Why Prayer is Not Answered - Part 1

God still answers prayer if our relationship is in good standing with Him. If our prayer is not being answered, we only need to ask the Holy Spirit why and then hear His answer well, and obey His word to us.

The following insights tell us why prayer is often not answered:

1. We have been overcome with the cares of life. Needs and pressures of life are with us everyday; yet some people have stepped up to the next level of depending on the Holy Spirit and His strength so that they live above the pressures, --and you can too. Jesus loves you so much that He said He would never leave you nor forsake you. That means you really don't need to be overcome with the cares of life. That means He desires to handle them for you. He knows your way and your struggles. What can you do to live above your cares? Here are some answers:

a. "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly!" (Colossians 3:16.)
Draw life and strength from the Word of God early in the morning when your mind is fresh and alert, and hold that Word in your heart all day, --one day at a time. Don't allow yourself to worry whether or not you will be able to keep the Word in your heart tomorrow, because tomorrow has not yet come.

b. "Gird up the loins of your mind." (I Peter 1:13.)
This means to take courage (YOU take courage given by the Holy Spirit) in the face of hardships and remember God said He would be with you always. You can choose to worry about your needs or choose to trust God for them. The choice is yours. When you need an answer, He will bring your answer on time, but it will be one day at a time.

c. Set a goal to be an overcomer of that which tries to overcome you.
Think: To be an overcomer, you have to have something to overcome. "They OVERCAME him by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony." (Revelation 12:11.) Start today to be an overcomer. Your effort will bring you closer to the Lord, and when you are close to Him, you will notice you have faith to believe for your answers.

d. Remember God will give you His peace.
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect PEACE whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3.) Count your blessings for one week and you will recognize His peace is greater than the cares of life.

e. Remember He will give you rest.
"In returning and REST shall ye be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15.) When you go to the Lord in prayer consistently in the morning or evening, your confidence in God's promises will grow and your prayer will begin to see answers.

f. Remember He will give you strength.
"But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their STRENGTH; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
(Isaiah 40:31.)

g. Remember God invites you to commit your way to Him and trust.
"COMMIT thy way unto the Lord; TRUST also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm37:5.) Living with the Word of God everyday gives life to everything you do and supernatural strength to stay above the cares of life so that you can believe God for the answers to every prayer.

2. Wrong attitudes. You may not be aware of this, but you change attitudes many times in one day. Sometimes the attitudes develop wrong opinions which in turn rob you of peace. They cloud your faith and when faith is not fed by the Word, it will become diluted with doubts and negative thoughts which will eventually blind you to the power of God's Word. It's good to examine your heart often. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23.) When wrong attitudes have been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus, faith will naturally rise again to believe God for the things you discussed with Him.

3. Prayerlessness. This is the greatest reason of all for no answers to prayer.
There's an imaginary channel from your heart to the Throne Room of God, and your prayers travel straight to your heavenly Father. There, God hears your worship and your requests and He desires to give you the desires of your heart. Some people cannot or will not take time to pray so there are many answers to prayer that have not been claimed. For others, their prayer life consists of short "sentence prayers" spoken in generalities with no specific details, yet they wonder why God does not rain down an abundance of specific and detailed blessings on them and their family.

These people usually have many needs and complain that they cannot receive answers. They often have little or no joy or direction in life for employment, promotions or ministry. They have no vision or goals or purpose in life. They have a difficult time making decisions that could lead them into a place of abundance --all because they just don't pray. Their example is taking a toll on their children who are watching the example before them. It is because of slothfulness and indifference to responsibility to care for their own spiritual needs first, then others. They have avoided the call of God to seek Him to know the destiny that God ordained for them. What will happen to them? Who can help them? Usually no one can help them until they see themselves as God sees them, people of prayerlessness.

If you have a tendency to lean toward this lifestyle at times, dare to take hold of your life and seek God again. He is waiting to turn your life around and answer your prayers. It may be that even now there are many answers on hold with your name
on them.