“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” (James 4:2)
It is easy to become discouraged when it seems our prayers have not been answered. We pray and pray for something, yet the answer never seems to come. Why is that? May I suggest three reasons?
1) The PRACTICE of Prayer Has Been DISCONTINUED.
Often, the reason for unanswered prayer is unoffered prayer. James says, “ye have not because ye ask not…” Jesus said to His disciples, “..when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father…” (Matt. 6:6). There was an expectation that if the disciples wanted the Father to hear their prayer and reward them openly, they must first pray.
Sadly, not only has prayer been discontinued in the life of many Christians, it has also been discontinued in the life of many churches, too! Wednesday nights are generally called “Prayer Meetings” yet, few have prayer as their main focus.
2) The PERSON Who Prays Has Been DISQUALIFIED.
The second possible reason for unanswered prayer is that the person who is praying has been disqualified from receiving an answer to their prayers. There are a couple of reasons a person may be disqualified for God to answer their prayers.
First, somebody may be disqualified because a Relationship has never been Established with God. We cannot expect God to answer our prayers until He is our Father, and He is not our Father until we have been saved. Another reason a person may be disqualified is because of Rebellion that has not Ended. (Ps. 66:18) says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” When sin is present in our lives, then our prayers will be asked with the wrong motive. Therefore, God cannot answer them.
3) The PETITION in the Prayer Has Been DELAYED or DENIED.
The third possible reason for what seems like an unanswered prayer is that sometimes God’s answer is “Yes,” sometimes it is, “No,” and sometimes it is, “Not now.” You see, even when the answer is, “No,” or “Not now,” that IS an answer.
God may say, “No” because of the harm God knows the answer could do to us; just as if a little child asked to play with fire. The parent would not grant their child’s request because of the harm fire could do to them. But often, what seems like unanswered prayer is really not a denied answer, but a delayed answer. If you are asking from a pure heart and with the right motive, then God has a reason for not answering your prayer at this particular moment. But just hold on…the answer is on its way!
If your prayers are going unanswered, check and make sure that you are saved and that there is no sin in your life. Then, if the answer hasn’t come yet, just keep waiting on God, knowing that His timing is always right!