REASONS PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED AND SACRIFICES NOT HONOURED (4)

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines…
– Song of Solomon 2:15

4. NOT QUALIFIED/MATURE YET TO HAVE IT

Sometimes, we behave like little children and ask God for something we are neither mature nor equipped to handle. Imagine a ten-year-old boy asking for a car? That is the picture we present at times in our pursuits and prayer requests. We ask for and aspire after what we are not mentally, spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, financially, or socially equipped to manage. And when God, Who knows better, decides not to release them to us, we whine and complain and doubt if He really cares about us as we are made to believe.

There is a world of difference between a gift and ability to manage it; the possession of the first does not necessarily connote the ownership of the second. A popular saying says, “Anointing (a gift) can launch one to a height where character (ability to manage it) is not able to sustain him.” Such is the case when we ignorantly seek certain things at a time that it may result in our humiliation or public disgrace to the point that we will not have the courage to ever venture out again.

God is omniscient. He knows the appropriate time to give us everything we need. But due to our limited knowledge, we often strive, scheme, and struggle for what we cannot hold on to at a particular time.

Wisdom is required to know the when of everything we desire in life. Imagine if Daniel had prayed for the liberation of the captives in Babylon in their 20th or 40th year in captivity, he would have only been praying into the future because God had already decreed that the captivity would last for 70 years.

It takes Wisdom to know the appointed time you are due for something, while then pursuing and praying for it at the appropriate time, not way before or after then, “Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise in heart will know the proper time and procedure. For THERE IS A PROPER TIME AND PROCEDURE FOR EVERY MATTER, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him” (Ecclesiastes 8: 5-6 NIV).

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

REASONS PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED AND SACRIFICES NOT HONOURED (3)

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines…
– Song of Solomon 2:15

2. NOT DOING ENOUGH (praying, giving, sacrificing etc)

Another reason we do not receive what we seek from God is because we do not do enough of what it takes to receive them. The Bible says, “If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie” (Ecclesiastes 11:3).

Oftentimes we settle for the average or even below average performance in our pursuits. We do not pray enough; fast enough, give enough, serve enough, or do enough of what is required to get our miracle. We do not fill our clouds with enough water so that they might burst out and rain upon us in return, nor do we push our tree with enough force that it might fall and create an impact that will speak for us.

3. ASKING FOR THE WRONG THINGS

“You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). Some of us seek after or ask for the wrong things in prayer.

God is good. And it is because of this His goodness that He does not give us some of those things we frantically seek or pray for. He knows that if we should get them, they might harm us or ultimately deprive us of getting to heaven. And knowing that no earthly pleasure – which is at best for a lifetime – can compare with the everlasting glory He has prepared for us in heaven, He will stop at nothing to ensure that we partake of this glory, even if it means denying or disciplining us at times.

It is therefore important we know that God is not under any obligation to satisfy all our whims, irrespective of how long or earnestly we badger Him in prayer about them; rather, He is only obliged to supply our needs, as a caring Father that He is.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

REASONS PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED AND SACRIFICES NOT HONOURED (2)

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines…
– Song of Solomon 2:15

b) Not Knowing the Required Principles:

The second way ignorance robs us of our breakthroughs is by not knowing the appropriate thing to do to get what we want. We have often heard  that God operates by principles. And, truly, the Bible is replete with passages that hinge the attainment of certain blessing on the fulfilment of one condition or another. These are indicators of what it takes to get such blessings.

For instance, someone who desires financial prosperity may not attain it by constant prayer and fasting alone. That is like taking soporifics to cure stomach ache. The Bible is very clear on what it takes to be financially prosperous; it is by giving and adhering to the counsel of God. Another example is someone who desires power (the ability to control or influence happenings both in the spiritual and the physical), but who is not given to constant fasting and praying, such person is only deluding himself. She may not have it; no matter how great she can sing, give or how committed she may be in the church. The list of “what to do” to get specific “what” is endless.

That is why it is good for us to be devoted to studying our Bible; for, apart from the primary benefit of availing us the knowledge of God, it also contains all the instructions we need for life and godliness as well as the relevant principles needed to obtain various good things we desire in life. But most people don’t seem to know this, which is why they use the wrong approach to achieve the right end, and thereby end up not getting the desired result.

The Bible says in Hosea 4:14c “people who do not understand will be trampled.” Ignorance is the major cause of most of our sufferings.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

REASONS PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED AND SACRIFICES NOT HONOURED (1)

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines…
– Song of Solomon 2:15

Truly, the Bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). However, we all know that this is not always the case. There are many times we might have fervently asked, sought, and knocked at the door of God or man for one thing or the other without being granted.

