If You Pray Wrongly, You Can Be Sure Your Prayers Won't Be Answered!

[octavia137r]

If You Pray Wrongly, You Can Be Sure
Your Prayers Won't Be Answered! 

…Ye have not, because ye ask not.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss….
- James 4:2,3

We've all encountered moments in our spiritual lives when we prayed with no results. Apparently the people to whom James was writing his epistle were having the same expe­rience. Just as you have probably asked yourself at one time or another, it appears that these believers were also asking, "Why aren't our prayers being answered?" We can surmise that they were asking this question because James provided an answer in James 4:3: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss…."

The Greek word for "amiss" is kakos, which describes something that is bad or wrong. As James uses it in this verse, it depicts a person who is asking wrongly, badly, or inappropriately. You could say that this person is simply not hitting the mark in his request. Although he prays with the greatest fervor, he is not hitting the target with what he is asking. This person is apparently asking God to do something that is not in agreement with His Word. Therefore, regardless of how long or how passionately the person asks, God will not answer his request with a positive answer because it is not in agreement with the Word.

Or perhaps this person is asking for the right thing, but because he is so fretful and filled with fear and anxiety, he doesn't ask in faith. Rather than praying from a position of faith, he cries out to the Lord in fear and anxiety. But fear doesn't move God - faith does. Hence, although this person may be asking for the right thing, he is asking from a wrong spirit. Thus, he is asking badly or inappropriately.

This means what we ask and how we ask are both of vital importance if we are going to get our prayers answered!

A literal translation of this verse would be as follows:

"...You ask, and receive not, because you are asking wrongly, badly, inappropriately...."

Especially when I was younger in the Lord, I made the mistake of asking things wrongly when I prayed. Perhaps my intentions were right, but my prayers were not in agreement with the truths revealed in the Bible. There were other moments when I finally got my prayers in agreement with the Word of God, but I was so motivated by anxiety and fear that I couldn't ask in faith. Consumed with worry, I pounded the floor as I prayed, yelling and screaming out for God to move on my behalf. But because I was so filled with fear regarding the situation I was praying about, all my pounding, yelling, and screaming didn't do a bit of good. I was praying from a wrong spirit - out of fear rather than out of faith - so all of that effort resulted only in a sore throat!

Have you ever had the experience of asking the right thing in the wrong way? Praying scrip­turally and in faith is essential if you want your requests to be answered positively.

First John 5:14 says, "And this is the confidence we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." The word "confidence" is the Greek word parresia. It describes confidence, boldness, or assurance. It pictures a person so confident that when he speaks, he has no doubt about what he is saying. He knows what he is saying is correct or appropriate; therefore, he becomes very bold. In the context of prayer, this word presents the picture of a believer who is so confident he is right in what he is asking that he asks unashamedly and confidently.

What can give you this kind of confidence? The verse goes on to tell you: "…If we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." So when you 1) know God's will and 2) ask Him to do something that is in agreement with His will, you can be 100-percent sure that God will hear you and that your request will be positively answered!

This means you have solid ground on which to stand as you pray in agreement with the revealed will of God, the Bible. Since your request is in agreement with what God has already revealed in His Word, you know you can be bold when you make your request! And there is no need for you to pray out of fear and anxiety either. Just quiet down, and let the Word of God fill you with peace; then ask in faith.

First John 5:14 guarantees that if you ask anything that is agreement with His will, God will hear you. In fact, verse 15 goes on to promise you, "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

Knowing what to pray and how to pray is vitally important. So always keep this in mind as you get ready to make your requests known to God: God listens for His Word, and He responds to faith. When He hears His Word prayed from a heart of faith, He is compelled to act.

The success of your prayer life is up to you, friend, so don't ask "amiss" when you pray. Make sure you are asking correctly and in an appropriate spirit of faith. As you learn to pray in line with God's Word from a heart filled with faith, the answers you seek will manifest in your life more quickly and more fully than ever before!

[BlessingBab]

Thank you sis........

[Cenedra64]

thank you...you know I'm always seeking answers

[cupcakes254]

THANK YOU FOR SHARING WORDS OF WISDOM

CUPCAKES254

[Mommee42boyz]

This is so true. Praying the word of God is most assuredly one of the best ways to pray as well. Also, we must pray with a clean heart. 

I always ask for God for forgive my sins and to fill me wiht His spirit so that I may pray according to His will.

If you have issues with someone, these should be corrected before you pray as well.

The enemy seeks to add confusion and vanity to our prayers. He must be bound, and we must be suited in the armor of God to pray effectually and fervently.

Keep praying my sisters!!

[octavia137r]

Your welcome sisters God bless

[MOMMYTO5CUTIES]

Thank you! This is so clarifying.