1. Unanswered Prayers

2. Unanswered Prayers By Garth Brooks
Just the other night a hometown football game My wife and I ran into my old high school flame And as I introduced them the past came back to me And I couldn't help but think of the way things used to be
She was the one that I'd wanted for all times And each night I'd spend prayin' that God would make her mine And if he'd only grant me this wish I wished back then I'd never ask for anything again
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
She wasn't quite the angel that I remembered in my dreams And I could tell that time had changed me Inn her eyes too it seemed We tried to talk about the old days There wasn't much we could recall I guess the Lord knows what He's doin' after all
And as she walked away and I looked at my wife And then and there I thanked the good Lord For the gifts in my life
Some of God's greatest gifts are all too often unanswered... Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
Truth?

3. Unanswered Prayers
Many people seem to assume their prayers are left unanswered
This occurs with people of the world and the church
There are various reasons for this; sometimes it is true, sometimes it is not, but merely perceived
We know:
Prayer is integral to being a Christian
God commands it
It is communication with God
Prayer requires faith in God
Some things happen regardless of whether or not anyone prayed for it

4. Unanswered Prayers Why do we pray? What is the purpose of prayer?
Who does God hear?
Does God leave us with unanswered prayers?

5. Why Do We Pray

6. James 5:14, 15
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

7. Philippians 4:6
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

8. Why Do We Pray To make request of God
Matthew 7: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Nothing that God gives us is whimsical or evil
This is typically the most common thing in prayer
Forgiveness, safety, health, etc
It is not (or at least should not be) selfish to entreat God for something

9. Why Do We Pray To give thanks to God
We are used to expressing thankfulness to those around us, we should give thanks to God as well!
Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
We can give thanks for our homes, family, safety, the church, and even adversity when we stand up to it! Anything but sin.
1st Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
We should give thanks to God no matter the situation

10. Why Do We Pray Give praise to God
We should be praising the name of God and His many works
Psalm 18:3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!
There are many reasons to praise God, and many ways; one such is prayer

11. Why Do We Pray Because we are commanded to
1st Thessalonians 5:16, 17 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing
Prayer is necessary to many of the functions of the church and to individual Christians, such as:
Praying for one another
Asking for forgiveness
edification
Worship
Giving thanks to God

12. Who Does God Hear

13. Proverbs 15:29
The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous

14. Psalm 145:18, 19
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them.

15. Who Does God Hear
God will hear the prayers of the righteous (Prov 15:29)
Many examples of the righteous being heard
Abraham's intercessions on behalf of Sodom (Genesis 18:16-33)
Hezekiah's prayer for the extension of his life (Isaiah 38)
Christian pleas for Peter's release from prison (Acts 12:1-19)
Many others
some personal examples

16. Who Does God Hear Prayer is a gift from God to the righteous
1st Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
We are not entitled to communication with God, but he allows us to communicate with Him through His son, Jesus

17. Who Does God NOT Hear Those who are stubborn in their ways The selfish
Zechariah 7: But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. 13 "As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear," says the LORD of hosts,
The selfish
Proverbs 21:13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
The greedy
James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
The wicked
Proverbs 28:9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
Their prayer is an abomination!

18. Unanswered Prayers

19. Unanswered Prayers God will always Answer the prayers of the righteous
Sometimes the answer was not what we expect or wanted
We are not guaranteed an answer in the affirmative!
David was forgiven and prayed, yet his child still died ;
2nd Samuel 12: So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." 15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died….
We must accept any answer God gives us!
2nd Samuel 12: Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, "What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food." 22 He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, 'Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."

20. Unanswered Prayers The will of God always comes first
Jesus prayed to be delivered
Matthew 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.“
We often pray for many things, but if we are to receive them, they must align with the will of God
We must study the word of God to better understand His will
We can pray for understanding too!
Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

21. Unanswered Prayers
God will do what is best for us even if we do not know what that is
Romans 8: Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We need to have patience when we pray; everything happens on God’s time, not ours (which is for the best!)

22. Regardless of the answer, we can be persistent
Unanswered Prayer
Sometimes we get exactly what we ask for
We get this when it is a part of God’s will
Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church …… 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.“
While miraculous deliverance no longer happens, God can still deliver results through His divine providence; God knows our intent since the beginning
God answers in 3 ways:
Yes No
In My time
Regardless of the answer, we can be persistent

23. We should never be thankful for unanswered prayers!
If God is truly not answering your prayers, you are:
Praying in error
Going against God’s will
In sin
We should never be thankful for unanswered prayers!