Why God Does Not Answer Prayers:

 

Like any “good father,” our Heavenly Father takes serious his responsibility to raise his children to become: mature (versus bratty), truthful (versus lying), honest (versus conniving), just (versus unrighteous), noble, kind, good, compassionate, generous (versus stingy), obedient (versus rebellious), humble (versus arrogant) children, and the list goes on …

What kind of child would you like to be known for raising? What kind of child would you most enjoy in your own home for eternity? What kind of child would you not enjoy living with in your home for eternity?

When you begin to see things from God’s heavenly perspective, you will begin to understand what his motivations are and that they are not so different from any good father, in any good family, in any good community, anywhere in the world today, were men and women are seeking to be pleasing to God, and enjoy his favor, his blessings, his goodness, and his righteousness.

 

In order to accomplish this goal: our heavenly father has provided:

1. the positive incentive to have our prayers answered, and

2. the negative incentive to have our prayers go: unanswered, unheard, and even to be despised.

 

Below are 7 Biblical Explanations for UN-Answered Prayer

Before delving into specific scriptures, it’s important to understand that the Bible offers numerous explanations for unanswered prayer. These explanations typically center around human attitudes, motivations, behaviors, and spiritual conditions that create barriers between people and God. The following compilation presents King James Bible verses that specifically address why prayers may go unanswered, along with interpretations and key points to help understand these spiritual principles.

 

1.  Selfish Motives and Wrong Intentions

James 4:3

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”161819

Interpretation: This verse directly addresses prayer motivation, explaining that prayers remain unanswered when they stem from selfish desires and personal gratification rather than alignment with God’s will.

Key Points:

• Selfish motives corrupt our prayer’s effectiveness

• God does not provide resources merely for personal indulgence

• Prayer should align with God’s purposes, not merely human wants

 

2.  Insincere Worship and Superficial Faith

Isaiah 29:13

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.”14

Interpretation: God rejects worship and prayers that are merely superficial or ritualistic, performed without genuine heart engagement.

Key Points:

• • God requires heartfelt sincerity in prayer, not just words

  • Rote religious practice without genuine devotion is ineffective

  • Worship based solely on human tradition rather than genuine faith fails to reach God

 

Amos 5:21-24

“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.”13

Interpretation: God rejects religious ceremonies, offerings, and worship when they’re disconnected from justice and righteous living.

Key Points:

• • External religious observance without ethical living is rejected

  • God values justice and righteousness over religious ceremonies

  • Inconsistency between worship and lifestyle blocks prayer effectiveness

 

3.  Unrighteousness and Evil Behavior

 

Micah 3:4

“Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.”17

Interpretation: Evil deeds and wicked behavior cause God to hide His face and refuse to hear prayers.

Key Points:

• • Persistent evil behavior blocks communication with God. This happens in all friendships, marriages, and relationships. So this is nothing new to the human experience.

  • God’s response to prayer is connected to moral conduct

  • Repentance must precede effective prayer

 

Proverbs 1:28

“Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.”

Interpretation: God refuses to answer those who have persistently ignored His counsel and rejected His guidance until they find themselves in trouble.

Key Points:

• • Rejecting God’s direction leads to unanswered prayers

  • God does not become a convenience only in times of trouble

  • Relationship with God should be ongoing, not crisis-driven

 

Psalm 66:18

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

Interpretation: Cherishing sin or holding onto known wrongdoing prevents God from hearing prayers.

Key Points:

• • Hidden or cherished sin affectively blocks effectual prayer

  • God requires honesty and transparency in prayer

  • Confessing and forsaking sin opens prayer channels

 

Isaiah 59:1-2

“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Interpretation: Sin creates a barrier between people and God, preventing communication and answers to prayer.

Key Points:

• • Sin creates separation from God

  • God’s ability isn’t limited, but our sin limits access to Him

  • Removing sin barriers restores communication with God

 

4.  Unforgiveness and Relational Problems

Mark 11:25

“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”15

Interpretation: Unforgiveness toward others hinders God’s forgiveness and response to our prayers.

Key Points:

• • Holding grudges blocks our prayers from being answered

  • God’s forgiveness toward us is connected to our willingness to forgive others

  • A forgiving spirit is essential for effective prayer

1 Peter 3:7

“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”

Interpretation: Mistreating one’s spouse can directly hinder prayers being answered.

Key Points:

• • Relationship health affects spiritual communication

  • Dishonoring family relationships blocks prayer effectiveness

  • God expects right treatment of others, especially within marriage

Malachi 2:13-14

“And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously.”

Interpretation: Unfaithfulness in marriage and broken covenants cause God to disregard prayers and offerings.

