Why Aren't My Prayers Being Answered?

We've all encountered moments in our spiritual lives when we prayed with no results. Apparently the people to whom James was writing his epistle were having the same experience. Just as you have probably asked yourself at one time or another, it appears that these believers were also asking, "Why aren't our prayers being answered?" We can surmise that they were asking this question because James provided an answer in James 4:3: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss."

The Greek word for "amiss" is kakos, which describes something that is bad or wrong. As James uses it in this verse, it depicts a person who is asking wrongly, badly, or inappropriately. You could say that this person is simply not hitting the mark in his request. Although he prays with the greatest fervor, he is not hitting the target with what he is asking. This person is apparently asking God to do something that is not in agreement with His Word. Therefore, regardless of how long or how passionately the person asks, God will not answer his request with a positive answer because it is not in agreement with the Word.

Or perhaps this person is asking for the right thing, but because he is so fretful and filled with fear and anxiety, he doesn't ask in faith. Rather than praying from a position of faith, he cries out to the Lord in fear and anxiety. But fear doesn't move God - faith does. Hence, although this person may be asking for the right thing, he is asking from a wrong spirit. Thus, he is asking badly or inappropriately.

Praying scripturally and in faith is essential if you want your requests to be answered positively.

First John 5:14 says, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." The word "confidence" is the Greek word parresia. It describes confidence, boldness, or assurance. It pictures a person so confident that when he speaks, he has no doubt about what he is saying. He knows what he is saying is correct or appropriate; therefore, he becomes very bold. In the context of prayer, this word presents the picture of a believer who is so confident he is right in what he is asking that he asks unashamedly and confidently.

What can give you this kind of confidence? The verse goes on to tell you: "...If we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." So when you 1) know God's will and 2) ask Him to do something that is in agreement with His will, you can be 100-percent sure that God will hear you and that your request will be positively answered!

This means you have solid ground on which to stand as you pray in agreement with the revealed will of God, the Bible. Since your request is in agreement with what God has already revealed in His Word, you know you can be bold when you make your request! And there is no need for you to pray out of fear and anxiety either. Just quiet down, and let the Word of God fill you with peace; then ask in faith.

First John 5:14 guarantees that if you ask anything that is in agreement with His will, God will hear you. In fact, verse 15 goes on to promise you, "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

Knowing what to pray and how to pray is vitally important. So always keep this in mind as you get ready to make your requests known to God: God listens for His Word, and He responds to faith. When He hears His Word prayed from a heart of faith, He is compelled to act.

The success of your prayer life is up to you, friend, so don't ask "amiss" when you pray. Make sure you are asking correctly and in an appropriate spirit of faith. As you learn to pray in line with God's Word from a heart filled with faith, the answers you seek will manifest in your life more quickly and more fully than ever before!