For the next few days, we will be looking at reasons some of our prayers and services to God are neither answered nor rewarded:

1. IGNORANCE

The first reason some of our prayers are not answered is because of our ignorance. The LORD says in Hosea 4:6a that ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’. While most of us know this scripture very well and quote it quite often in our discourse, we nonetheless fall victim to its veracity. It is amazing to see the zest with which we go all out to seek something, and then how we truncate our own efforts or chances of getting it by our actions or inactions, done in ignorance. There are two ways ignorance robs us of rewards and answered prayers.

a) Self-sabotage: Oftentimes, we are diligent in our supplications to God about something and even do all we could to ensure that we get our heart’s desire. But little carelessness in a seemingly unrelated or unimportant matter may foil our chances of getting what we have long sought the face of God for. A wrong thought, a wrong statement, a wrong action, or a wrong indulgence entertained when it did not seem to matter can prevent our much sought-after blessing from being delivered to us.

We all know that the earth is spherical in shape. However, what is not general knowledge is the fact that life itself is cyclical. What this means is that even as the earth orbits or goes round and round, so do our thoughts, words and actions revolve around the ultimate entity that is our being. Therefore, there is nothing like “it does not matter”, “it does not affect…”, “it does not relate to…” or “it is not important to…” in the cycle of life. Every single thought, word, and action impacts on our state of being at any point in time.

Nurturing evil thoughts and intentions towards someone, saying the wrong thing to or about someone, or doing wrong to someone may not seem to be connected to what we are seeking the face of God (or man) for, but the truth is they in fact affect it and may be the reason we do not get our desire at times.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Purpose: Sent to Save Sinners

We probably have considered this all-important purpose of Jesus in one of the previous editions of our Purpose series. It is one purpose that cannot be overemphasised, as the understanding of it is at the core of our wellbeing and optimal manifestation. It is true that Jesus came to the world primarily to save all sinners. The apostle affirms that it is not just true, but is a faithful saying that is worthy of acceptance by everyone.

Sin became the second nature of humans after the fall in the Garden of Eden, while subsequent activities and descendants of man were all enmeshed in sin and marked with imperfection. Eventually God decided it was enough seeing humans operating in the fallen state – deprived, denied and reduced on account of sin. So there was need to upgrade humans from the level of sin to the heights of glory where communing with God and functioning on earth would be with ease, as God intended it to be in the beginning.

To achieve that, certain things must be done: there must be a judgement, there must be suffering and there must be death as representations of what each individual would need to experience in his/her individual capacity as a sinful soul. But, instead of handing over humans to be punished as deserved, God decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so He could stand in the gap for humans and take the judgement, the suffering and the death due to everyone; thus nullifying the power of condemnation over us and positioning Himself as the propitiation for our sins.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Understanding Purpose (7)

…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.
– Ephesians 4:1

We are still considering calling as a second type of purpose.

We usually miss out on God’s intentions for our various callings by putting our personal agenda first. Remember purpose is others-centred; it is always devoid of selfish interests. So, when we allow our activities in any of our callings to be dictated by thoughts of personal gains, we neglect our purpose and fail to fulfil the mission for which God located us there.

A man who relates with his wife based on his own wants and desires is falling short in his calling as a husband, and vice versa. A worker who premises her performance at work majorly on what she can make for herself, apart from failing God, would not get to live up to her full potential. A member of a church, community or other forms of association who hinges his commitment on what he can gain from there is abusing his calling. A leader who puts selfish interests before that of the people she is leading is negligent of purpose. The truth is, every calling you answer is not just for the title alone, but for the mission you are meant to perform in that calling. That is why the Bible says, “whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23).

It takes a measure of God-consciousness to fulfil your mission, because you can’t be conscious of God and not be mindful of people and your environment. And the more mindful you become of people and your environment, the easier it is to identify their needs or what is lacking in that place, until you are filled enough to be able to meet such needs or provide what is lacking.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Understanding Purpose (6)

…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.
– Ephesians 4:1

The second category of purpose is situational. It is both general and specific. General in the sense that it is applicable in many settings; specific because the manner you fulfil it in one place may not be the same way you will achieve it in another.

This is the kind of purpose that relates to specific callings. We all have multiple callings with attendant roles in different contexts: as husband, wife, parent, child, student, leader, worker, member of a community, citizen of a country, member of a church, politician, and so on. These are all callings with different roles attached to them. And, in performing such roles, you are either fulfilling purpose or neglecting it.

God does not make mistakes. And nothing happens without His knowledge; His cActs 15:18). Nothing catches God by surprise; absolutely nothing.

ontrivance, in the event such happening is from Him; or His permission where such is an act of the devil. “Known to God from eternity are all His works” (

So, wherever you find yourself, God knew even before you were born that you would be there. He knew you were going to marry that man/woman; He was also in the know about the identity of your child, parents, or siblings. He knows you are where you presently work or worship. He positions you in places for a reason – so that you could execute a specific mission there.

Let’s use the instance of where you work; God put you there for a reason greater than your job description or pay cheque. He put you there for a noble reason, to add value to the firm and make a difference in the lives of fellow humans such as your co-workers and/or outsiders whom you meet in the course of your work.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!