Why Doesn’t Prayer Work?Sýnishorn

Introduction: A Look at Prayer From the Example Jesus Set

Have you ever asked God for something and not gotten it? Maybe you felt like you didn’t get it because you weren’t praying often enough or hard enough. Or you’ve wondered if God was even listening. 

Is there a reason your prayer didn’t “work”?

We live in a consumer culture, where we make a purchase and expect immediate delivery. If you’ve ordered groceries online, even a two-hour window can feel like an eternity! But is that what prayer is? Are we just making transactions with God?

It’s easy to get intimidated by or overthink prayer, but Jesus’ relationship with His Father gives us an approachable and practical look at a life of prayer. 

Jesus equipped His disciples by giving them an easy way to pray known as “The Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:9-13. This prayer is first, and foremost, a conversation—Jesus is talking to our Father God. He starts by focusing His talking points on who God is, His Kingdom, and will. Then Jesus shifts to daily needs, our hearts toward others, and the power to overcome. 

Over the next seven days, we’ll unpack The Lord’s Prayer to see what this could mean for your prayers and the answers you seek. Along the way, you’ll read about the prayer lives of people in the Bible and discover how talking with God can go beyond “answered” prayer to unleashing His power in your life.

Questions for Reflection:

How would you describe your current relationship with prayer? Is prayer a regular part of your routine, or do you have questions about how it works? 

Identify any other roadblocks that may be standing in the way of an active prayer life. Are you new to prayer, struggling through hurt, or challenging prayer’s validity? 

In what ways do your prayers reflect the model that Jesus gave us in The Lord’s Prayer? In what ways do they differ? Have you been a part of a tradition that prays The Lord’s Prayer verbatim?