Why Don’t My Prayers Get Answered?
This expert summary draws from Dr. David Jeremiah’s message, “Why Don’t My Prayers Get Answered?”, providing a comprehensive checklist, rooted in scripture, of seven common reasons believers may experience hindrances in their prayer life. Understanding these barriers is essential for maintaining strong fellowship with God and accessing His promised blessings.
The Problem of Unanswered Prayer
The struggle with unanswered prayer is not new; it is recorded throughout the Bible. Prophets like Habakkuk wrestled, asking, “Oh Lord how long shall I cry and you will not hear me?”. Job expressed a similar yearning: “Oh that I had one to hear me oh that the Almighty would answer me”. Even King David questioned God, “How long oh Lord will you forget me forever how long will you hide your face from me”.
Jesus, during His earthly ministry, frequently denied requests, demonstrating a pattern where “no” is just as much of an answer as “yes”. Sometimes answers are delayed, or they come in ways we don’t recognize until much later.
However, the Bible also provides plain statements about specific circumstances under which God will not answer prayer. Just as a prudent businessman examines his books when his business fails, believers should conduct a spiritual accounting to determine the cause of prayer failure.
The Seven Biblical Barriers to Answered Prayer
The following list, derived directly from scripture, serves as a checklist for believers seeking to understand why their prayers may be hindered.
1. Unprayed Prayers
The first barrier is simply the failure to ask. “You have not because you ask not”. Unspoken desires are likened to “concert tickets never picked up at the window or an unredeemed gift certificate”.
Some people miss out on God’s intended blessings because they are either embarrassed to ask or believe God does not want to be troubled. DL Moody advised that the only way to trouble God is not to come at all. God desires believers to recognize their need and articulate their prayers clearly.
2. Unconfessed Sin (Regarding Iniquity)
One of the most frequently repeated principles in scripture is that unconfessed sin creates a barrier between humanity and God.
- Psalm 66:18 states: “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me”.
- Isaiah 59:1–2 confirms: “His hand is not shortened that it cannot save nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear but your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden his face from you that he will not hear”.
- Proverbs 28:9 declares that the prayer of one who “turns away his ear from hearing the law” is an “abomination”.
The key distinction is not the fact of sin, but the regard or love for sin. A person who “regards iniquity” holds a particular sin in their heart, loves it, makes excuses for it, and protects it. This is akin to a Christian hoarding sin in their life, reserving a “little place” in their heart for something they know they shouldn’t be doing. God wants to hear the prayer of First John 1:9: “If we confess our sin he’s faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all iniquity”.
3. Unbelieving Minds (Doubting)
Prayer requires faith, which is an essential agreement, not an optional one.
- Doubt Hinders: The Bible warns: “Let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord”.
- Faith is Essential: Hebrews 11:6 reinforces: “Without faith it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him”.
God desires bold, faith-filled prayer. John Newton, citing a story about Alexander the Great, concluded that we should approach the throne of God with “petitions that express honorable views of the love riches and bounty of our king”. We should believe God for big, seemingly impossible things, remembering that “all things are possible with God”.
4. Unrighteous Motives (Asking Amiss)
Prayers rooted in selfish or impure motives may go unanswered.
- Selfish Indulgence: James wrote: “You ask and you do not receive because you ask a miss that you may spend it on your pleasures”.
- Hedonism: The phrase “ask a miss” refers to asking in a wrong way, often connected to hedonism—a lifestyle consumed with personal pleasure and indulgence.
Believers must check their motives: are they seeking God’s glory, or merely their own desires for luxury, comfort, or self-centered living? While God delights in meeting needs and giving good gifts, the primary goal of prayer must be alignment with God’s purposes.
5. Unresolved Conflicts (Unforgiveness)
Unresolved conflicts and unforgiveness act as major barriers to fellowship with God.
- Forgiveness Mandate: Jesus taught that when standing in prayer, “if you have anything against anyone forgive him that your father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses”.
- Reconciliation Mandate: If a believer remembers that their brother has something against them, they must leave their gift at the altar and “first be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift”.
This means it is “always your turn” to initiate reconciliation or forgiveness. While unforgiveness does not affect salvation, it severely hinders fellowship and creates distance in the believer’s walk with God. Bitterness is a self-destructive and prayer-hindering emotion that must be addressed through a forgiving heart.
6. Uncompassionate Hearts
Failing to have compassion for those known to be in need, especially those who seek help when the believer has the capability to provide it, hinders prayer.
- Proverbs 21:13 warns: “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard”.
- Action Over Words: The Apostle John encouraged believers to love “not in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth“.
God is a God of compassion, and because He has shown compassion to believers, they are expected to demonstrate compassion toward others. Responding without compassion violates fellowship with God and can block answered prayer.
7. Unresponsive Husbands
The Bible includes a specific warning for men regarding their relationship with their wives.
- Honoring the Wife: Husbands are commanded to “dwell with them with understanding giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered”.
The quality of the husband-wife relationship directly impacts the man’s prayer life. Not being loving or meeting the wife’s needs according to God’s Word hinders prayer. Conversely, when a couple agrees and prays together, there is immense potential for answered prayer.