If You're Prayers Aren't Answered Does That Mean You Aren't A Christian?

I know this sounds stupid but a relationship , esp with God is a 2_ way street... meaning when we pray He answers( not all the time or when we want..but if you have an relationship with Him he won't ignore you.)


I feel I pray to God, He listens but.rarely answers despite my attempts to get closer to Him.. and I feel burned, not only bc He doesn't answer but pll who represent Jim burned me too and I just wanna put God behind me sometime s .

It also makes me wonder abt atheists who gave Christianity a try for 10 yrs and gave up bc God didn't answer their diligent prayers... I wonder why would God be so silent for so long, long enough to crumble my faith?

He wasn't silent with Abraham, David, Elijah or peter( when he needed Him most God answered, building His faith and trust)

I
 
For faith to build God has to come through. When He answers prayers, provides, ect that builds your faith. But if you do your best to pray and he doesn't answer, go out on faith and do missionary work or sell your house or whatever and God doesn't back you up or provide but is completely silent...it shatters your faith...

It just makes me think He only cares for certain people.
 
I'm like you. I pray and pray and don't seem to get much in return other than "feelings" that I should do something. Maybe that's enough, but I would still like something more. It's frustrating that my wife and her family have real experiences (like God audibly speaking or speaking through another) when I'm the one sitting at home reading twenty chapters of the Bible a day and praying for Him to take my severe anxiety away and he still hasn't done it.

Despite Him not answering what has been my main prayer for the last ten years of my life, I have to say that I'm still happy with my relationship with Him. Feelings are enough to know that He's there taking care of you. Do you get feelings after praying?

I don't listen to Charles Stanley's sermons often but he always says to sit in a closet or something where it is pitch black during prayer so that if God speaks to you you will be able to hear it because you have no distractions.

Do you read the Bible? If you don't, please start. We can't be expected to hear God if we don't read His Word.
Here are some Bible reading plans:
http://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/?version=NIV
http://blog.youversion.com/category/reading-plans/
 
Hunting, youre blessed.. I dont get feelings but He does give me dreams every blue moon lol, and like you I have severe anxiety I try to pray away also..
 
I know this sounds stupid but a relationship , esp with God is a 2_ way street... meaning when we pray He answers( not all the time or when we want..but if you have an relationship with Him he won't ignore you.)


I feel I pray to God, He listens but.rarely answers despite my attempts to get closer to Him.. and I feel burned, not only bc He doesn't answer but pll who represent Jim burned me too and I just wanna put God behind me sometime s .

It also makes me wonder abt atheists who gave Christianity a try for 10 yrs and gave up bc God didn't answer their diligent prayers... I wonder why would God be so silent for so long, long enough to crumble my faith?

He wasn't silent with Abraham, David, Elijah or peter( when he needed Him most God answered, building His faith and trust)

I
I am not sure what you are going through right now.. Let me share my personal experience.. Me and my wife have lost 2 babies.. 2 miscarriages.. One last year and one very recently.. We prayed for both the babies so much.. We prayed with faith.. Should I lose hope that God did not answer my prayers? Of course, the devil did bring such doubts into my mind.. A couple of days after my wife had D&C procedure, the Lord ministered to me through a song! It is well with my soul.. Brings tears to my eyes every time I think about the song..

Bottom line is this.. God's ways are higher than our ways.. We see answer to a prayer as one thing.. God answers the prayer in a different way.. Because we look at a need and we feel the answer is something tangible.. We look at it with short visibility.. But God looks at it from eternity.. He knows what is best for our soul for eternity.. All things work out for good.. This is again from Bible..

My suggestion would be, rather than praying why there is no answer.. Pause and open your heart to see what God is saying about the situation.. Through the 2 miscarriages me and my wife have only come out stronger.. Closer to God.. More thankful to him.. And now when I praise the Lord for my other kid, I genuinely praise Him! And it has brought about great changes in our relationship with our extended family members..

Continue to trust more.. We cannot change God's mind through prayers.. But prayers do change our mind and desires :)
 
I know this sounds stupid but a relationship , esp with God is a 2_ way street... meaning when we pray He answers( not all the time or when we want..but if you have an relationship with Him he won't ignore you.)


