.

In all honesty, many saints of God struggle with these thoughts: "If God listens to my prayer, and I am praying diligently, why is there no sign that He answers me?". Is there a prayer you have been saying for a long time and still has not been answered? Years have passed and you still waiting, hoping, still being surprised?

We are careful not to blame God, as Job did, to be lazy and indifferent to our needs and requests. Job complained: “I cry to you, but you don't answer me; I stand before you, but you don't consider me! " (Job 30:20.)

His vision of God's faithfulness was overshadowed by the difficulties he was encountering, so he accused God of forgetting him. But He reproached him very well for this.

It is the time for us Christians to take an honest look at the reasons why our prayers are ineffective. We can be guilty of accusing God of negligence when all our habits are responsible for it. Let me name you six of the many reasons why our prayers are not answered.

Reason number one: our prayers are not accepted
when I am not according to the Will of God.

We cannot pray freely for everything that our selfish mind conceives. We are not allowed to enter His presence to manifest our foolish ideas and nonsense lucubrations. If God listened to all our petitions without distinction, He would end up making His glory disappear.

There is a law of prayer! It is a law that wants to eradicate our petty and self-centered prayers, at the same time it wants to make possible the prayers of request made with faith by sincere worshipers. In other words: we can pray for whatever we want, as long as it is in His will.

"... if we ask for something according to his will, he will answer us." (1 John 5:14.)

The disciples did not pray according to the will of God when they did so animated by a spirit of revenge and revenge; they pleaded with God in this way: "... Lord, do you want us to say that a fire comes down from heaven and consumes them? But Jesus replied, "You don't know what spirit you are animated by." (Luke 9: 54,55).

Job, in his pain, pleaded with God to take his life; How did God respond to this prayer? It was contrary to the will of God. The Word warns us: "... your heart should not hurry to utter a word before God".

Daniel prayed in the right way. First, he went to the scriptures and searched the mind of God; having had a clear direction and being sure of God's will, he then ran to the throne of God with strong certainty: "I therefore turned my face to God, the Lord, to prepare myself for prayer and supplications ..." (Daniel 9: 3 ).

We know too much about what we want and too little about what He wants.

Reason number two: our prayers can fail
when they are meant to satisfy inner lusts, dreams or illusions.

"Ask and do not receive, because you ask badly to spend on your pleasures." (James 4: 3).

God will not answer any prayers that want to honor ourselves or help our temptations. First, God does not answer the prayers of a person who has lust in his heart; all the answers depend on how much we manage to wrest the evil, lust and sin that surrounds us from our hearts.

"If I had plotted evil in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to me." (Psalms 66:18).

The proof of whether our claim is based on lust is very simple. The way we treat delays and waste is a clue.

Prayers based on pleasures require quick answers. If the lustful heart does not receive the desired thing, it quickly begins to whine and cry, weaken and fail, or break out in a series of murmurs and complaints, eventually accusing God of being deaf.

"Why," they say, "when we fasted, didn't you see us? When we humbled ourselves, didn't you notice? " (Isaiah 58: 3).

The concupiscent heart cannot see the glory of God in His refusals and delays. But didn't God receive greater glory by refusing Christ's prayer to save His life, if possible, from death? I shudder thinking where we might be today if God hadn't rejected that request. God, in His righteousness, is obliged to delay or deny our prayers until they are cleared of all selfishness and lust.

Could there be a simple reason why many of our prayers are hindered? Could it be a result of our continued attachment to lust or incipient sin? Have we forgotten that only those with pure hands and hearts can direct their steps towards the holy mountain of God? Only a complete forgiveness of the sins that are dearest to us, will open the doors of heaven and pour out the blessings.

Instead of giving up on this, we run from councilor to councilor trying to find help to cope with despair, emptiness and restlessness. Yet it is all in vain, because sin and lust have not been removed. Sin is the root of all our problems. Peace comes only when we surrender and abandon all concupiscences and hidden sins.

Reason three: our prayers can
be rejected when we show no diligence
assisting God in response.

We go to God as if he were a kind of rich relative, who can assist us and give us everything that we beg for, while we do not lift even a finger; we raise our hands to God in prayer and then we put them in our pockets.

We expect our prayers to move God to work for us as we sit idly thinking in ourselves: “He is almighty; I'm nothing, so I just have to wait and let him do the work. "

It seems like a good theology, but it is not; God does not want to have any lazy beggar at his door. God does not even want to allow us to be charitable to those on earth who refuse to work.

"In fact, when we were with you, we commanded you this: that if someone doesn't want to work, he doesn't even have to eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

It is not outside the scriptures that we add sweat to our tears. Take for example the fact of praying for victory over a secret concupiscence that dwells in your heart; can you just ask God to make it miraculously disappear and then sit hoping it will disappear on its own? No sin has ever been eliminated from the heart, without the cooperation of the hand of man, as in the case of Joshua. All night he had prostrated himself moaning about the defeat of Israel. God got him back on his feet saying: “Get up! Why are you so prostrate with your face on the ground? Israel has sinned ... Stand up, sanctify the people ... "(Joshua 7: 10-13).

