SEARCHLIGHT
Why are your prayers not being answered?
SCRIPTURE
Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. Lamentations 3:8 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
When Norman Vincent Peale was a young boy, he found a big, black cigar and slipped into an alley where he lit it up. The taste of it was not very good but smoking it made him feel very grown up. Unexpectedly, young Norman saw his father coming toward him. As the story is told, he quickly put the cigar behind his back and tried to act casually. Desperate to divert his father’s attention, Norman pointed to a billboard advertising the circus. “Can I go, dad? Please, let’s go when it comes to town.” His father’s reply taught Norman a lesson he never forgot. “Son,” he answered quietly, but firmly, “never make a petition while at the same time trying to hide a smoldering disobedience.” [John Lavender, Why Prayers Are Unanswered]
Perhaps you are just like young Norman or maybe you know someone like him. You are asking God for something while disobeying God at the same time. Can you recall times in your life when your prayers just seemed to hit the ceiling and bounce back down again to you? You are desperately crying out to God for help, but you feel like He has shut you out. Why would that happen? Perhaps you are praying while ignoring “smoldering disobedience.”
How often it has been said, “God answers prayer!” I am here to tell you that statement is true based on what the Bible says and what I have personally experienced and witnessed in other peoples’ lives. However, I am also here to tell you, “Sometimes God does not answer prayer!” And that statement is based on today’s Scripture focus. Sin blocks prayers from being answered. Sin just does not hinder your prayers but is actually a barrier to them.
The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah. It is composed of five laments regarding Jerusalem being destroyed in 586 B.C. The Jewish people had continually disobeyed God and lived a lifestyle unpleasing to Him. As a result of their persistent rebellion, they experienced terribly harsh treatment from the Babylonians who overpowered them and destroyed Jerusalem. As today’s Scripture verse explains, God’s chosen people had pleaded to God for help but did not hear from heaven. They had cried and shouted to God for help but no answer. It was as if God locked up their prayers in a bank vault and then threw away the key. [Lamentations 3:8 The Message]
ARE YOUR PRAYERS BLOCKED OR HINDERED? It is possible that you may be praying to God about something and your prayers are not just being hindered but blocked. There is a big difference between hindrances to prayer and barriers to prayer.
A hindrance to prayer is when there are things that stand in the way, resist or delay your prayers from being answered. A hindrance slows down the effectiveness of your prayer. But it does not mean your prayer will not be answered. Take, for example, a road detour. You start out on your trip not expecting to have to take an alternate route because of road construction. In the end, you still get where you wanted to go, but you had to overcome the road hinderances. Sometimes what you pray for will face hindrances before you see the victory. Some prayer hinderances may be a lack of faith, inconsistent praying, or perhaps your view of who God really is.
On the other hand, a barrier to prayer is when there is something that stops and prevents your prayers from being answered. Until the barrier is removed, God cannot answer your prayer. A barrier to prayer prevents you from communicating to God. You cannot agree with God as to what is best. Why? Sin is the barrier between you and God.
In Jeremiah’s time, the Jewish people wanted God to answer prayer but were not willing to admit to their willful and intentional sinful lifestyle. They wanted God’s help without giving their heart to Him. They needed to learn that their sin was the barrier to their prayers being answered. This was a permanent barrier unlike a hinderance which is only temporary. Their prayers were impossible for God to answer. Why? Because they were not right with God. Unfortunately, they did not learn this lesson. [Lamentations 3:44]
Are your prayers not being answered because of hinderances which are temporary? Or are your prayers not being answered because of barriers which are permanent and need to be addressed? The loudest call for God’s help goes unheard as long as a person intentionally ignores God’s will and ways. A right relationship opens up the door to answered prayers. [John 9:31]
SOMETHING TO DO
Check out some reasons why God will not answer prayers:
- Wrong motives and reasons – James 4:3
- Pride – James 4:6
- Praying opposite to God’s will – 1 John 5:14,15
- Disrespecting your wife – 1 Peter 3:7
- Unconfessed sin – Isaiah 59:2
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, search my heart to see if there is anything in my life that dishonors You. [Psalm 139] And when there is sin, I ask You to create in me a clean heart every day of my life. [Psalm 51] Teach me how to pray so that my prayers will be powerful in Your sight. AMEN!