Pastor Don Sniff
Fowler Christian Church
I wonder how many times I’ve heard or read that question? “I pray and pray and I get no response.” “I asked God to do thus and so for me, but He didn’t. Why?” Over the years, as I’ve studied God’s Word, I’ve collected a “number” of reasons that our prayers aren’t answered. Beware of the so-called “expert” who blithely gives you a pat answer…you didn’t have enough “faith,” or “it must not be God’s will.” You know the type. At the start of this new year, and every 6-8 weeks or so (when my time rolls around to submit an article for the Tribune, I’ll give you a few more reasons I’ve come across on unanswered prayer. My hope is that by removing any impediments, we can see the hand of God move in a more intense way in our individual lives. And that will give us more reason to praise Him! Now the reasons given won’t be in any specific order. So don’t read any more into which reasons are given when. My hope is that you will write them down, put them together, ask if this reason or that one might be why you haven’t gotten the response you desire. And hopefully, you will form a better picture of the God Who is, and what He expects of us.
Reason #1: SIN
The prophet Isaiah penned these words: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2). Jeremiah says the same thing in 5:25: “Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.” Assuming the things we desire are, in fact, “good things,” maybe we don’t receive an answer to our heartfelt prayers because of ongoing sin in our lives. If God has made known to me some sin in my life, and I refuse to repent and change, He is under no obligation to even listen to me! Think about it. James alludes to the same thing when he tells the elders of the church to pray for someone who is ill: (James 5:14-15) Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. When anybody in the church that I pastor asks if the elders will pray over him/her, I always refer them to this passage, and ask them to spend some time in prayer, and ask God if there is any sin in their life that they need to forsake. So, concerning this reason for unanswered prayer, we need to do what James says, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). When God doesn’t answer my prayers, I always begin with a self-examination. Is there something inward, something in me, that might be hindering Our Father’s response? In other words, is there some sin that I’m engaged in that I need to confess and forsake.
