Psalm 20:1-4 “The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel”.
What do you do when God says nothing about your prayer requests? Do you lose your faith and trust in God, and turn to alternatives or just stay put, expecting His instructions or direction over that matter?
Many people encounter this phase of God’s silence to their prayer requests, they are always wondering why their prayers are left unanswered or unattended to by God, and this is why it is important that you take note of the following factors that can hinder your prayers from been answered.
First, it’s important to establish what prayer is, and what prayer is not.
Prayer is not an activity or an event, which means it doesn’t just happen by chance, rather it’s a conscious communication between two people who love each other.
Prayer is a dialogue not a monologue between two people who love each other because they have something in common.
Also, Prayer is an expression of the heart.
So, ask yourself a question, do i love God? Here is a simple way to check if you love God, Are you living your life to please him? Are you ready to sacrifice your time and resources for the sake of spreading the gospel? Are you a committed worker in your local assembly?
If your answer to most of these questions is no, there’s a need for self-introspection so that your heart’s desires will not be hindered.
On the other hand, If your response to these questions is yes, and you’re still experiencing unanswered prayers, then you may want to check the following factors that can hinder your prayers.
Attitude During Prayer
What’s your attitude during prayers? Do you approach God with a humble heart or a self-righteous heart, Just like the case of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18:9-14, “God resist the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 KJV).
So, when next you are going to pray, ensure you approach God with a humble heart, avoid the “holier than thou” attitude (Isaiah 64:6), and let your focus be on God.
What is your motive:
Many times when we ask God to do something for us and He is quiet, it is because our motives for desiring those things are very wrong and can be harmful to our relationship with God in the long run.
It is important that you check your motive when you are placing a demand before God, why are you asking God for a car? Is it to brag that you have “arrived” (i.e to show off), or do you genuinely need it so as to make life better and easier not just for yourself but also for the people around you?
As the bible says In James 4:3 “You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires” AMP.
Murmuring And Grumbling:
Instead of mentioning what our heart desires are, many of us actually do not pray, what we do is grumble and murmur, we complain before God in prayer and claim that we are praying.
We keep complaining about how life has been difficult for us, we tell God how long we have served Him and how we expected Him to have answered our various prayer requests.
This is surely not the way to pray, the bible says in Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God” AMP.
So instead of complaining, you must tender your request to God with the heart of thanksgiving, trusting that He will do it for you.
Guilt
Guilt is a major hindrance to prayers, in fact, there’s no way you can make a prayer successfully with guilt in your heart, and this is why the bible says in James 10:35 “Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward”.
Come to think of it, if Christ could minister healing to the gentiles (Mark 7:24), why won’t He forgive you and listen to your prayers?, if you have committed any sin that is causing you to have guilt in your heart when you pray, then you must confess your sins to God, repent and decide to live a new life in Christ.
From the factors highlighted above, it is important that you apply the knowledge gained here to your prayer life, then the Lord shall answer you speedily and grant the requests of your heart as He promised in the following scriptures:
Jeremiah 33:3 KJV
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not”.
Psalm 145:18 KJV
“”The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth”.
Jeremiah 29:12 KJV
“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you”.
Romans 10:13 KJV
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”.
Psalm 50:15 KJV
“Call on Me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you shall honor and glorify Me. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him”.
Matthew 11:28 KJV
“Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavily burdened and I will give thee rest”.
Prayers
- Oh Lord, I thank you for the great insight I have gained through your Word today.
- Lord I ask for your mercy in all ways I have placed my requests before you with the wrong motives, Lord please help me to redirect my focus to you,
- Help me not to be selfish, teach me to use my resources for the kingdom, and to be a blessing to the people around me.
- Lord, I ask that you help me to pray in accordance to your will.
- I receive the grace to be patient even after I have prayed rightly until my prayer is answered.
- I receive a speedy manifestation of all my prayer requests in this season in the mighty name of Jesus Christ
