Why are my prayer unanswered?

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By Charles F. Stanley

First, examine your relationship with God. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior or you are in willful rebellion, you can not expect a “yes” from God. His answer is likely to be a repeated “no” until you fully surrender your life to Him.

Second, recognize that God always responds to His children, but not necessarily with the answer we want to hear. Sometimes He says “No” or “Wait.” These can be hard answers to accept. But when we set aside discouragement or resentment, we can learn a lot from these answers. Why might God tell us to wait?

He wants us to focus on Him more than the object of our desire.
He wants us to trust Him more fully.
He wants our attitudes to more closely reflect those of Jesus.
He’s working in the hearts of others who are involved in His blessing for our lives.
He’s preparing a greater blessing than the one for which we asked.

Why might God say no?

Our relationships with others are not right. We may not be expressing forgiveness, mercy, or understanding to the people He’s placed in our lives.
Our motives for asking may be entirely self-centered, resulting from pride, selfishness, or insecurities that He wants us to face.
Our faith in God may be wavering because it is based on our ever-changing emotions rather the truth of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
We fail to tithe and give, and He wants to teach us His view of stewardship.
We are not serious about reading His Word and applying it to our lives.
We are living with unconfessed sin in our lives, and He wants to lead us to repentance and obedience.

God’s desire is to bless us (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). But if we follow other gods and do not obey His Word, the heavens will be closed to our prayers. When we know what to do, we’re responsible for doing it. Then, and only then, can God trust us with His greatest blessings.

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