Title: Why Is God Not Answering My Prayers?, Part 2
Series: Prayer Changes Things
Text: 1 John 3:21-22
Introduction
Relationships are very important in the Christian life. In order for our prayer life to be effective, we must maintain those relationships in good standing to the very best of our ability. In the previous sermon we looked at how poor relationships with other believers hinders our prayer life. Today we will look at the importance of having a right relationship with God as it reflects upon our ability to see prayers answered.
Sin has become commonplace among God’s people. We have become somewhat hardened to it, given the constant exposure we have to it through modern media. Sin is a problem in the life of a Christian, and unconfessed sin will hinder the prayer life of anyone.
Consider the following example of a young woman seeking counsel from a pastor’s wife. She said, "Jill, I’ve lost my joy, I’ve lost my peace, and I want it back."
"Where did you lose it?" I asked.
"That has nothing to do with this," she replied. "Help me to get it back."
"But where did you lose it?"
"I don’t want to talk about that."
But eventually she did talk about it. She lost it when she moved in with her boyfriend. That’ll do it. (Jill Briscoe, "Hanging Up Our Faith," Preaching Today, Tape No. 148.)
The Word of God is very emphatic in its portrayal of the effects of sin in the believer’s life.
Psalms 66:18
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”
Isaiah 59:1-2
“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
If we want to be effective in our prayer life, we have to deal with personal sin. If our prayers are being hindered, and we know that there are no problems in our relationships with others, then we must consider our relationship with God Himself.
I. AM I ASKING IN UNBELIEF OR DOUBT? James 1:5-8
Quote: The size of your God determines the size of your prayer request. The size of your prayer requests determines the size of your answers. (Jerry Falwell. http://www.sermoncentral.com.)
A. Unbelief Is A Choice Not To Believe.
Quote: God … has created us perfectly free to disbelieve in Him as much as we choose. If we do disbelieve, then … we must take the consequences in a world ruled by cause and effect. (Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 11590.)
1. Unbelief is contrary to everything we are as a believer.
2. Unbelief denies that God can or will do what He has promised to do.
3. We should note here the difference in believing in God to do what He has promised, and believing that God will do something simply because we ask for it.
a. For instance, we may say that we “believe” that God will let us get a particular job, or heal us of some disease, or that He will make us wealthy.
b. This kind of belief, however, is not really belief at all.
c. This is a pretentious faith that tempts God to work outside of His plan for our lives.
d. Sadly, many unbelievers and many who are weak in the faith are hurt by this display of misplaced faith.
B. Doubt Is The Inability To Believe. Mark 9:17-24
Mark 9:17-24
17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."
19 He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21 So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"
And he said, "From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
Note: Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can’t believe; unbelief is won’t believe. Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness. (John Drummond (1851-1897), Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 2930.)
1. Where unbelief refuses to believe, doubt wants to believe.
2. When we have doubts, we must rely on prayer and the Word of God to strengthen our faith.
Note: The anguish that filled the father’s heart is portrayed by his immediate response as he cried out in almost contradictory ejaculations. He did believe, and yet he was acutely conscious of the unbelief that struggled with his desire to trust implicitly. His unbelief was not an obstinate refusal to believe; it was a weakness with which the man himself could not deal. Hence his cry to Christ for help. (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press.)
3. Unresolved doubt, however, will turn to unbelief, and will cause our prayers to be hindered.
II. AM I GUILTY OF HYPOCRISY? Matthew 6:5-6
Illustration: Double Message Noted
A man sat down to supper with his family and said grace, thanking God for the food, for the hands which prepared it, and for the source of all life. But during the meal he complained about the freshness of the bread, the bitterness of the coffee, and the sharpness of the cheese. His young daughter questioned him, "Dad, do you think God heard the grace today?"
He answered confidently, "Of course."
Then she asked, "And do you think God heard what you said about the coffee, the cheese, and the bread?" Not so confidently, he answered, "Why, yes, I believe so."
The little girl concluded, "Then which do you think God believed, Dad?"
