WHY DOESN’T GOD ANSWER MY PRAYERS?
Matthew 6:5
INTRODUCTION
Within the Bible there are 650 prayers. Many of them are answered and many of them are not. Have you ever wondered, “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” I’m sure many of you have prayed a prayer only to wait and have nothing happen. Maybe you’ve wondered, “Is God real?” “Is God listening?” “Does prayer really work?” Nothing can be more disappointing than silence from God.
Prayer isn't the way to get God to do whatever we want. It's an expression of our trust in His power, wisdom, and grace. No matter what we ask God to do for us, we are to have the attitude of Jesus.
Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (NIV)
I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know—God answers prayer;
I leave my prayers with Him alone,
Whose will is wiser than my own. —Hickok
Before we look at this subject it would do us good to understand what prayer is and also something about the person who prays!
Prayer is an expression of our dependance upon God. Today more than ever mankind is expressing his independence from not only his fellow man but also from God.
To the child of God, prayer should be as normal and as easy as breathing is to our physical bodies. In the same way that it is natural for a new born baby to cry out to its mother and its father; it should be our nature to pray to our father who is in heaven.
Today more than ever before churches have put more and more emphasis on how long a prayer should be and how well it is spoken. But these are not the things that should be emphasized when we pray.
Prayer is simply, communication with God. Prayer provides us a way in which we can always be in contact with God. Prayer is the means that we use to make known to God the requests that we have.
When we make these requests known to God we should take every precaution to make sure that they are made in the right way.
We do not have to worry about how long our prayer is, neither do we need to worry about how eloquent we say a prayer in public. But what we do need to emphasize and also be sure of is that our prayers that we speak, come from our hearts!
Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (NIV)
Without a heart felt prayer, our prayers are worthless. Without this true sincerity our prayers are powerless! Without a heart felt conviction of what we are praying for, our prayers are just words.
When you pray you must be careful of many things that can hinder your prayer life. This morning I’d like us to look at four hindrances to prayer.