WHY DO MY PRAYERS GO UNANSWERED?
Isaiah 59:1-2

Many of us never receive an answer from God because we have not prayed. God's Word teaches us that we have not because we ask not. Jesus said, "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive."
I want to talk to you about ten problem areas that keep us from hearing from God and receiving what we believe we need. There are two categories of prayer problems:

1. Spiritual circuit-breakers - spiritual barriers cut God's power off;
2. Brake pushers -- through the way they pray, people limit God in their prayer life.

Problem Areas In Our Prayer Life:

I. A REALIZATION OF UNCONFESSED SIN (Psalm 68:18; Isaiah 59:1,2; James 5:16)

A. The psalmist said, (Psa 66:18) "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened."
B. Isaiah 59:1,2 says: "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Neither is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. {2} 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."
C. Principle: Before I pray for a change in circumstances, I should pray for a change in character.

II. AN UNFORGIVING SPIRIT (Matthew 18:21,22; 5:23,24)

A. When you have a forgiving spirit, it makes your prayer life more effective, because when your heart is right, you become effective in your prayer life.
B. Principle: Our relationship with others must be right before our relationship can be right with our Father.

III. AN UNSURRENDERED WILL. (James 4:3)

A. (James 4:3 NIV) "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
B. Principle: We ask and do not receive because we ask wrongly.

IV. A DISREGARD FOR OTHERS (Psalm 33:13; Romans 8:28).

A. Psalm 33:13 is an interesting verse. "From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind."
B. Sometimes our prayer life is not as effective as it could be because we pray selfishly, with ourselves alone in mind, not realizing that what helps one hinders the whole.
C. Principle: When God sees me, he also sees the crowd.

V. A DISREGARD FOR GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY.

A. Principle: If all your prayers were answered, you, not God, would be in control of everything.

VI. A LACK OF FAITH (James 1:5-7; Matthew 9:29; 7:20; 21:21; Luke 7:50).

A. (James 1:5-7) "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. {6} But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. {7} That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord."
B. Matthew 9:29, Jesus said, "According to your faith, will it be done to you."
C. Matthew 17 :20: "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
D. Luke 7:50: "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. "
E. (Mat 21:22) "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
F. Principle: To make my prayer a force, instead of a farce, I must hunt for the question marks in my life.

VII. A LACK OF PERSISTENCE. (James 5:16)

A. James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
B. Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened. "
C. Principle: Prayer doesn't change God; it changes me.

VIII. A lack of action (James 2:14-17).

A. Sometimes people pray as if they expect God to do absolutely everything for them and to do nothing themselves.
B. (James 2:14-17) "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? {15} Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. {16} If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? {17} In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

C. Principle: My need is not faith and works, but faith that works.

IX. A MISUNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S WAYS (Isaiah 55:8,9)

A. (Isa 55:8-9) "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. {9} "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

B. Principle: God's thoughts are not our thoughts.

X. A MISUNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S PURPOSE (Deuteronomy 32; II Corinthians 12:7)

A. Principle: God may not give me my first desire, so that He can give me His supreme desire.