I feel I pray to God, He listens but.rarely answers despite my attempts to get closer to Him.. and I feel burned, not only bc He doesn't answer but pll who represent Jim burned me too and I just wanna put God behind me sometime s .

It also makes me wonder abt atheists who gave Christianity a try for 10 yrs and gave up bc God didn't answer their diligent prayers... I wonder why would God be so silent for so long, long enough to crumble my faith?

He wasn't silent with Abraham, David, Elijah or peter( when he needed Him most God answered, building His faith and trust)

I
Hi Pancakes,

Because of your thread title, "If You're Prayers Aren't Answered Does That Mean You Aren't A Christian," I first want you to be sure of your salvation. If you are not sure of this, it will effect your whole relationship with God. Can you tell me if by faith you asked God for his His free gift of salvation and you believed you received it. That is do you by faith believe that your sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus because he paid for your sins so you wouldn't have to. Do you by faith know that your sin self (which was spiritually dead from sin) was buried with Christ when He was buried? And do you by faith believe you were raised as a new creation in Christ? And one last thing do you know what it means to be a new creation in Christ?

After you answer this, I would love to help you, but I think you need to first be confident that you truly are saved.
 
Olivia yes im saved..and Im sure of it, I just worded it this way bc some pll think if youre prayers aren't answered youre not in line with Him
 
Look at the following people and ask yourself why they didn't get the answers to their prayers they were seeking:

Paul
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Elijah:
He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

Habakkuk:
How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?

David:
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

David:
David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
On the seventh day the child died.

Jesus:
He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Yes God will give anything we ask as the bible says, but keep in mind it has to be according to his Will. That's why even at the end of Christ's prayer he said, "Yet not as I will, but as you will"

When we align ourselves with His Will, then our prayers become very different, compared to a nonbeliever. That's why once Paul understood this, he changed his tone and said he will boast about his weakness, what he was once asking God to remove.


How to Pray

Now let's look at how our Lord said we should pray:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

The prayer that Christ gave them is a perfect prayer. It is basically a DIY on how to prayer. Examine what is being said in this prayer and it will help to understand the way a Christian should be praying.

Now here is some other verse that help with understanding how to pray:

The one who doubts should not expect anything from the Lord
"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

Asking for stuff for your own pleasures
"You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Ask in Christ's name
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Continuing to pray without stopping
"pray continually" - 1 thes 5:17

Husbands you better buy your wives some flowers if you don't want your prayers hindered ;)
"Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."

Wives should also submit to their husbands if they want favor from the Lord
"Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord."

Make sure you're praying to God for His will, not to just look good in front of other church members
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

Instead, be alone with God
"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Just ask God once, and have faith. He already knows what you want, so asking over and over for the same thing isn't going to help you.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
 
As far as the anxiety, I think God wants us to trust Him more than we fear. I understand because I also have anxiety. I feel God is telling me to trust Him anyway. I continue to pray that He helps me to not feel anxious, but I also know I have to trust Him that He is bigger than my anxiety. This helps me a lot. I just have to keep thinking about how silly my anxieties are next to God.
 
Look at the following people and ask yourself why they didn't get the answers to their prayers they were seeking:

Paul
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Elijah:
He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

Habakkuk:
How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?

David:
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

David:
David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
On the seventh day the child died.

Jesus:
He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Yes God will give anything we ask as the bible says, but keep in mind it has to be according to his Will. That's why even at the end of Christ's prayer he said, "Yet not as I will, but as you will"

When we align ourselves with His Will, then our prayers become very different, compared to a nonbeliever. That's why once Paul understood this, he changed his tone and said he will boast about his weakness, what he was once asking God to remove.


How to Pray

Now let's look at how our Lord said we should pray:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

The prayer that Christ gave them is a perfect prayer. It is basically a DIY on how to prayer. Examine what is being said in this prayer and it will help to understand the way a Christian should be praying.

