Why isn't my prayer answered, yet?

Why isn't my prayer answered, yet?

But don't forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore since all these things are thus to be destroyed, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness. -- 2 Peter 3:8-13

One of the questions that confronts prayer warriors frequently is "Why isn't my prayer answered, yet?" This question has lots of possible answers. Before I tackle this question, please let me explain that my purpose here is not to condemn anyone, but to help you understand how to make your own prayers more effective. I won't give you much of a clue as to what might be hindering anyone else's prayers, nor can I tell you about your own particular case, because God hasn't revealed that to me. All I can do is point out some things that are in the Scriptures, and I ask you to examine your own life, words, and prayers; and not to try to figure out what went wrong for someone else. As sure as I write this, someone will probably think I'm picking on them, but I'm not. I'm just sharing some things from the Word of God that I believe will help you be more effective in prayer, and some of those things may demand some kind of adjustment on your part.

1. God may delay the fulfillment of a promise for an even better result. Take a look at Peter's quote, above, about the promise of Jesus Christ's return and the day of judgement. God will most certainly keep this promise, but the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write to us exactly why Jesus Christ hasn't returned, yet. God wants the full measure of those who can be saved to be saved. What else would you expect from our loving Father?

2. Wicked spiritual forces may delay an answer to prayer. In Daniel 10:1-13, we may read about an angel sent immediately with an answer to prayer, but that angel was detained by a fallen angel (the Prince of Persia) for three weeks while Daniel continued in fasting and prayer. Finally, because Daniel kept at it, the archangel Michael helped the messenger angel past this evil blockade, and Daniel's prayer was answered.

3. Discord between husband and wife can hinder prayers. Peter wrote: "You husbands, in like manner, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as being also joint heirs of the grace of life; that your prayers may not be hindered." (1 Peter 3:7, WEB) If this is a problem for you, deal with it so that your prayers won't be hindered. This is written specifically to husbands, and it is right that it be so. Wives also have responsibilities to fulfill, but if the husband walks in love and obedience to Jesus Christ, it is MUCH easier for them to do so. Husbands, if you love, honor, and build up your wife in your words and actions, you not only please God, but you will most likely reap a reward of respect and love back from your wife. If you tear her down, you grieve the heart of God and shun the close fellowship with Him that you were made for.

4. Spiritual starvation and straying from God's Word hinders prayers in two ways: (1) because you are likely to ask for something that is contrary to God's Word, and (2) you become much more vulnerable to temptation and sin, which isolates you from the close fellowship with God that you were made to have. In John 15:7, Jesus said: "If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you." When you remain in Jesus Christ, and His words remain in you, then that affects what you desire, what you ask for, and the results. When Jesus' words remain in you, you will better know how to pray and what to ask for. In turn, you will get what you ask for. How do you remain in Jesus' words? Read them. Listen to them. Meditate on them. By "meditate," I don't mean some mystical emptying of the mind, but filling your mind with Jesus' words by thinking about them, repeating them, mulling over them, looking for applications to your life in them, and even writing notes about them. There are books that I just read once, and that is enough. The Bible, and especially the New Testament, is not one of those. I read, listen to, quote from memory, and/or meditate on it every single day. God's Word feeds my spirit, renews my mind, cleansing it from the filth of the world, and keeps my prayers effective. I discover things I hadn't seen, before, and get encouraged by being reminded of the truths I already know. I encourage you to do likewise. Ask God to guide you in studying God's Word by His Holy Spirit. He is more than pleased to do so, because He loves you.

5. Other people's lack of honor and lack of faith can hinder your ability to do supernatural good. Mark 6:5-6 says: "Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.' He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick folk, and healed them. He marveled because of their unbelief." Notice that if Jesus Christ Himself "could do no mighty work" in such a place filled with unbelief, then we can't, either. He did manage to heal a few sick people, but nothing like what He did in the other villages. There was certainly nothing wrong with Jesus in His hometown, but other people limited what He could do for them by their lack of faith.

6. People's own words or lack of faith trap them. Jesus said in Mark 11:23: "For most assuredly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and doesn't doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says." Be warned and beware. This can work for good, or for evil. If you really believe that you are sick and dying, and you keep saying that, then you will. If you are saved, you will go to Heaven and be with Jesus, and you certainly won't be sick any more there, but is that God's best for you? Probably not. If you go praying for healing for yourself or a loved one, then in conversation keep talking about how bad things are and how things are getting worse, which do you believe? Do you really have faith for healing, or do you have more faith in the problem? James 1:6-8 says: "But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

7. Bad things happen that aren't due to the victim's sin, nor due to their parent's sin, but God gets glory from healing and restoring the victim. The classic Biblical example is the man born blind in John 9. Jesus' disciples assumed that this must be some judgement from God for a bad sin, but Jesus corrected them. Jesus didn't pin blame on anybody (after all, He was sent to save the world, not condemn it), but He healed the man. In John 10:10, Jesus said: "The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly." Jesus wants to heal, not destroy. Who is the thief? 1 John 3:8 says: "To this end the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and Jesus was always healing people, forgiving them, and providing food for them, that it must be the devil who is bringing in sickness, disease, deformity, sin, poverty, and such things. We must not blame God or people for what the devil does, but we are certainly free to continue Jesus' work of healing, forgiveness, and providing for those in need.

Jesus said:

"Most assuredly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments." -- John 14:12-15 (WEB)

?Michael Paul Johnson