Key Points:

• • Covenant-breaking affects our covenant with God

  • Faithfulness in human relationships impacts prayer effectiveness

  • God values integrity in all covenantal relationships

5. Disobedience and Rejection of God’s Word

Proverbs 28:9

“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”

Interpretation: Refusing to hear and obey God’s law makes prayer offensive rather than pleasing to God.

Key Points:

• • Disobedience makes prayer ineffective

  • Prayer without obedience is repulsive to God

  • Listening to God precedes God listening to us

Zechariah 7:13

“Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Interpretation: God responds in kind to those who ignore His voice – He ignores theirs.

Key Points:

• • There’s reciprocity in spiritual communication

  • Ignoring God’s call leads to unanswered prayers

  • God’s silence often mirrors human indifference to Him

1 John 3:22

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

Interpretation: This verse implies that not keeping commandments and not doing what pleases God leads to unanswered prayers.

Key Points:

• • Obedience precedes answered prayer

  • God responds to those aligned with His will

  • Living to please God enhances prayer effectiveness

6.  Pride and Wrong Motives in Prayer

Matthew 6:5-6

“And 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. But 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.”

Interpretation: Prayers motivated by public display and recognition seek human approval, not God’s response.

Key Points:

• • Pride and showmanship corrupt prayer

  • Seeking human recognition diminishes divine response

  • Genuine prayer comes from humble, private devotion

 

7.  Not God’s Perfect Timing or the Right Conditions

Matthew 26:38-39

Then saith he unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

Interpretation: Sometimes God is asking us to do something difficult. Someting we don’t want to do. We can be earnest, and ask in faith, and not be in sin, etc., and still God will refuse to answer our prayers. Why? Because God has a higher priority, a much greater task and work to accomplish. And He will not hear our plea to disobey, or to spare our personal things. Sometimes God Calls us to give up everything to Him, and we are called to submit, not knowing the outcome.

Key Points:

• • It was not God’s perfect timing, to protect his son from his own suffering sacrifice.
  • Sometimes God has a bigger plan that we cannot see

  • Sometimes God is doing a bigger work in us, the we cannot comprehend

 

Genesis 22:7-12

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

Interpretation: At any point, Abraham could have chosen to turn his back on the wheel of God. He could have called God, crazy, and even evil, by asking him to sacrifice his one and only son, the son of the promise, the son of the blood covenant of God. But Abraham had clearly heard God’s voice, and was bound by his blood covenant promise. Yahweh had walked with Abraham and been a shield about him, and a perfect protection, even against evil kings, and dark kingdoms, and Abraham had prevailed. Now God was asking the hardest thing: and Abraham submitted himself to do God’s will, and to go against his own will, much like Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane. As a result, in the midst of the trial, Abraham passed the test, and in a certain sense received his son back from the dead. In the whole dramatic event, God was revealing to Abraham what he would do by sending his own son to die on the same hill, that Abraham offered up Isaac, on Mount Moriah, the mountain of vision, which one later be outside the city of Jerusalem on the hill of Golgotha. The Very PLACE, Abraham was standing.

Key Points:

• • God has a bigger plan that we cannot see

  • God is doing a bigger work in us, the we cannot comprehend

  • God’s focus is ultimately an eternity, and our eternal relationship with him.

  • As a result, God sometimes calls us to do things that are beyond our understanding.

 

Hebrews 11:17-19

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”

Interpretation: God had developed a relationship with Abraham, based on incredible trust and rigorous faith. A time came when the relationship needed to be tested. And Abraham passed the test, and became the father of the faithful. The friend of God.

Key Points:

• • When we obey God, we may do things beyond our ability to understand.

  • But God is able, to pay us back 100 fold more in the future, than anything we give up in the present.

 

Job 2:7-10

7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Interpretation: God had inflicted Job, in order to Test Job’s Faith. Job suffered greatly, yet, he choose not to blaspheme the name of God, though Job clearly did not understand why he was being treated with such unfairness.

Key Points:

• • God allows us to be tempted, but not beyond what we are able to endure (), and He will provide a way of escape. And He has rewards stored up for those who will not give into temptation and serve the Devil or follow in the devil’s rebellion of pride, sin, lies, evil, or any kind of wicked thoughts, words, habits, or behaviors.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV) 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

  • And again, God is able, to pay us back 100 fold more in the future, than anything we give up in the present.

  • It is by faith in him that we understand these things, and believe these things, and walk in them.

 

Conclusion

The scriptures clearly indicate that prayer is not a mechanical process but a relational one. God’s response to prayer is influenced by the condition of the heart, the motivation behind the request, and the spiritual and moral state of the person praying. These passages reveal that unanswered prayer is often not about God’s inability or unwillingness to respond, but rather about human conditions that create barriers to divine communication. Understanding these principles can help believers examine their own hearts and approaches to prayer, potentially removing obstacles to effective communion with God.