Reasons For Unanswered Prayer

REASONS FOR UNANSWERED PRAYER Copyright 1985,1993,2001,2007 Crossroads Full Gospel International Ministries All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Short extracts may be used for review purposes. Except otherwise stated, Bible quotes come from the King James Version. 1611 Elizabethan English is updated in some cases to reflect present terminology, without changing the true meaning of the word. Extracts from “The Expositor's Study Bible” are identified as E.S.B. Copyright © 2005 Published by, and the sole property of, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, Baton Rouge, LA, and extracts from the Swaggart Bible Commentary series are identified as S.B.C. Copyright © World Evangelism Press® Extracts from the Amplified Bible are identified as Amp. Old Testament Copyright © 1962, 1964 by Zondervan Corporation. New Testament Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Extracts from the New International Version are identified as N.I.V. Copyright 1973,1978,1984 by The International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. Also used: The New Testament: An Expanded Translation (Wuest) translated by Kenneth S. Wuest. Copyright © 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bracketed comments following some scriptures assist the reader in understanding the intended meaning of these verses We acknowledge the additional works of the various Scholars and Bible Commentaries used in conjunction with the College material. This is not to say that we agree with all their theology, but we certainly value their contribution to the Body of Christ. Published by: Crossroads Publications 10681 Princes Highway Warrnambool Victoria 3280 Australia REASONS FOR UNANSWERED PRAYER To help people who may be having difficulty receiving from God, or experiencing the empowerment which comes as our human nature is energized by the Divine Nature, a list has been compiled of some of the possible reasons for unanswered prayer and attacks of the enemy. SOME POSSIBLE REASONS FOR UNANSWERED PRAYER OR ATTACKS FROM THE ENEMY MAY BE:1. Asking the Lord without: (a) Knowing God’s perfect will on the matter: Rom.12:2 (b) Asking in faith, expecting to receive: James 1:6-8 2. Harbouring unforgiveness or having resentment towards someone, knowingly or unknowingly: Mark 11:25; Lev.20:9. 3. Rejecting part or all of God’s will for your life: Hosea 4:6; Rom.6:16. 4. Living, or coming to church, with a “get” attitude, rather than a “giving” attitude: Luke 6:38. 5. Not walking in Godly love: 1 John 4:7-8; 1 Cor.13:1-3. 6. Having a lack of concern for people’s eternal fate: Ezek.3:18-21. 7. Not serving or submitting to your fellow man’s needs according to the leading of the Spirit: James 2:15-17; Phil.2:4. 8. Putting other things or people before the Lord and His will: Matt.10:37-38. 1 9. Putting your children in front of your marriage partner: Eph.5:28; Titus 2:4. 10. Putting your family in front of the Lord: Matt.10:37. 11. Having a bad attitude after having been corrected by the Lord through one of His vessels: Heb.12:5-10; 13:17. 12. Non-Christian attitudes or behaviour: Rom.13:9-10; James 3:918; Col.3:1-10. 13. Losing your temper with something or someone: Eph.4:26-30; James 1:20. 14. Having not studied diligently to find out the commandments of the Lord: Josh.1:8; Hosea 4:6; Isa.5:13. 15. Having not rebuked or resisted the devil when needed: James 4:7-8. (a) Not binding him in Jesus’ Name: Matt.18:18. (b) Not loosing him in Jesus’ Name: Matt.16:19. (c) Not telling him to go in Jesus’ Name: Luke 10:17. 16. Fellowshipping on a deep or continual basis with lukewarm Christians (Christians who do not try to live according to God’s commandments): Phil.1:27; 1 Cor.5:11; Rev.3:16. 17. Having slowed or stagnated in your Christian walk: Matt.13:22; Luke 9:23. 18. Having not acted fully on what the Lord has told you to do, or maybe having just forgotten: Josh.1:8; James 1:22-25. 19. Slackness or a lack of commitment to the Lord: John 8:31-36; Matt.22:37-40. 20. Having been “church hopping” (2 Tim.3:7; James 1:8) in order to fulfill your own desires. 2 21. Not desiring to settle down to fellowship in a church on a regular weekly basis: Heb.10:25. 22. Not desiring to go to church meetings on a regular basis to receive teaching (spiritual food): Heb.10:25. 