CHAPTER 2 WHY DO MY PRAYERS GO UNANSWERED

CHAPTER 2 WHY DO MY PRAYERS GO UNANSWERED?

Many people struggle with their faith because of God’s silence when they cry out to Him in their time of greatest need. How do you feel when you have been praying for something and get no answer?

Does it bother you when some people claim that God regularly answers their prayers for things that seem of little importance such as finding a parking place or that their sports team wins?

In this chapter, we will try to make sense of what Jesus has to concerning prayer. We’ll look at how God typically answers prayer. We’ll look at the question “Why do we thank God for the good things that happen while NOT blaming Him for the bad. ”

Read Matthew 21: 21 -22 What are your expectations regarding prayer after reading these verses? At first glance, Jesus seems to be promising to do whatever we ask, provided we have faith. Disappointment is often the result of unmet expectations.

We may become confused when our prayers go unanswered especially when others claim to have answers to theirs. Some Christians explain it’s our fault that our prayers are not answered.

One Christian website lists some reasons our prayers might go unanswered. • • We are not seeking to please God. We have unconfessed sins in our lives. We are praying with improper motives. We lack faith. How do you feel about this list?

Read Mark 10: 46 -51 Bartimaeus did not seek to please Jesus nor did he confess his sins, but he was healed. Read Luke 7: 11 -17 Jesus brought her son back to life even though she never asked for Him to do so.

How is faith important in prayer? Faith is the act of trusting that God hears, that God cares, and that God is able to act as we have prayed. Jesus asks that we pray with faith and trust as we pray.

How much faith do we have to have for our prayers to be answered? Read Matthew 17: 20 A mustard seed is the size of a grain of salt. This is a hyperbole just to emphasize the smallness of the amount of faith required.

If unfulfilled prayers is not the result of • Our failure to live for Christ • Unconfessed sin • Inadequate faith Then why do some of our prayers go un answered?

Maybe the problem is that we don’t really understand what Jesus said we could move mountains if we pray in faith. When Jesus spoke, He almost always used a figure of speech called hyperbole which is an overstatement or exaggeration to make a point. How do you feel about some of the things we have read in the Bible is not to be taken literally, but as a hyperbole.

Hyperboles are sometimes used to shake people out of their complacency and move them to change. It is important to take Jesus seriously but not always literally.