Things to Try if you DON'T Want God to Answer Your Prayers

If you don't want God to answer your prayers, here are some things you can try:

1. Don't listen to God's law. Pay no attention to His commandments. If you won't listen to Him, there is a good chance that He won't pay much attention to you either. Proverbs 28:9 states that "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination."

2. Don't ask in faith. If you don't really think you need it or that God can give it, why should He? James 1:6-7 says that "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."

3. Be selfish and carnal in your prayers. James 4:3 explains that "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."

4. Be prideful and let God know how much better and more deserving you are than all other men. This will put you in the same category as the Pharisee in Luke 18:11: "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector."

5. Keep striving to be a sinner at heart. Psalms 66:18 declares, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." Even a blind man can see that "God does not listen to sinners" (John 9:31). These are some things you can try if you just don't want the Lord to respond positively to your prayers. On the other hand, if you would like God to give you what you ask for, you might try the opposites of these things. Heed God's commands! Ask in faith! Pray for others! Be humble! Repent of your sins!

by Steve Klein

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