Now here is some other verse that help with understanding how to pray:

The one who doubts should not expect anything from the Lord
"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

Asking for stuff for your own pleasures
"You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Ask in Christ's name
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Continuing to pray without stopping
"pray continually" - 1 thes 5:17

Husbands you better buy your wives some flowers if you don't want your prayers hindered ;)
"Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."

Wives should also submit to their husbands if they want favor from the Lord
"Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord."

Make sure you're praying to God for His will, not to just look good in front of other church members
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

Instead, be alone with God
"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Just ask God once, and have faith. He already knows what you want, so asking over and over for the same thing isn't going to help you.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Well Pancakes, Where is the Messiah has such an excellent post I don't think I need to add anything. I am thankful that you know you are saved and I will await your response to his post before saying more except, since anxiety is what you say you have a lot, it sounds like lack of faith is the issue. May you be blessed with great peace, joy, wisdom and blessing.
 
Well Pancakes, Where is the Messiah has such an excellent post I don't think I need to add anything. I am thankful that you know you are saved and I will await your response to his post before saying more except, since anxiety is what you say you have a lot, it sounds like lack of faith is the issue. May you be blessed with great peace, joy, wisdom and blessing.
Most anxiety is built by conditioning. With me it was my mother speaking for me all the time, the fact I didn't have any friends, and my complete lack of self confidence (also caused by my mother). I don't think I have a lack of faith in God because my body reacts a certain way to situations.

I unemployed because I quit my job at a police department. I would have to fight people, chase people, draw my gun on people, and have yelling matches with people daily. I've responded to shootings in progress and I've showed up to domestic calls where people have been stabbed and bleeding all over the place. I've had all these experiences and yet when someone catches me off guard and talks to me I feel like my heart beating is going to break bones.

Obviously that isn't rational, but that's just the way my body reacts to social situations. I don't think it has anything to do with how much I trust God. If I trusted Him to keep me safe during all the police stuff then surely I'd trust Him for all the little stuff, but I'm still incredibly anxious a lot of the time.
 
Most anxiety is built by conditioning. With me it was my mother speaking for me all the time, the fact I didn't have any friends, and my complete lack of self confidence (also caused by my mother). I don't think I have a lack of faith in God because my body reacts a certain way to situations.

I unemployed because I quit my job at a police department. I would have to fight people, chase people, draw my gun on people, and have yelling matches with people daily. I've responded to shootings in progress and I've showed up to domestic calls where people have been stabbed and bleeding all over the place. I've had all these experiences and yet when someone catches me off guard and talks to me I feel like my heart beating is going to break bones.

Obviously that isn't rational, but that's just the way my body reacts to social situations. I don't think it has anything to do with how much I trust God. If I trusted Him to keep me safe during all the police stuff then surely I'd trust Him for all the little stuff, but I'm still incredibly anxious a lot of the time.

That's what doesn't make sense about anxiety. I KNOW that God is more powerful than all the things I worry about. Why do I still worry? I just have to keep praying about it. Maybe I wonder if I am worthy... like I know God CAN protect us from these things I worry about, but will He? What if He decided not to? I hope I'm explaining that in a way that makes sense.
 
I unemployed because I quit my job at a police department. I would have to fight people, chase people, draw my gun on people, and have yelling matches with people daily. I've responded to shootings in progress and I've showed up to domestic calls where people have been stabbed and bleeding all over the place. I've had all these experiences and yet when someone catches me off guard and talks to me I feel like my heart beating is going to break bones.

What city were you a police in?
 
That's what doesn't make sense about anxiety. I KNOW that God is more powerful than all the things I worry about. Why do I still worry? I just have to keep praying about it. Maybe I wonder if I am worthy... like I know God CAN protect us from these things I worry about, but will He? What if He decided not to? I hope I'm explaining that in a way that makes sense.

I know what you're saying. I don't really "worry" often. I don't think about future events very much. Generally it's just sudden things.

Although when I had court or class I would literally be unable to sleep the night before. Sometimes I would throw up. I even broke out all over my torso once, which I'm assuming was because of my anxiety. I was so worked up that I didn't talk to my wife for two days before the class.

I don't think it has to do with a lack of faith. It's more like a emotional disorder, in my opinion.
 
Back
Top