God has all the right to make us get up from our knees and say: “Why do you sit here idly, waiting for a miracle? Have I not commanded you to flee from all appearances of evil? You must do more than just pray against your lust, you have been commanded to flee from it; you can't rest until you've done everything you've been commanded. "

We can't go around all day giving in with our lust and our evil desires, to then run into the secret bedroom and spend a night in prayer to have a miracle of liberation.

Secret sins cause us to lose ground in praying before God, because non-abandoned sins make us stay in contact with the devil. One of the names of God is "Revealer of Secrets" (Daniel 2:47), He brings forth sins hidden in darkness, no matter how holy we can try to hide them. The more you try to hide your sins, the more certainly God will reveal them. The danger never ceases for hidden sins.

"You put our faults before you and our sins hidden in the light of your face." (Psalms 90: 8)

God wants to protect his honor beyond the reputation of those who sin in secret. God showed David's sin in order to keep His own honor before an ungodly man; Even today, David, who was so jealous of his good name and reputation, stands before our eyes uncovered and still confessing his sin, every time we read about him in the Scriptures.

No - God does not want to allow us to drink from stolen water and then try to drink from His holy source; not only will our sin reach us but it will deprive us of the best of God, to bring us into a flood of despair, doubt and fear.

Don't blame God for not wanting to hear your prayers if you don't want to hear His call to obedience. You will end up blaspheming God, accusing Him of negligence when, on the other hand, you yourself are the culprit.

Fourth reason: our prayers can be
broken by a secret grudge, which dwells
in the heart against someone.

Christ will not take care of anyone who has an angry and merciful spirit; we have been commanded to: "By getting rid of all wickedness, of every fraud, of hypocrisy, of envy and of every slander, as newborn children, you want pure spiritual milk, because with it you grow for salvation" (1Peter 2: 1,2).

Christ does not want to communicate even with angry, quarrelsome and merciful people. God's law for prayer is clear on this fact: "I therefore want men to pray everywhere, raising pure hands, without anger and without disputes." (1Timothy 2: 8). By not forgiving sins committed against us, we make it impossible for God to forgive and bless us; He instructed us to pray: "forgive us, as we forgive others".

Is there a grudge hatching in your heart against another? Don't dwell on it as something you have the right to indulge in. God takes these things very seriously; all quarrels and disputes between Christian brothers and sisters will afflict His heart far more than all the sins of the wicked; no wonder, then, that our prayers are thwarted - we have become obsessed with our hurt feelings and troubled by the mistreatment of others by us.

There is also a malevolent mistrust that grows in religious circles. Jealousies, severity, bitterness and a spirit of revenge, all in the name of God. We shouldn't be surprised if God closes the gates of heaven for us, until we have learned to love and forgive, even to those who have us most. offended. Throw this Jonah out of the ship and the storm will calm down.

Fifth reason: our prayers do not come
hear because we don't wait long enough
for their realization

He who expects little from prayer does not have sufficient power and authority in prayer, when we question the power of prayer, we lose it; the devil tries to rob us of hope by making it appear that prayer is not really effective.

How clever Satan is when he tries to deceive us with unnecessary lies and fears. When Jacob received the false news that Giuseppe had been killed, he fell ill with despair, even if it was a lie, Giuseppe was alive and well, while at the same time his father was aggravated by pain, having believed in a lie. So Satan is trying to deceive us with lies today.

Incredible fears rob believers of joy and confidence in God. He does not listen to all prayers, but only those made in faith. Prayer is the only weapon we have against the enemy's fierce darkness; this weapon must be used with great confidence or else we will have no other defense against Satan's lies. God's reputation is at stake.

Our lack of patience is sufficient proof that we do not expect much from prayer; we leave the secret room of prayer, ready to combine some mess by ourselves, we would even be shaken if God answered.

We think that God doesn't listen to us because we don't see any evidence of an answer. But you can be sure of this: the longer there is a delay in answering a prayer, the more perfect it will be when it arrives; the longer the silence, the louder the response.

Abraham prayed for a son and God answered. But how many years had to pass before he could hold that child in his arms? Every prayer made with faith is listened to when it is elevated, but God chooses to respond in His way and time. In the meantime, God expects us to rejoice in the naked promise, celebrating with hope as we await its fulfillment. Furthermore, He wraps His denials with a sweet blanket of love, so that we do not fall into despair.

Sixth reason: our prayers do not come
Fulfill when we try to establish ourselves
how God has to answer us

The only person to whom we put conditions is precisely the one we don't believe in; those in whom we trust, we leave them free to act as they see fit. It all boils down to a lack of trust.

The soul who has faith, after having discharged his heart in prayer with the Lord, abandons himself in the faithfulness, goodness and wisdom of God, the true believer will leave the form of the response to the grace of God; whatever God has chosen to answer, the believer will be happy to accept it.

David diligently prayed for his family, then entrusted everything to the covenant with God. “Is this not the case with my house before God? Since he has established an everlasting covenant with me ... "(2 Samuel 23: 5).

