Unanswered prayer

There are, as far as I can see, only five scriptural reasons why a Christian's prayers may not be answered:

1. Praying outside of God's will

Our prayers may not be answered because we are praying for something which our Lord, in his wisdom, would not grant us even if we persisted in asking. My own view, however, is that such prayers are not as common as we might think. Jesus said that everything is possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23). Lack of faith, in my opinion, is a far greater hindrance to prayers being answered than praying outside of God's will.

2. Praying without faith

Our prayers may not be answered because we are praying without faith or we are praying with doubts in our mind.

Jesus' disciples asked him why they couldn't drive a demon out of a boy, and he told them it was because they had so little faith. He said, 'If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew 17:19–21).'

James tells us that the man who asks God for something, but doubts that he'll receive it, will not receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:5–8). By contrast Jesus said, 'Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24).'

When we pray we should not doubt: we should pray with faith, believing that we'll receive what we're asking for.

3. Delayed answers

Our prayers may not be answered yet because God is testing our faith to develop our perseverance. If every prayer we prayed was answered immediately, how much faith would we need? The answer is very little. But if we have to pray for weeks, months, years or even decades before receiving the answer, then our faith in God will be truly tested.

Perseverance is continuing in a course of action despite difficulty, or with little or no sign of success. Put into spiritual terms, it means continuing in the faith when things don't go well for us (Job 2:7–10; Habakkuk 3:17–18), or continuing to pray for something when we have no indication that our prayers are being answered.

The Bible says that we cannot be mature and complete as Christians without perseverance (James 1:4). That is why we're to count it pure joy whenever we face trials and difficulties in life, because it's an opportunity for us to grow in this area (James 1:2–3). There was a time for Job to be healed, but not before his perseverance had been tested (James 5:11).

The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and that includes a time for our prayers to be answered. Remember, God answers prayer not too soon, or too late: his timing is perfect. When God sees in us what he wants to see, the answer will come. God's delays are not his denials.

4. Sin in our lives

Our prayers may not be answered because there is sin in our lives. Referring to prayer, the psalmist wrote: 'If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Psalm 66:18).'

Were our Lord's prayers answered? Yes. And why was that. Because he was the Son of God? No. Our Lord's prayers were answered because of his faith and his righteous life (John 8:29), and that same power in prayer is available to us (1 John 3:21–22).

If the Lord had sinned he could not have been our Saviour. God would not have overlooked his sin because he was his Son. Likewise, if the Lord had cherished sin in his heart, the Father would not have listened to his prayers (John 9:30–31).

James tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). If we want power in prayer we need to live righteous lives. What is righteousness? Righteousness is doing what is right in the sight of God (1 John 3:7).

Note that Achan's sin of covetousness meant that Israel could not stand against its enemies (Joshua 7:1–26).

5. Satanic opposition

Our prayers may not be answered yet because there is satanic opposition to overcome. This can be true with respect to personal prayer and I believe it's the main reason for unanswered prayer in matters pertaining to the Church. Satan does not want God's will to be done on earth and he will do everything he can to try to prevent it from being done.

Please read Daniel 10:1–14.

Daniel was praying in God's will.
There was no sin in his life.
He was praying with faith.
There was no need for God to delay the answer to his prayers, in fact the angel was sent to him as soon as he started to pray (v12).

Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-one days before he received the understanding of the vision. The satanic power that resisted God's angel didn't want Daniel to receive the revelation. There was opposition to his prayers in the heavenly realms.

Paul tells us that 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 (Ephesians 6:12). What would have happened if Daniel had stopped fasting and praying? It is quite possible that he would not have received the understanding.

I believe this passage has been included in Scripture to teach us a lesson about spiritual warfare. If we could see what was going on in the spirit world, I'm sure we would pray more earnestly and more persistently. It's not that God doesn't want his Church to grow, or that it's not time for it to grow. Satanic forces need to be overcome before it can grow, and that is accomplished by prayer and, if necessary, by fasting. Fasting intensifies prayer.

See Mark 2:18–20 for more information on fasting.

Michael Graham
June 2002

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