May 31, 2026

Back to Basics

Prayer Sunday

Prayer is the fastest element/force that I know. Faster then the speed of light, which is 186,000 miles/second. Prayer -fast, faster, fastest.

If prayer was a slow as light it would take 1 ½ seconds for a prayer from earth to reach the moon;

It would take 4 minutes to reach Mars.

If prayer was a slow as light it would take 6 hours to reach the edge of our solar system but to reach the edge of our Galaxy, the milky way, it would take 100,000 years. -that’s quite a distant and a long slow time.

If prayer was a slow as light it would take to reach the edge of the observable universe 46 billion years.

But just whisper a prayer and our God who lives beyond what we can see and observe, our God instantly hears and it took less then a nanosecond. He heard you, indeed, God heard your whispered prayer.

That’s not the most amazing fact though. God knew our prayer before we even whispered it -that’s reverse time speed -what!

However, when we speak or whisper our prayers and send them up to heaven we may find that those very prayers may encounter road blocks, detours, obstacles, barriers and hurdles and the don’t complete the trip to God, they never arrive, God doesn’t hear them.

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Have you ever felt that God didn’t hear you, that no answer was coming, that heaven wasn’t listening, that your prayer just bounced off the ceiling?

Well, here are 8 Reasons why God doesn’t answer your prayers. Please realize that if I tell you why God doesn’t answer your prayers than the opposite is true also. It’s a way of telling you what works if you know what doesn’t work.

-for example; if I say don’t drive on the left side of the road than the opposite must be true -driving on the right side of the road is correct (in Canada anyway).

So here we go, 8 Reasons why God doesn’t answer your prayers!!

1you didn’t pray, you never asked

James 4:2

2 You desire but do not have, ... You covet but you cannot get what you want, ... You do not have because you do not ask God.

Matthew 6:7-9

7 … when you pray, … your Father knows what you need before you ask h

Him.

Does anybody need to pray?

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2unconfessed or cherished sin in your life

Psalm 66:18

18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,    the Lord would not have listened;

Does anybody need to pray?

3because of doubt

James 1:6-8

6 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. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Does anybody need to pray?

4because of wrong motives

James 4:3 (prayed in Jesus’ name but not prayed in His will)

3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Matthew 6:7-9

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

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5because you have unforgiveness in your life

Mark 11: 25-26

25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your offenses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your offenses.”

Does anybody need to pray?

6because you are ignoring hurting people

1 John 3:17, 21-22

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

Does anybody need to pray?

7because you are acting like a bad husband

1 Peter 3:7

7 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.

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8because God has something better for you

God always answers heard prayers with

YESNONOT NOW

Does anybody need to keep on praying?

Wait and be still as you wait for God’s answer.

Be alert, stay awake, keep your antennas up to receive God’s answer.

When the answer comes in whatever form:

Submit the sovereignty of God.

Surrender to the will of God.

Entrust you way to God’s will for your life.