Why won't God answer my prayer? Am I doing it wrong?

Prayer can be a touchy subject for nonbelievers and even for many who do profess to be Christians because it so frequently doesn’t seem to work. Many of us feel like our requests for something good are denied or that God doesn’t even hear us. Many of us might feel like we’re just doing something wrong.

There is no recipe for prayer. The Holy Spirit is ever present among each of us and lends us an ear when we call out to Him. You cannot formulate a better “ritual” or means of communicating to God than by freely and directly speaking to Him.

So, if you’ve been praying and you feel like God won’t answer your prayer, it’s not that you’re praying wrong. It’s more likely that God wants something better for you or that you might not be praying in earnest.

God wants something better for you

Often, our prayers are cries for help or to receive some sort of blessing. Many of these prayers appear to go unnoticed. Many sick people remain sick and many poor people remain poor, so does this mean God doesn’t care about them? No.

We might not understand why God doesn’t heal everybody or fix everybody’s problems because we have a finite view of life. However, God has an eternal view. He has an ultimate plan of redemption and goodness for humankind that is slowly unfolding as history goes on. Each of us, whether we know it or not, are playing a role in this history. You might be facing a trial now and feel like God is ignoring you by not giving you what you ask for, but ultimately, He has something better in plan for all of us.

You are not asking in faith

In the book of James, the author tells us to pray and believe in the power of our prayers:

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

— James 1:5-8 (MSG)

We’ll be a little careful here because this verse is meant to inspire us to truly trust God when we pray to Him, not to pray as a backup plan. However, many people weaponize this verse to criticize people for having a lack of faith when they don’t get what they pray for. That’s not what this verse is meant to do.

Just keep in mind that when you pray, you must do so earnestly. No one can tell you if your prayer is earnest except for yourself, so be honest with yourself about your prayers. Do you feel like you truly believe or hope God will answer your prayer? Then He just might do so.

Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey

If you feel like God won’t answer your prayer, you might feel hopeless or alone. This is not the case. There is a welcoming community at Centerpoint Church in the Tampa, Florida, area. We would love to meet you at one of our three services on Sunday and join you on your faith journey as you wrestle with prayer and strive to follow the Lord. You might feel like God won’t answer your prayer, but maybe His will is that you meet a community of believers like ours to have fellowship and friends.