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Unanswered prayer
By Michael Graham - The Way Online
There are, as far as I can see, only five scriptural reasons why a Christian's prayers may remain unanswered:
Praying Outside of God's Will
Prayer can remain unanswered because we are praying for something which our Lord, in his wisdom, would not grant us even if we persisted in asking. My own view, however, is that such prayers are not as common as one might think. Jesus said in Mark 9:23 that everything is possible for him who believes. Lack of faith, in my opinion, is a far greater hindrance to prayers being answered than praying outside of God's will.
Praying without faith
Prayer can remain unanswered because we are praying without faith or we are praying with doubts in our mind.
Jesus' disciples asked him why they couldn't drive a demon out of a boy, and Jesus told them that it was because they had such little faith (Matthew 17:19–21). He said, 'If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'
James tells us that the man who asks God for something, but has doubts in his mind, will not receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:6–8).
In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, 'Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.' In other words, we should pray with faith, believing we're going to receive what we're asking for.
Delayed Answers
Prayer can remain unanswered because God is testing our faith to develop our perseverance. If every prayer we prayed was answered immediately, how much faith would we need? The answer is, very little. But if we have to pray for weeks and months and years before receiving an answer, then our faith will be really tested.
Perseverance can be defined as the steadfast pursuit of an objective, and the Bible says that we cannot be mature and complete as Christians without perseverance (James 1:4). That is why we're to count it pure joy whenever we face trials and difficulties of many kinds because it's an opportunity for us to grow in this area (James 1:2–3). There was a time for Job to be healed, but not before his perseverance had been tested (James 5:11).
The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and that includes a time for our prayers to be answered. Remember, God answers prayer not too soon, or too late: his timing is perfect. When God sees in us what he wants to see, the answer will come. God's delays are not God's denials.
Sin in Our Lives
Prayer can remain unanswered because there is sin in our lives. Speaking about prayer, the psalmist wrote: 'If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Psalm 66:18).'
Do you think our Lord's prayers were answered? Yes! Why was that? Because he was the Son of God? No. It was because he always did what pleased his Father (John 8:29).
If the Lord had sinned he could not have been our Saviour. God would not have changed the rules because he was his Son. In the same way, if the Lord had cherished sin in his heart, the Father would not have listened to his prayers (John 9:31). Our Lord had power in prayer only because of his righteous life, and that same power in prayer can be ours as well (1 John 3:21–22).
James tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). If we want to have power in prayer we need to live righteous lives. What is righteousness? Righteousness is doing what is right in the sight of God (1 John 3:7).
Note that Achan's sin of covetousness meant that Israel could not stand against its enemies (Joshua 7:1–26).
Satanic Opposition
Prayer can remain unanswered because there is satanic opposition to be overcome. This can be true with respect to personal prayer and I believe it is the main reason for unanswered prayer in matters pertaining to the Church. Satan does not want God's will to be done on this earth and he will do everything he can to try to prevent it from being done.
Please read Daniel 10:1–14.
Daniel was praying in God's will.
There was no sin in his life.
He was praying with faith.
There was no need for God to delay the answer to his prayers, in fact the angel was sent to him as soon as he started to pray (v12).
Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-one days before he received the understanding of the vision. The satanic power that resisted God's angel obviously didn't want Daniel to receive the revelation. There was opposition to his prayers in the heavenly realms.
Paul tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). What would have happened if Daniel had stopped fasting and praying? It is quite possible that he would not have received the understanding.
I believe this passage has been included in Scripture to teach us a lesson about spiritual warfare. If we could only see what was going on in the spirit world, I am sure that we would pray more earnestly and more persistently. It's not that the Lord doesn't want his Church to grow, or that it's not God's time for it to grow. Satanic forces need to be overcome before it can grow, and that is accomplished by prayer and, if necessary, by fasting. Fasting intensifies prayer.
By Michael Graham - The Way Online
There are, as far as I can see, only five scriptural reasons why a Christian's prayers may remain unanswered:
Praying Outside of God's Will
Prayer can remain unanswered because we are praying for something which our Lord, in his wisdom, would not grant us even if we persisted in asking. My own view, however, is that such prayers are not as common as one might think. Jesus said in Mark 9:23 that everything is possible for him who believes. Lack of faith, in my opinion, is a far greater hindrance to prayers being answered than praying outside of God's will.
Praying without faith
Prayer can remain unanswered because we are praying without faith or we are praying with doubts in our mind.
Jesus' disciples asked him why they couldn't drive a demon out of a boy, and Jesus told them that it was because they had such little faith (Matthew 17:19–21). He said, 'If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'
James tells us that the man who asks God for something, but has doubts in his mind, will not receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:6–8).
In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, 'Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.' In other words, we should pray with faith, believing we're going to receive what we're asking for.
Delayed Answers
Prayer can remain unanswered because God is testing our faith to develop our perseverance. If every prayer we prayed was answered immediately, how much faith would we need? The answer is, very little. But if we have to pray for weeks and months and years before receiving an answer, then our faith will be really tested.
Perseverance can be defined as the steadfast pursuit of an objective, and the Bible says that we cannot be mature and complete as Christians without perseverance (James 1:4). That is why we're to count it pure joy whenever we face trials and difficulties of many kinds because it's an opportunity for us to grow in this area (James 1:2–3). There was a time for Job to be healed, but not before his perseverance had been tested (James 5:11).
The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and that includes a time for our prayers to be answered. Remember, God answers prayer not too soon, or too late: his timing is perfect. When God sees in us what he wants to see, the answer will come. God's delays are not God's denials.
Sin in Our Lives
Prayer can remain unanswered because there is sin in our lives. Speaking about prayer, the psalmist wrote: 'If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Psalm 66:18).'
Do you think our Lord's prayers were answered? Yes! Why was that? Because he was the Son of God? No. It was because he always did what pleased his Father (John 8:29).
If the Lord had sinned he could not have been our Saviour. God would not have changed the rules because he was his Son. In the same way, if the Lord had cherished sin in his heart, the Father would not have listened to his prayers (John 9:31). Our Lord had power in prayer only because of his righteous life, and that same power in prayer can be ours as well (1 John 3:21–22).
James tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). If we want to have power in prayer we need to live righteous lives. What is righteousness? Righteousness is doing what is right in the sight of God (1 John 3:7).
Note that Achan's sin of covetousness meant that Israel could not stand against its enemies (Joshua 7:1–26).
Satanic Opposition
Prayer can remain unanswered because there is satanic opposition to be overcome. This can be true with respect to personal prayer and I believe it is the main reason for unanswered prayer in matters pertaining to the Church. Satan does not want God's will to be done on this earth and he will do everything he can to try to prevent it from being done.
Please read Daniel 10:1–14.
Daniel was praying in God's will.
There was no sin in his life.
He was praying with faith.
There was no need for God to delay the answer to his prayers, in fact the angel was sent to him as soon as he started to pray (v12).
Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-one days before he received the understanding of the vision. The satanic power that resisted God's angel obviously didn't want Daniel to receive the revelation. There was opposition to his prayers in the heavenly realms.
Paul tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). What would have happened if Daniel had stopped fasting and praying? It is quite possible that he would not have received the understanding.
I believe this passage has been included in Scripture to teach us a lesson about spiritual warfare. If we could only see what was going on in the spirit world, I am sure that we would pray more earnestly and more persistently. It's not that the Lord doesn't want his Church to grow, or that it's not God's time for it to grow. Satanic forces need to be overcome before it can grow, and that is accomplished by prayer and, if necessary, by fasting. Fasting intensifies prayer.