Those who impose on God how and when to respond actually limit the Holy One of Israel. Until God brings him the answer to the main door, they don't realize that He has gone through the back door. Such people believe in conclusions, not promises; but God does not want to be tied to times, ways or means of response, He always wants to do extraordinarily, abundantly beyond what we ask or think to ask. He will respond with health or grace that is better than health; will send love or something beyond it; will release or do something even bigger.

He wants us to simply leave our demands abandoned in His mighty arms, putting all our attention back on Him, moving forward with peace and serenity waiting for His help. What a tragedy to have such a great God having so little faith in Him.

We cannot say anything else than: "Can He do it?" Away from us this blasphemy! How offensive it is to the ears of our almighty God. "Can He forgive me?", "Can He heal me? Can He do a work for me? " Away from us such unbelief! Rather we go to him "as to the faithful creator". When Anna prayed by faith, she "got up from her knees to eat and her expression was no longer sad."

Some other small encouragement and warning regarding prayer: when you feel down and Satan whispers in your ears
that God has forgotten you, he closes his mouth with this: “Hell, it's not God who forgot, but it's me. I have forgotten all of your past blessings, otherwise I could not now doubt your faithfulness. "

See, faith has a good memory; our hasty and reckless words are the result of having forgotten his past benefits, together with Davide we should pray:

"" My affliction lies in this, that the right hand of the Most High has changed. " I will recall the wonders of the LORD; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders "(Psalms 77: 10,11).

Reject that secret murmur in the soul that says: "The answer is slow in coming, I'm not sure it will come."

You may be guilty of spiritual rebellion by not believing that God's answer will come at the right time; you can be sure that when it arrives, it will be in a way and time when it will be more appreciated. If what you ask isn't worth the wait, the request isn't worth either.

Stop complaining about receiving and learn to trust.

God never complains or protests for the power of His enemies, but for the impatience of His people; the unbelief of so many people, who wonder whether to love or abandon Him, breaks his heart.

God wants us to have faith in His love; it is the principle that He constantly implements and from which he never deviates. When you disapprove with your expression, scold with your lips or hit with your hand, even in all this your heart burns with love and all your thoughts towards us are of peace and goodness.

All hypocrisy lies in mistrust and the spirit cannot rest in God, the desire cannot be true towards God. When we begin to question His faithfulness, we begin to live for ourselves with our intelligence and attention for ourselves . Like the misguided children of Israel we are saying: "... Make us a god ... because that Moses ... we don't know what happened to it." (Exodus 32: 1).

You are not a guest of God until you abandon yourself to Him. When you are down you are allowed to complain, but not to mumble.

How can love for God be preserved in a grumbling heart? The Word defines it as "contending with God"; how foolish the person who would dare to find defects in God would be, He would order him to put a hand on his mouth or otherwise he would be consumed by bitterness.

The Holy Spirit inside us groans, with that ineffable language of heaven praying in accordance with the perfect will of God, but the carnal mumbles that proceed out of the hearts of disillusioned believers are poison. The murmurs brought an entire nation out of the Promised Land, while today they keep the multitudes out of the blessings of the Lord. Complain if you want, but God doesn't want you to mumble.

Those who ask in faith,
go forward in hope.

"The words of the LORD are pure words, they are refined silver in a crucible of earth, purified seven times." (Psalms 12: 6).

God does not allow a liar or a covenant transgressor to enter His presence, or set foot on His sacred mountain. How, then, could we conceive that such a holy God might miss His word to us? God gave himself a name on earth, the name of "Eternal faithfulness". The more we believe it, the less our soul will be troubled; in the same proportion that there is faith in the heart, there will also be peace.

"... in calm and trust will be your strength ..." (Isaiah 30:15).

God's promises are like ice in a frozen lake, which He tells us that He will support us; the believer ventures on it boldly, while the unbeliever with fear, fearing that it will break under him and leave him to drown.

Never, ever, doubt why right now
you feel nothing from God.

If God is delaying, it simply means that your request is accumulating interest in the bank of God's blessings. So were the saints of God, that He was faithful to His promises; they rejoiced before they saw any conclusions. They went on happily, as if they had already received. God wants us to repay him in praise before we receive promises.

The Holy Spirit assists us in prayer, perhaps he is not welcome before the throne? Will the Father deny the Spirit? Never! That groan in your soul is none other than God himself and God cannot deny himself.

Conclusion

We alone are the defeated if we do not go back to watch and pray; we become cold, sensual and cheerful when we avoid the secret bedroom of prayer. What sad awakening there will be for those who foolishly harbor secret grudges against the Lord, because He does not answer their prayers, while they have not moved a finger. We have not been effective and fervent, we have not set ourselves apart with Him, we have not left our sins. We let them do it in our lust; we have been materialistic, lazy, unbelieving, doubtful, and now we ask ourselves why our prayers are not answered.

When Christ returns he will not find faith on earth, unless we return to the secret bedroom, belonging to Christ and His word.