Do you know why you constantly pray for things to happen and your prayers go unanswered day after day? Do you wonder why you are always frustrated with God, and even question his existence, because it feels like prayer just isn’t working? I went through these same frustrations before. I knew better than to question God’s existence, because I had witnessed his work before, but I struggled to get my own prayers answered.

This may come as a shock to you, but the reason your prayers go unanswered boils down to one of two very simple things. Either you don’t believe that you can actually have, be, or do what you’re praying for, OR that prayer has already been answered and you just don’t recognize it.

Why Your Prayers Go Unanswered

BELIEF

If you don’t believe in what you’re asking for, why would you ask? Faith isn’t something that you can casually try. You have to be all in from the beginning. If you really believe that you can and will have what you’re asking for, then you will never think twice about whether or not it will happen for you. Patience is key. When you know that something is coming in the mail, you don’t worry about it, because you trust and believe that you gave the right address and that the package will definitely be delivered eventually. Sure, you can check the tracking to know exactly when it will come, sometimes. Go ahead, put a date on your prayer, and apply your faith to that. You won’t have to worry about unanswered prayers anymore.

Many people have settled on the belief that God must have said “No”, and they move onto asking  for something else. They would rather believe that they can’t have it because GOD SAID IT than to believe that they never believed they could have it to begin with and have just given up. Unanswered prayers is something that people have come up with as a coping mechanism. They blame God without understanding that God is a part of themselves. It only seems like he isn’t listening or answering prayers, because there is a lack of understanding at play.

RECOGNITION

A lot of people have the same misunderstandings about prayer. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but God doesn’t actually care about “things”. Even when he speaks of riches, in the bible, he emphasizes “durable riches” to let us know that he isn’t talking about the money and jewels that we’ve been conditioned to believe are the most valuable (Proverbs 8:18). He doesn’t care if you ever get that house, car, job, money, fame, etc. He cares about the condition of your heart. When your heart is in good shape with God, He delights in seeing the “good fruit” that is produced in your life. He loves to see his children reap the benefits of his glory.

That being said, I must say that God has already given every one of us (whether saved or unsaved) the power to get “STUFF”. If we only believe, we can say what we want and have just that. Why do you think people are running around preaching the law of attraction so hard? You don’t have to be religious or spiritual to make it work. You just have to believe that what you want will come to you.

Biblical Proof:

Mark 11:23
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Matthew 21:21
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Matthew 17:20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Shall I continue with the list of scriptures??? There are several more examples and stories about faith in the bible that I could point to. We get so attached to things/results sometimes, and I get it. I’m guilty too, but those things are only important to us, because we lose sight of what’s really important. I’m not knocking it though. I enjoy the “STUFF” too, but I know how to get it now, and that is not by praying for it.

You already have the power to get what you want. Maybe you have been waiting around for the work to be done for you. You have to get up and move toward the things that you want. One of my goals for this year is to retain the length of my hair so that it reaches my back and shoulders. Almost immediately after setting that intention, I happened upon a natural hair & beauty event here in Chicago. I could either take the step and go to the event to learn about caring for my hair, or I could choose to sit at home and do the same things I’ve been doing. Which one of those actions do you think will help me reach my goal?

Be intentional about what you want. Get emotionally involved with that intention. Then, get in motion, doing small things that will inch you toward your desired result. I do challenge you to be grateful to God for the things that he has done and will do. I also challenge you to reflect all of the glory back to him, when you do manifest the things you want in your life. Have faith. One last challenge…use your prayers for meaningful things like the poor and needy, people who are ill, lost, etc.

What is it that you’ve been wanting and praying for? I’d love to see you get it!