Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayers?

 

The Bible gives us no room to expect anything other than a “Yes” from God for all of our prayers (Mat 7:7). This instruction can be very confusing. Being told to expect a gift from a “perfectly reliable and freely giving God” –when experience tells you that God is anything but those things –is MADDENING. I finally got my “Yes” after more than a decade of prayers, and I finally understand this Scripture. Here, with God’s help, you can narrow down why you have not gotten your “Yes.” Scripture shows us it’s among these 3 things:

 

1. You have been faithful to God, so you are being pruned (John 15:2).

In case you did not know, some of us will have a bigger reward than others in Heaven (1 Cor 3:12-15). Want a bigger reward? Pass more tests. Harder tests. Good news: God is testing your faith (James 1:2-4). “What faith,” you may ask? The faith that He will take you out of the test (1 Pet 5:10)! 

“But some Christians die without ever seeing their prayers answered on Earth. What about the martyrs? You’re preaching the Prosperity Gospel!”

God does require that we lay down everything and everyone that we love beneath our love for Him (Mat 10:37-39). But this same Scripture shows us that we are not just laying down everything to accept a loss, but knowing that it will be a gain in the end. Scripture never expects anyone to make any sacrifices without an exceeding reward (1 Cor 15:22).

Those martyrs did receive a blessing greater than they sought, and they would tell you to expect the same (Daniel 3:17-18) –in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13). They themselves have shown you that you have nothing to lose even if you are “disappointed.”

Disappointment is nothing but proof that you actually had faith. And the tears are what keep you praying (Psalm 13). Tears are not wrong (Psalm 56:8). Cry them in faith (1 Pet 5:7), not despair (Job 38:2).

2. You are being disciplined for your current sin.

God will not discipline you for sin that you have repented of, although Satan will try (1 John 3:20). A shepherd will beat his sheep with a rod to get it out of harm’s way. It hurts. But the pain won’t stop until the sheep turns from its harmful path.

We do not always know when our sin is causing our own pain. Yes, it can take the form of a curse (1 Cor 11:29-32), but often we are shooting our own selves directly in the foot (Prov 19:3).

For example, the prodigal son brought himself to the pig pin. This was me: I brought myself to the pig pin. For this reason and the next, God was not answering my prayers.

3. You are withholding your faith.

I was praying for a godly, selfless, beautiful, warm, and fun wife. For more than ten years. But do you know what I ended up starting my prayers with?

“God, I don’t even believe You’re gonna do this, but Your Word says to keep asking.” I felt safer deciding that it would never happen. No emotional risk.

Well, one day I decided that He was going to do it. And how long did I have to wait for my bride after I decided to give Him faith? TWO WEEKS! 

Notice that I did not say, “You don’t have enough faith.” When the Disciples asked Jesus how to grow their faith, He told them that all they needed was faith the size of a mustard seed to launch mountains into the ocean (Matthew 17:20)! Jesus is saying that you CAN’T grow your faith. Your faith will always feel small when it counts, but what MATTERS is clinging to the little that you have. The smaller the faith clung to, the greater the reward in Heaven (Mark 10:31).

There are more scriptures that I can use to support these truths, but I have included a few to make this article readable.

God's plan for your life is explored more deeply in this article here:  What does “Grace” Mean in the Bible? and in our book, "Jesus' Crazy Dream." Learn how you can be the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17.

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