Why Are My Prayers Not Answered?

[Admin]

Why are my prayers not answered?

1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.

3 'Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.

4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist.

Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?

Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

10 If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 58:1-14, ESV

One of the key ingredients

There can be two people, both doing righteousness. One will be doing good because he wants to help others, and he gets nothing in return at all! The other can be doing just as much good, but is looking forward to getting something in return, even if it is a treasure in Heaven. This second person will never have the ear of the Lord, because this person does not understand who the Lord is.

If you get anything for your righteousness, then your prayers will often go unanswered. Even if you do good to have your prayers answered, you will rarely get an answer. If you look forward to a treasure in Heaven, then you missed the point. Any treasure a righteous man gets in Heaven, He would immediately give away to those in need!

To be like the Saviour, we are to do good for no other reason except to care about others.

[Admin]

If we ask for things that are not according to His will, then perhaps we should find out what His will is, and then ask according to His will.

Question: Then why should I pray at all, if all I can pray for is for what He wants, and all I can get is what He wants?

Because, He wants you to learn to be like Him, so you can have all that He has, including Eternal Life and Eternal Joy!

[Amy]

Matthew 25:1-13 NIV
[1] “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. [2] Five of them were foolish and five were wise. [3] The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. [4] The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. [5] The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. [6] “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ [7] “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. [8] The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ [9] “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ [10] “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. [11] “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ [12] “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ [13] “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The foolish virgins are like those people who want a reward, they were good, but only because they thought they would get something out of it. When they saw their "reward" was what they had done and that they would not get anything special, their lamps, or their hearts, were empty.

The wise virgins were also good, but they wanted no reward. They did good for the sake of doing good, because they liked helping people. When they saw that they would get no special treatment, but would have the opportunity to again do good for others, they were happy and full, because this is already who they were, just people who wanted to help.

[Ted]

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
- Hebrews 13:5-6


I think this scripture has some good tips for getting your prayers answered. Do not covet, and trust the Lord. Having fear (and worry) will often cause your prayers to go unanswered.

[Shem]

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.

~ 1 John 5:14

[Gideon]

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
~ James 4:3