The man was suddenly aware that his mealtime prayer had become a rote, thoughtless habit rather than an attentive and honest conversation with God. By not concentrating on that important conversation, he had left the door open to let hypocrisy sneak in. (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 433.)
A. Hypocritical Prayer Is Self-Righteous.
1. It is a pretense of religiosity intended to make one appear righteous.
2. It does not reveal the true character of the heart, serving only as a pious display of works.
Note: The term hypocrite originally referred to actors who used large masks to portray the roles they were playing. Hypocrites are actors, pretenders, persons who play a role. What they say and do does not represent what they feel or believe, it only portrays the image they desire to create. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)
B. Hypocritical Prayer Is Self-Seeking.
1. It serves only self interests.
2. Its reward is in its speaking.
III. AM I GUILTY OF IDOLATRY? Ezekiel 14:3
A. Anything That Comes Between Me And God Is An Idol. Colossians 3:5
B. Anything That Has A Higher Priority In My Life Than God Is An Idol.
Illustration: When A Promise Is Broken
When I took the job as head football coach at the University of Colorado in 1982, I made a solemn promise: I told everybody that with me, God was first, family second, and football third.
But I didn’t keep that promise for long. The thrill and the challenge of resurrecting a football program in disarray simply took too much time and attention. As my teams kept winning year after year, I kept losing focus of my priorities.
When we won the national championship in 1990, many people said I had reached the pinnacle of my profession. But for me, there was an emptiness about it. I had everything a man could want, and yet something was missing. I was so busy pursuing my career goals that I was missing out on the Spirit-filled life that God wanted me to have.
All because I had broken my promise to put God first and foremost in my life. (Bill McCartney, founder of Promise Keepers. Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 1.)
IV. AM I GUILTY OF WRONG MOTIVES? James 4:2-3
Illustration: Motives Are Critical
An elderly man on the beach found a magic lamp. He picked it up and a genie appeared. "Because you have freed me," the genie said, "I will grant you a wish."
The man thought for a moment and then responded, "My brother and I had a fight 30 years ago and he hasn’t spoken to me since. I wish that he’ll finally forgive me."
There was a thunderclap, and the genie declared, "Your wish has been granted. You know," the genie continued, "most men would have asked for wealth or fame. But you only wanted the love of your brother. Is it because you are old and dying?"
"No way!" the man cried. "But my brother is, and he’s worth about $60 million." (Contributed by: Mike Leiter. http://www.sermoncentral.com.)
Note: The wrong motivation is the desire to spend God’s gifts on one’s own pleasures. Dapanao (spend) means to completely use up or squander and was used by Jesus to describe the prodigal son’s wasteful squandering of his inheritance. The pleasures mentioned here are the same kinds as those in verse 1 that cause internal warfare, pleasures that God does not honor. Yet worldly people live for such pleasures, for the thrill of the moment, futilely trying to fulfill and gratify their fleshly lusts and intentions. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002.)
A. God Does Not Answer Prayers To Fulfill My Desires. Revelation 4:11
B. My Purposes Must Line Up With God’s Purposes. Psalm 37:4
Conclusion: What Are You Holding On To?
I once heard of a child who was raising a frightful cry because he had shoved his hand into the opening of a very expensive Chinese vase and then couldn’t pull it out again. Parents and neighbors tugged with might and main on the child’s arm, with the poor creature howling out loud all the while. Finally there was nothing left to do but to break the beautiful, expensive vase. And then as the mournful heap of shards lay there, it became clear why the child had been so hopelessly stuck. His little fist grasped a paltry penny which he had spied in the bottom of the vase and which he, in his childish ignorance, would not let go. (Helmut Thielicke in How to Believe Again. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2.)
Just like the boy who wouldn’t let go of the penny, many believers are holding on to pet sins that offend God, and hinder their prayers. If this be the case in your life, you should heed the message of Hebrews 12:1 to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” There is no way to endure in the race without an effective prayer life. You cannot fulfill God’s plan for your life while harboring unconfessed sin. In this case, confession is not only good for the soul, it is imperative in maintaining a right relationship with God, one in which prayers are answered and power is evident.