23. A lack of revelation knowledge: Hosea 4:6; Isa.5:13. 24. Not fully knowing your position, your authority or your rights in Christ: Mark 16:15-20; Luke 10:19. 25. Not asking God: James 4:2. 26. Asking amiss (not according to His Word): James 4:3. 27. Having not believed for the cleansing power of God after repentance: 1 John 1:9; Heb.11:6. 28. Not truly repenting: 2 Cor.7:10; Gal.5:19-20. 29. Having not believed for the cleansing of unrighteousness before believing for God’s healing power: 1 John 1:9; 1 Pet.2:24. 30. Being controlled by your five senses and your emotions rather than by what the Word of God says: 2 Cor.5:7; Prov.3:1-10. 31. Taking the problem back from the Lord by worrying or doubting, not trusting in His promises (knowingly or unknowingly): Matt.6:25-34; 1 Pet.5:7. 32. Having a lack of faith with your actions: Heb.11:6; James 2:18. 33. Lacking actions with your so-called faith: James 2:17-26. 34. Having not been witnessing about Jesus (lacking boldness): Rom.10:14-17; 2 Cor.5:18-20; Acts 4:29-31. 3 35. Living with fear or doubt in your life: Rom.8:15; 1 John 4:18; Josh.1:9. 36. Being too tense physically to receive spiritually: Phil.4:6; Matt.6:25-34. 37. Trying too hard to receive spiritually: Phil.4:5-6. 38. Operating in presumptuous faith: James 1:22-26; Num.14:44-45. 39. Having not acknowledged, correctly, your calling or your faith level, and then having not acted accordingly: Luke 6:49; Rom.12:3-8. 40. Not covering yourself spiritually, by faith, with the Blood of Jesus: Rev.12:11; 2 Cor.10:3-4; 1 Pet.1:2. 41. Having not been water-baptized according to the Word: Matt.28:19. 42. Having been water-baptized, without knowing what you were doing: Isa.5:13; Rom.6:3,4. 43. Having not acknowledged the possibility that a devil may have caused you not to receive: Eph.6:12; Rom.6:16. 44. Having not acknowledged that evil spirits can oppress Christians: Luke 13:11-16. 45. Not disciplining your children according to God’s instructions: Prov.19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14; Eph.6:1-4. 46. Rejecting the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Acts 1:8, 2:4, 2:17. 47. Not being aware of what sin is: James 3:17; Rom.14:23; Hosea 4:6. 4 48. Not walking in honesty: Rom.13:13-14; Prov.28:13; Heb.4:1213. 49. Being involved in strife and wrong arguments: 2 Tim.2:23; James 3:14-17; Titus 3:9. 50. Fellowshipping with unrighteousness: 2 Cor.6:14; Eph.5:11-17. 51. Having not kept, in the power of the Spirit, ALL the commandments of God: Josh.1:8; James 2:10; Matt.22:37-40; Rom.6:4. 52. Sinning - knowingly or unknowingly: Luke 12:47-48; John 8:34. 53. Having been listening to wrong teaching: 2 Pet.3:15-18; 1 Tim.4:1-4; Matt.7:15-16. 54. The church you attend does not proclaim the full Gospel of Jesus, only part of it: 2 Tim.3:5; 1 Cor.4:20; Mark 7:6-13. 55. Being unable to sense God’s leading: Heb.5:14. 56. Having been listening to too many different doctrines, therefore creating confusion: Eph.4:14. 57. An overboard approach to praise and worship (thinking it alone will give you what is needed): John 8:31-32. 58. Having problems with praise and worship: Col.3:16. 59. Having a lack of faith with your praise and worship: John 4:2324. 60. Not giving the Lord His tithes and offerings according to the Word: Mal.3:8-11; Matt.5:17-18. 61. Giving your tithes and offerings with a wrong attitude: 2 Cor.9:7. 5 62. Taking communion with unforgiveness in your heart: Matt.18:23-35; Mark 11:26. 63. When you have taken communion, not correctly discerning the emblems that represent the Body and Blood of Jesus: 1 Cor.11:28-34. 64. Having been divorced legally, but not having cut the spiritual tie according to the Word: Deut.24:1. 65. Overfeeding yourself on the Word (too much at once): Prov.25:16. 66. Trying to eat the meat of the Word when all you can handle is the milk of the Word: 1Cor.3:1-2; 1 Pet.2:1-2. 67. Wives not submitting to their husbands in the Lord, and husbands not submitting to the Lord: Eph.5:21-24; Col.3:18; 1 Cor.7:3-5. 68. Husbands not submitting to their wives’ needs in the Lord: 1 Pet.3:7; Eph.5:24-25; 1 Cor.7:3-5. 69. Not submitting to the laws of the land: Titus 3:1; Rom.13:1-8; Matt.22:21. 70. Not submitting to the authorities that God has placed over you: (a) In natural matters: Rom.13:1-8. (b) In spiritual matters: Heb.13:17. 