Here is Part 2 of Reasons for Unanswered Prayer:

 

4) Speaking in an Atmosphere of Disagreement
*Matthew 13:57-58 says, “57And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

*Matthew 18:19-20 says, “19Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

 

*Jesus was capable of doing anything, healing any disease, saving any lost soul or raising any dead person back to life. However, His will was always hindered in an atmosphere of disagreement or unbelief, which is why He would begin to teach during those times in hopes of creating belief in the heart of a group of people.

 

*You can prophesy and declare until you are blue in the face, but if you are doing so where there is no faith or agreement, you are wasting your time!

 

5) Your Petitions Tempt Christ Rather Than Move Him
*Luke 23:32-43 says, “32And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. 33And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 35And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. 36And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. 38And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

 

*Matthew 4:3-11 says, “3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”

 

*When our prayers are, “If you are who you say you are Jesus, then heal my child,” we are tempting Christ out of a place of desperation rather than moving Him with our faith. God is moved more by our faith than our needs, but our prayers cannot be similar to the devil when he said, “If you are the Son of God, then…”. When we walk with God, we know Him in a relationship. We know exactly who He is, and we cannot question this truth in our minds. It is easy to be overwhelmed when a circumstance is really outside of our control. That is why you put it in the hands of the one who is in control!

 

6) Pride
*James 5:16 says, “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

 

*James 4:6 says, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

 

*Luke 18:9-14 says, “9And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

 

*Matthew 6:5-8 says, “5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

 

*Any prayer to God that is from a source of pride rather than humility will never be answered. Some of the key indicators that show you are needing to let go of pride when you pray is when you compare yourself to others, tell God of all your wonderful accomplishments and successes, and when you pray to be heard and with vain repetitions, meaning that you repeat yourself over and over again, such as saying the name of God 100x (which indicates some form of fear because you cannot make your prayers personal, but are more concerned about how others will think of you while trying to make sure you get God’s attention). This type of praying is as a servant rather than a son or daughter. You hope that God will reward you with answered prayers because you have faithful in your service to Him. He is not obligated because of what you have done, but He is drawn to you because you belong to Him!