Why Prayer Doesn’t Work

by Chris Simmons

James describes prayer as a spiritual tool that can “accomplish much” (James 5:16). The word for “accomplish” (“availeth”, ASV & KJV) in that verse comes from the Greek word “ischuo” which W. E. Vine defines as “to be of force, to be effective, capable of producing results.” Yet as powerful as prayer can be, there are perhaps times in our lives when prayer doesn’t produce the results we seek nor is it effective in accomplishing what we desire. Why is that? We can be assured, if prayer isn’t working, we should not look to blame God, but rather we need to look in God’s word which explains why prayer sometimes will not produce the results we seek and then look in the mirror and examine ourselves. When we turn to God’s word, we will see that prayer is not effective when…

Our prayers to God are infrequent and sporadic. Effectual prayers are those which are offered unceasingly. Paul stated succinctly in I Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing.” Prayer is to be something that we are “devoted” to (Colossians 4:2; Romans 12:12). Strong's Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary defines “devoted” as “to be earnest towards… to persevere, be constantly diligent…to attend assiduously all the exercises… to adhere closely to.” All too often, prayer is treated like a set of jumper cables which we only turn to when all else fails to get our life going. Prayer doesn’t work when it’s not exercised continually throughout our lives, in good times and in bad.

We lack persistence in our prayers. We are taught in God’s word that persistence is essential in our prayers before God. Jesus taught in Luke 11:5-8 of the man who receives his request from his friend “because of his persistence.” The temptation can be strong to become discouraged when our prayers do not initially accomplish what we desire them to. For that reason, Jesus taught the parable of the judge and the widow who sought his protection in Luke 18:1-8 which Luke prefaced by saying, “now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” If what we seek in prayer is truly important to our spiritual well-being, should we not persist in our communication to God through prayer for such? Prayer doesn’t work when we give up!

We pray for that which is not according to God’s will. John wrote about the confidence we can have in our prayers to God, but only those prayers that are in accordance with God’s will. I John 5:14-15, “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” If we are expecting prayer to accomplish only that which is selfish in nature, we are sorely mistaken. James spoke of those who “ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). Prayer doesn’t work when it’s according to our will and not God’s!

We pray without faith. Prayer will never accomplish anything if we doubt God’s ability, wisdom and love to provide the proper response. We read in James 1:5-8, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.” Prayer will never work if we truly don’t believe it will!

When we simply repeat phrases in our prayers without meaning. Jesus spoke in what is described as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 - 7) of those who use “meaningless repetition” in their prayers before God. Jesus is not describing someone who uses nonsensical words in their prayers (i.e., babble or gibberish), but someone who uses real words in their prayers that they don’t mean from their heart. It is useless to memorize words and utter them by rote as a prayer to God when they don’t truly reflect our “heart’s desire” (Romans 10:1). Prayer doesn’t work when it doesn’t come from our heart (cf I Corinthians 14:15).

We don’t do our part. There isn’t anything that we might pray for that we don’t bear a responsibility in doing our part to bring about the results that we seek. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” If we expect to “receive,” “find,” and have doors “opened,” then we bear the responsibility to “ask,” “seek,” and “knock.” For example, if we pray for our daily bread (cf Matthew 6:11), then we bear the responsibility to go and seek the job that provides for the wages that we need to buy the bread. If we pray for wisdom and strength to overcome the temptations we face, then we bear the responsibility to read and diligently study God’s word (cf II Timothy 2:15). Prayer doesn’t work when we don’t fulfill what is our responsibility to do!

When we turn our back on God. If we choose to live a life in rebellion to God and His word, we should never expect that prayer will accomplish anything. Consider the following passages. Proverbs 15:8, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Proverbs 15:29, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.” I Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” I John 3:21-22, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” Sin will indeed hinder our prayers (I Peter 3:7). All these passages (and many more) clearly teach that prayer doesn’t work when choose to turn away from God and walk in darkness rather that walking in the light (I John 1:6-8).

If prayer isn’t working, rest assured it’s not because of God. Let us examine our lives in light of these biblical truths in order that prayer might accomplish all that God purposed for it.