71. Not using commonsense: Prov.19:3. 72. Having abused your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, with: (a) Food (wrong foods or too much): Phil.3:19. (b) Drugs (cigarettes, etc.): 1 Cor.3:16-17. (c) Lack of exercise: Ecc.10:18. 6 (d) Lack of commonsense: Prov.19:3. 73. Being selfish - putting self first: Matt.16:24-27. 74. Having not taken up your cross of self-denial in the power of the Spirit (the Divine Nature): Luke 9:23-26; Luke 14:27. 75. Being religious and not operating in the true unity of the faith: Mark 7:1-9; 2 Tim.3:5. 76. Being unequally yoked in deep relationships with non-believers: 2 Cor.6:14-18: (a) In marriage (but you must stay married according to 1 Cor.7:12-15) (b) In partnership - business: 2 Cor.6:14-18 (c) In friendships: James 4:4 77. You don’t practise what you profess: Titus 1:15-16. 78. Having not shaken the dust of the unbelieving (both saved and unsaved) from yourself: Luke 9:5; 10:11; Acts 13:51. 79. Having not respected another person’s right to accept or reject truth, i.e. having tried to control: Deut.11:26-28; Deut.30:19. 80. Having a negative attitude and confession: Eph.4:29; Matt.12:37; Phil.4:8; Prov.18:21. 81. Having little understanding of the Cross (the Atonement) and so not having properly, at an experiential faith level, identified yourself with Christ in both His death and Resurrection: Rom.6:3-6; 2 Cor.5:17; 2 Tim.2:11. 82. Having used your willpower to try to defeat sin instead of yielding to the Holy Spirit so that your human nature can be energized by the Divine Nature according to Rom.6:3-4; Rom.7:6. 7 83. Having not established the Cross as the object of your faith, as the solid ground for receiving from God: Gal.2:20; Col.2:14. 84. In regard to the sin nature, having not properly believed and reckoned yourself to be dead to it, so as to yield to the Holy Spirit according to Rom.6:7-13. Once you have located any possible reasons for unanswered prayer or attacks from the enemy, you will need to follow up with diligent study of God’s Word concerning these areas. This will enable you to position yourself under God’s mighty hand to obtain the faith needed to allow God’s truth and grace to set you free. Indeed Jesus told us that when we know, believe and act in the newness of the Spirit on His Word of truth, God’s power will be released to set us free from any form of bondage: John 8:31-32. We can therefore see that faith is not the only thing needed to receive from God. We also need to position ourselves so we can focus our faith correctly. Remember: It is not God Who is withholding His blessings from us and preventing us from receiving from Him. Rather the problem lies either with ourselves or with the enemy - for he will take advantage of any wrongdoing or ignorance on our part. The Lord has already given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places: Eph.1:3. However if we are sinning in some way, knowingly or unknowingly, the enemy takes us captive in this area and God is shut out. We are, nevertheless, legally speaking, “the righteousness of God in Him (Christ)” (2 Cor.5:21), this being our position as Christians. Therefore when God looks upon us, He sees us as being righteous - clothed with Christ’s righteousness. We are also joint heirs with Jesus, and so what He has, we also have as our inheritance. Armed with this knowledge we should endeavour to live in righteousness on an actual and experiential level, through the grace and power given to us by the Holy Spirit. The Lord delights in blessing His people, and these blessings will come upon us as we “walk uprightly,” serving in “newness of life.” It is the grace given 8 to us at the Cross which will energize our very nature, and cause us to live in this way, abiding in Him day by day. PSA 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to teach and empower us in the energy of His Divine Nature so that true deliverance will come, and a holy character will be formed deep on the inside. In this we will truly become one with the One Who loved us and died for us. May you have the victory in Christ. For further information or teaching material to help you grow in the Christian faith, please visit: CROSSROADS INTERNATIONAL FULL GOSPEL MINISTRIES crossroadsministries.org.au 9