Have you ever felt helpless about a situation? especially when the solution you seek turns out to be something above your capabilities? I know I have. We all have been there.
As believers, more often than not, it feels like our prayers are not being heard. Sometimes, we adjust our habits to make sure our voices are heard, by being more consistent with prayers, sowing into God's kingdom, and giving to the poor and needy, but regardless of every effort, it seems God is not listening.
It is important to understand that God sees more than just our actions. He sees our motives. And unknown to us are the reasons for his silence. It could be that he is preparing us for something better or preparing something better for us. However, most of the time, our actions and decisions have a way of affecting our future.
Below are the 5 most frequent reasons for unanswered prayers:
1. Unconfessed sins: the greatest enemy of life is not death, it is sin. God frowns at it, and sin takes its form in diverse ways.
It could be through one's thoughts, words, or actions. And it would be a total lie to say you are without sin because inadvertently and purposely, we fall into sin. We are not perfect creatures. Nobody is created perfect. We are helpless in that nature, so sin is not the problem here.
The real issue is not recognizing or acknowledging this act and proceeding to lay your request to God in prayers without confessing your sins.
Unconfessed sin works by forming a canopy between your prayers and God's ears. This canopy is the barrier that stops our prayers from reaching the right source. All we need to do is admit our sins to God and seek his forgiveness, and every other things will fall into place.
2. Lack of Forgiveness: once your sins have been pardoned by God, he expects and wants you to do the same. Just as he easily forgives our sins and grants our prayer requests, he expects the very same from us.
Going to God in prayers, with a hardened heart, a heart that holds grudges and offenses, may be the reason why many of us experience delays in getting our prayers answered.
It may sometimes feel like it doesn't matter or can be ignored, but I assure you that the case is different. God doesn't appreciate grudges or malice, regardless of whether you are in the good or the bad. When someone does wrong to you, it's okay to be angry for a while, but insistently resenting the person is not a habit God is happy with. An act of forgiveness before attempting a time with God is the step you need to take in order to receive answer to prayers.
3. Lack of Faith: you may be wondering if it's possible to pray without having faith, the answer is yes. And we've all been a victim of it. This can happen due to the complexity of the situation you're praying about or the depth of your relationship with God. And that is why we have the Bible, to guide us and build our faith.
But whatever the reason, trusting that your prayers have been answered is getting the exactly what you asked for, even better. Having faith plays a crucial role in getting our prayers answered.
As believers, we are told in the bible that before we ask God for something, we should believe he has already done it. The worst way to show that you believe in God is by continuously worrying about the same situation you prayed about. Practice faith in God by completely dismissing worry from your heart.
4. Wrong Motives: the list won't be complete without this. Even as humans, when someone asks something of us with a wrong motive, we find it hard to do.
Why? Because we know the reason behind the request. How much more God? Who sees us from the inside to the outside. He knows what we need before we ask him and OfCourse, the reason behind our every request.
Going on your knees in prayers, asking for something from him without having a genuine reason or having a wrong motive, is undoubtedly the ingredient to not getting your prayers answered.
Many times, we do this because we think he wouldn't know. You can't be asking God for money or a car, when you know that deep down, you'll use it solely for enticing women. Your reason for seeking something from him should be sincere and, in order to get your request granted.
5. Disobedience: is the very cap to the bottle, this by far remains non-negotiable. God adores obedient minds. It outranks every other attribute a man might have.
Think about it, let's say you have a daughter whom you've continuously instructed about something, which could be a code of dressing or word choices, but right about the same number of times you mentioned it, she has refused to listen. And on one gorgeous morning, she comes asking for a new phone or something else. It ruins your entire mood because it's an act of selfishness on her part.
Nothing puts as much distance between us and God the way disobedience does. He frowns at it. The good thing is that he is a patient God, but lack of obedience can put us in an uncomfortable position with him. A place we don't want to be. Most of the time, we are the ones always asking, the little we can do is obey when God gives us an instruction.
These practices might appear subtle, but they impact our lives as believers. It is important to recognize them in order to stop putting them in the way. Prayer is a crucial part of being a Christian and if not practiced often, has detrimental effects on our spiritual lives. We should learn to pray right, and frequently. Also, allow the Bible to play its role in our lives as believers.
Comments