Prayers of the BibleSample

Have you ever wondered why some prayers seem to go unanswered?

One of the scariest passages in the Bible is 1 Peter 3:7, where Peter warns that our behavior, especially toward our spouse, can affect the effectiveness of our prayers: “so that your prayers may not be hindered.” This suggests that God doesn’t always hear our prayers—or at least, He may not answer them when our hearts are not right.

In today’s passage, Solomon prays a prayer during the dedication of the temple, and one phrase he repeats over and over again is “hear in heaven.” His request throughout this prayer is that God would listen to the prayers of His people. Solomon pleads that when God’s people come to the temple with repentant and humble hearts, God will hear from heaven and respond. And this raises an important question: Does God ever not hear our prayers?

And how can we be confident that when we pray, God is listening to us?

The Bible is clear: when we pray in alignment with God’s will, He will hear our prayers. 1 John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Likewise, in John 14:13-14, Jesus promises, “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.”

When we pray, it’s important to remember that we are aligning our hearts and desires with God’s will. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Hallowed be your name, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The purpose of prayer is not to get our own way but to align ourselves with God’s greater purposes.

It may seem frightening that Jesus doesn’t hear our selfish prayers, but in reality, it’s a good thing that some of our prayers go unanswered. God, in His wisdom and love, knows what is truly best for us. Sometimes, unanswered prayers are God’s way of protecting us from what we don’t need.

And take heart, for even in our imperfections, Romans 8:26-27 teaches that Jesus, as our great High Priest, intercedes on our behalf. He takes our imperfect prayers and fixes them on the way up.

Today, ponder this:

What is your motivation when you pray? Are you praying in alignment with God’s will, or asking for things that may not be in your best interest? Remember that God hears the prayers of a humble and repentant heart, and He delights in answering those that align with His greater purposes.