A Prayer for Our Unanswered Prayers
By Lynette Kittle
Bible Reading:
“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” - Isaiah 65:24
Listen or Read Below:
Sometimes, it feels like we pray and pray but aren’t seeing God answer us. This can cause us to feel discouraged, grieved, upset, angry, forgotten, or abandoned.
When our prayers aren’t answered, our natural response is to pull away, thinking God doesn’t care and doesn’t really love us. But it is in these times when we need to draw closer to Him, checking to see what may be hindering our prayers from being answered.
James 4:8 urges us to “Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
We know from Scripture that God wants to answer our prayers. As Isaiah 65:24 tells us, God is ready to answer us before we call or even finish asking.
So when we don’t see it happen, it’s time to look closer at what God’s Word directs us to do in prayer. The following are three questions to ask ourselves when our prayers aren’t being answered.
1. Do we have sin in our lives? If we discover we have sin in our lives that we’re ignoring and not dealing with, our next step is to confess it so that the separation we’ve created between God and ourselves can be reconciled, opening His ears to our cries.
As 1 John 1:9 directs, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
2. Are we participating in activities that grieve the Holy Spirit? Are we supporting activities, organizations, or media that grieve the heart of God and stand in opposition to His way?
Ephesians 4:30 warns, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
If so, as 2 Corinthians 13:5 urges, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
3. Is the enemy interfering with our answers? Daniel 9-10 describes how Daniel prayed and sought answers from God, but it seemed like God wasn’t answering him, and Daniel didn’t understand.
But God was hearing and listening, and He sent Gabriel to let Daniel know what was happening in the heavens. After three weeks of mourning and seeking answers, Daniel experienced another divine encounter, which explained to him the spiritual battle that was going on in the heavenly realms.
Daniel’s experience reveals that God’s answers are sometimes challenged by the enemy of our souls. So, like Daniel, we want to keep praying, believing a breakthrough will come.
As Ephesians 6:12 explains, “For 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.”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
Today, we come asking You to hear, listen, and answer our heartfelt prayers, praising and thanking You with grateful hearts. We know You long to answer our prayers even before we ask.
Because You do, we ask ourselves questions, examine and check the condition and attitudes of our hearts, rather than pointing fingers at You and thinking You don’t care.
Help us to remove any and all barriers between us, all sin and grievous activities, so that if there are things keeping You from hearing our prayers, we can repent and be reconciled in our relationship with You.
As the battle rages in the heavenly realm, strengthen us, O Lord, to be faithful and keep praying even when the answers aren’t coming. Help us be assured of Your desire to answer our prayers, believing Psalm 84:11: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”
Be glorified, Father, through our prayers.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Sergey Tinyakov
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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