Why isn't God listening to me?

Unsplash / Lee Scott

The Bible tells us that God is omnipresent and is always listening to us, but have you ever felt like this part of the Word of God doesn't apply to all occasions? Does it sometimes feel like God is too busy to listen to your pleas?

First and foremost, one thing must be clear: the Bible is never inconsistent or wrong about something, most especially about the character of God. When taken in the right context, the Bible describes God, and even though it's impossible to take a full grasp of who God is His Word can give us a very clear picture of God in a matter that can help us understand Him enough to know what He can do.

And the Bible makes it clear that God is always listening. Psalm 66:19 tells us "But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer." So why does it feel like God isn't listening sometimes? Here are three possible scenarios why Christians might feel that way at times.

He doesn't agree with you

Isaiah 55:9 gives us a good reminder that "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." We are not always in the same page with God, and often we can feel like God isn't listening because we aren't tuned into the same wavelength. One thing is for sure is that when this is the case, it's God who is right and we who are wrong. When this happens, it's time to readjust and tune in to what God has in mind.

He wants you to listen too

One example we can follow in this area is Samuel. When God called him in an audible voice- although he may have mistook it as Eli at first, he responded by saying, "Speak, for your servant hears." (1 Samuel 3:10) When we feel like God isn't listening to our prayers, we must stop and ask ourselves "Am I listening to God?" Because of Jesus' finished work on the cross, we now have access to God's presence and we can now freely listen to His voice.

He's asking you to seek Him first

Often when we pray and talk to God, our first instinct is to ask for our daily bread. However, Jesus taught us to pray first for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done. Matthew 6:33 reminds us to "...seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness..." and then God will add all things to us.