Prayer is the lifeblood of the Christian. It's a very important part of our lives as a Christ-follower. After all, it's the way we communicate with our God who loves us and wants what is best for us.
God wants us all to learn how to pray. In His desire to grow our relationship with Him, He is kind enough to let us know that there are prayers that He doesn't listen to, the kind that He doesn't say "yes" to. This is one thing we should be thankful for: that He desires to reveal Himself to us, and that includes the area of prayer.
Perhaps, we've prayed and not received what we've prayed for. Maybe we even prayed in faith, but even after praying and believing, we still haven't received what we prayed for. Didn't Jesus say that "whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (see Matthew 21:22)?
Well, perhaps we need to know the kinds of prayers God won't listen to.
Prayers God won't listen to
Here are some kinds of prayers that God will give a deaf ear to. Of course He hears our prayers, but He won't necessarily give us what we ask.
1) The prayer of the proud - Luke 18:9-14
In Luke 18:9-14 the Lord Jesus gives us a comparison between the prayers of a proud religious leader and a repentant tax collector. The Pharisee begins to brag about himself to God and exalts himself above whom he considers to be a sinner.
The tax collector, on the other hand, wouldn't even look up to face heaven because he knew he was a sinner. He prayed with his face down, and with his hands beating his chest asking God for mercy.
The Lord Jesus said this tax collector went home "justified" for his humility. The Pharisee, on the other hand, received what he asked for: an ego boost from himself.
2) The selfish prayer - James 4:3
The Bible is pretty straightforward when it comes to selfish prayers:
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."
Simply put, selfish, fleshly prayers will not get God's approval. Not one bit.
3) The prayer of the double-minded - James 1:6-8
Have you ever prayed to God but didn't believe that He would answer your prayer? If you have, then you know how useless it is. If we pray to God for something, we should believe and expect that He will respond in kind.
"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
Friends, it would be so useless to ask God for something but not believe that He will give it. Why ask Him if we won't believe Him anyway?
