Do you ever feel like God is ignoring you?

I remember one cold January morning as I sat on the floor of my bedroom. I had been in prayer for weeks over a house that I wanted to buy. It was a great deal. The price was cut in half since the market had crashed. It was a beautiful luxury condo that had more high-end details than I had ever seen.

I was in love, and I was determined that the fact that it was such a great deal meant it was all coming together.

But I kept running into issues with the owner of the building.

Something felt off, but I persevered. Fortunately, I also prayed.

And prayed and prayed. And nothing was changing.

And on that morning in prayer I was directed to Psalm 84:11:

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”

And that’s when it hit me. If God wanted me to have this house then I would have it. I just needed to cool my jets and trust that in His silence, He actually was answering my prayers.

In my journey with God, I have discovered that there are five reasons why God doesn’t answer prayers.

You have wrong motives.

James 4:3 sets the stage so well when it says, “You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires.”AMP

Ouch! God is not a personal blessing dispenser. Your desire should be for His desire to be fulfilled.

It’s not His will.

We often pray the words of Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” but do we truly mean it?

If our prayers don’t line up with His perfect will, than we shouldn’t want them anyway. God’s will comes in two forms; His perfect will and His permissive will. He will sometimes give you what you ask for even if it’s not in line with His perfect will. So be careful, you just might get what you pray for.

It’s not the right time.

Delay is not denial. There are many cases of people in the Bible who waited a long time for a prayer or prophecy to come to pass. How long, you ask?

The Israelites waited 40 years to cross into the Promised Land, and David waited over 15 years before he became king. If God is slow in answering your prayer, it may not be the right time.

You’re in sin.

I realize this one seems obvious and often times when we think of sin, we think of outrageous, blatant sins like murder, stealing, etc.

But sadly in our world many sins are watered down, even among Christians. Sins like adultery, gossiping, and lying have become more ‘acceptable’ according to the world’s standards. But God doesn’t change His mind to fit the culture. Sin is sin and it can and will disconnect you from God.

Isaiah 59:2 was clear when the writer stated: “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

He’s building your faith.

God’s purpose in answering your prayers is to draw you closer to HIM. Not to make you more comfortable, or happier. It’s all about Him. Many people, even believers, miss that.

God isn’t here to serve us. We were created to serve Him. If we got everything we wanted when we wanted, God would literally be raising entitled, bratty children. There are times when God pulls away to draw you near.

But Jeremiah 29:13 reminds us that we will find Him when we seek Him with all our heart.

God knows the end from the beginning. He isn’t being spiteful or withholding, He has your eternity in mind, not just your immediate prayer requests.

Remember that beautiful condo that I wanted? Well, God never gave it to me. At first I was crushed, but a few years later, I came to find that the owner was arrested for bank fraud and the entire building is vacant to this day.

That’s the faithful God we serve!

Are you ready to grow in your faith?  Join us for your FREE 5 Day Mountain Moving Faith Devotional