Why Your Prayers Are Not Answered!

Hi, Everyone, I was absent for a bit, my apologies, I will try not to be next time. :)

Okay let's move on to the revelation of today, a case where someone is born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, engages in fasting and prayers on a particular issue and yet the prayers are not answered, well, if you are pondering on this, you are not alone.

My Dear loved ones, don't crucify yourself or blame your prayers or God, some times it is not the prayer that has a problem, because you definitely asked God for help and Jesus wasn't joking when He said "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" Matt7:7. sometimes it is what we do after prayers that withdraw our answers back and probably hang it somewhere until we are ready.

I call it the error of praying fervently and still depend on the arm of flesh. God is not happy with that method because you are trying to say He is not enough, you are trying to say He needs help so you want to help him out. take for instance someone is seeking a miracle job and has done his part by going around, applying to various places instead of sitting at home and then he begins to pray to God for this particular job he desires and he even engages in fasting for the answer to arrive speedily but after his prayer he starts calling his friend that works at the company or his uncle who is a friend to the manager of that company, etc, so they can talk to the manager or whosoever the HRM is, so he could be taken for the job.

you see where the problem is, He actually prayed and connected to Heaven, but He probably felt God will be slow and so he wanted to help God fasten His approach. You might get it with that approach but then, mind you, you will often lose what God has provided for you, if you forcefully grab what He has not provided. but then have you ever wondered, what if God doesn't want you to work there? what if God has seen danger ahead for you in that company? What if that job can lead to your downfall spiritually??? I mean, there are lots of "what ifs" that we must always consider before trying to do things our way. Remember that God is all knowing. Isaiah 46:10 says "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure". God knows the end from the beginning.

we must know that God is never slow, God is never late. We must never be too desperate of getting what God has not provided for us, it is usually a risk, anything can happen. but waiting for God to make the connection is the best. it might appear to you that it's taking so long but believe me, God's blessing is worth the wait. Prov 10:22 says, "The blessings of the Lord, it makes rich and He adds no sorrow with it" and Isaiah 40:31 says, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; hey shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint"

you can plant and water, but don't try to yield the increase, that is for GOD ALONE. (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Most times when you try to help God, He waits for you to come back to fully believing  in Him, that He is capable of granting your heart desires alone, then you receive. By trying to look for what you call a faster way, you are simply prolonging the arrival of your miracles. I know the thought of waiting could be terrifying but which do you prefer, not waiting and doing it your way and having major issues at the long run or waiting for the Lord to do it His way and have no sorrow but riches and favor attached to it?

while I was studying the struggles that Joseph faced in Genesis 39-40 as the Spirit led me. I found out that Joseph being the commander in the house of Potiphar, he must have known a lot of Potiphar's friends, that could solicit on his behalf or even get him out of prison, he must have had the connection to leave the prison cell but you know what, HE NEVER DID. He never sought for how to plead with his master as some of us today would do, rather he kept his cool and believed entirely in God. it is not pride, it is knowing that whatever happens our God cannot fail you. "if I perish, I perish" and look at Genesis 39:21-23 "But the Lord was with Joseph and blessed him, so that the jailer was pleased with him- He put joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and made him responsible for everything that was done in the prison- the jailer did not have to look after anything for which Joseph was responsible, because the Lord was with Joseph and made him succeed in everything he did" incase you don't understand what Isaiah 40:31 means, well this is a typical example. While Joseph was waiting on God to take him out of prison, God kept on renewing his strength by perfecting all that concerns him, even in the prison cell. God was setting up the emergence of Joseph as a ruler, Genesis 40;

• the King of Egypt had to get angry with his wine steward and his chief baker and put them in prison.
• the prison had to be in the house of the captain guard in the same place where Joseph was being kept.
• they had to stay for a long time
• the captain had to assign Joseph as their servant. (he never saw it as a sign that God abandoned him)
• There was need for both the wine steward and the chief baker to each have a dream that no one could interpret but Joseph.
• The king had to restore the wine steward to his former position.
• God made the king dream which made the wine steward remember Joseph.
• Joseph interpreted the dream and that was it.

WE SHOULD WAIT FOR GOD, it is for our best interest. Joseph waited! anytime you go for what God has not given you, you lose what God has given you freely.

sometimes why some people are still at the same spot is simply because they have refused to wait on the Lord. if Joseph had sought for forgiveness (on what he didn't do) from Potiphar and Potiphar accepts him, he would have still been on that level maybe for life, he would just be known as a servant (whether high or low) of Potiphar. I want this to catch you today. always allow God to yield the increase ALONE! don't try to help Him do that! He created the whole universe and everything in it, including you, how can your situation be greater than Him. it might look like it's not coming, but that's not true God is following His series. He has never lied before, He created you how can He lie to you.

look at this, God told Abraham that Sarah will have a child and Sarah laughed, see what God said in Genesis 18:13-14, "And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? - Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son".

You cannot be praying fervently to God and still be depending on the arm of flesh, God once told my Father in the Faith, Bishop David Oyedepo, "My son you have two eyes, can you make one of them to look up and one to look down? whenever you are looking unto man, never claim you are looking unto Me" that's why sometimes God lets all doors to shut, because  He wants you to recognize that all your help comes from Him and not from your uncle or aunty, your bank account, your 3 degrees, and so on.

See how much God hates this attitude of trying to help Him. God killed Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6:7 for reaching out to hold the ark of God when the oxen carrying it began to shake. it says, "And the anger of God was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God". please do no try to help God perform His responsibilities in your life, or you may never reach your next levels. The God we are serving is still the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who will always show up! (Daniel 3)

I pray that God grant you the grace to put His Word to work and watch what He will do in your life. if you have been blessed, feel free to share your comments and testimonies because I am sure God had you in mind while releasing these words.

first things first, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior, then that is a major hindrance to your prayers, if you are not saved, you are not safe, if you are not sure, then you are not saved. if you would like to give your life to Christ, say this prayer and mean it,
"Lord Jesus, I have come to You today, I accept that I am a sinner and I confess my sins and repent from them. I believe that You died on the cross of Calvary for my sins. Thank You for forgiving me. today I am saved, I am born again. thank You Jesus". if you said this prayer congratulations, you are now a child of God, so let go of the past evil ways, for the Bible says if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away, behold, all things are become new (2 Cor 5:17). Be Blessed