When I Pray Nothing Happens

Whenever I pray nothing happens. How many times have you heard that phrase uttered or maybe you have expressed the same sentiments yourself. You ever wonder why God seems to answer some prayers while other prayers it seems that He completely ignores. I have been a Christian for many years and I know that there are times when I pray and I feel an immediate peace about whatever it is that I’m praying about.  And then there are times I pray and the moment I say the word “Amen” my hands are still sweaty and my spirit is still very troubled.  Why is that?

I have read and studied the scriptures to find the purpose of prayer and I don’t profess to have all the answers but I do have an opinion and I think my opinion matters. At least, to me it does.

I think it’s time we pull out our bible and find the biblical definition for prayer. James 4:3 says “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts” so then, according to James, when we ask God for something that is by definition a prayer.  So to put this verse into context, James is saying that the reason why so many prayers go unanswered is people tend to pray with themselves as the chief recipient of whatever it is their praying for.  So, before we move to the next point lets be clear on what prayer is exactly; to pray is to ask, make a request or to simply converse with God.

Now armed with this definition of prayer it’s correct to assume that praying is a pretty-big-deal.  Think about that for a minute. God the creator of the universe wants his kids to converse with him. Which means that prayer is our time TO TALK with God and it's also his time TO TALK with us.  Now to some folks that may seem a little odd or far-fetched. They would say God is far too busy to be concerned with my life. But again I think its best to base our opinion about God according to what the bible says about Him.  I need to give more scripture here before we go further.  Jesus is teaching some folks about prayer and I want you to pay close attention to what Jesus says about prayer in the text. Check this out: Luke11:9-13 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.11If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Clearly Jesus wanted his listeners to know that God was as interested in what they had to say as they would be in terms of listening to their own children.  I love what Jesus says in this passage.  Clearly he wants us to know that God in many ways is much like our earthly parents but far better. Note verse 13 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” Ok, it could not be clearer; God wants to talk to you as a father desires to speak to his own child.  The real question is why.  Why does God expect us to pray or more specifically what is the purpose for praying?  

I want to give you My Top Ten Reasons why it’s good for us to be praying on a daily basis.

1.       Jesus Prayed.  If I am to be conformed to the image of Christ then it only makes sense for me to follow the example of Christ.

2.       God knows what I don’t. Every day is new day to me and I don’t know what new challenges I’m going to be facing that day but God does. So I pray to him for help in getting me through a day that he sees clearly from His perspective.

3.       Peace. So many people do not trust in God because their minds can’t fully understand why God allows so many tragic things to happen.  If God is real, then why did my brother, father or friend die so tragically?  Whenever I pray consistently God often gives me peace when I am facing very difficult times.

4.       Strength. I often chuckle in my spirit whenever I talk to people who are arrogant enough to think that they don’t need God.  I have had people tell me that God is nothing but a crutch for me, to which I reply, “He’s a really good crutch. You should try him.”  How do people make it without going to God for strength? I have no idea. The strength I pray to God for often helps me to avoid temptation.  Prayer is a wonderful thing.

5.       Provision. There are times when your efforts just aren’t enough to make ends meet.  God says it’s ok to seek our provision from him each day in prayer.  That does not mean that we should forsake our responsibility of working.  But when we are being responsible with our finances and we still don’t have enough God promises to provide us with our daily provisions. What an awesome promise of scripture and like the three Hebrew boys said in Daniel, “if he doesn’t provide I’m still going to trust him.”  

6.       Providence. God’s plan and purpose should always be more important than my plans.  If I’m praying and the situation never changes in the way that I feel that it should, then there is a strong possibility that God is working out His will in my life, His way. My prayer is that I’m ok with that. Jesus said as much. “Not my will farther, but your will be done.”  Jesus prayed this way in the Garden of Gethsemene just before he faced Calvary’s Cross.    

7.       Forgiveness. There are times when I pray and I know that God wants to discuss a certain issue of my heart.  If I don’t address that particular issue it seems as if God won’t move on to other topics.  Usually when this happens it’s because I have unforgiveness in my heart.  So then when I pray I need to make sure that I have dealt with any unforgiveness with a sister or brother, because if I don’t, that will affect my prayer life.  So, I make it a practice to apologize if I know I have wronged someone, especially if that someone is my wife. J

8.       Confession. So many times we pray and do not confess transgressions.  It’s one thing to go and seek forgiveness from a spouse that I have wronged but I also need to agree with God that I have done wrong.  This to me is what’s awesome about prayer.   Whenever I confess my wrong doing to God the immediate feeling of freedom that I experience is indescribable.  He forgives me and He does not hold grudges and that’s a good thing. Often I will confess a wrong to God and before I’m finished praying I will make the same mistake again.  God is so awesome.

9.       Awareness. Somebody reading this point right now does not believe God exists. I dare you to pray sincerely for God to reveal himself to you. I know that He will.  Praying often helps me to become more spiritually aware of how God wants to work in my life.

10.   It is a Command. We should be praying because God tells us in his word that believers should pray and not become tired. So keep praying and seeking the Lord.  He is awesome. So these are my top ten reasons and purposes for prayer.  God always hears and answers prayers.  Just keep praying.