What To Do When God Isn’t Listening

By Chuck Fenwick

Why Isn’t God Answering My Prayers?

How often have you prayed to God for something that didn’t work out how you thought it would? 

My guess is, probably more times than you can count. And that’s a normal feeling! I’ve had this conversation several times recently — so please know that you aren’t alone in this.

It’s hard to keep praying and grow in your prayer life when it feels like God isn’t even listening to what you are saying. 

I’ve experienced this same fatigue in my prayer life over the years. And I want to share a few ways I’ve shifted my perspective to strengthen my prayer life and grow my relationship with God.

I know these four ways of shifting your mindset about prayer will help your prayer life thrive.

Question Your Intentions

Start by considering the motivation behind your prayer. Consider a few of your recent prayers (these could be over the last few weeks, months, or even years). 

Who would benefit if these prayers were answered the exact way you wanted them to be? It would most likely be you, your family, or others closest to you.

Now, this isn’t a bad thing – it makes sense! Praying for your friends, family, and yourself is fine.

But really spend a moment to reflect on what you’ve been praying for lately. Are most of the prayers focused on you and the people in your life? Are they only benefiting you and your family?

Now hear me out; praying for you and your family is great. It’s important to communicate these needs to God. But think about the percentage of time you spend praying for personal needs compared to the time you spend praying for others. 

Try asking yourself these questions: What are your intentions with prayer? Is it just to make your life easier? Or are you trying to connect with God more deeply and share the love of God with those in your life?

Incorporating time regularly to pray for people, places, and issues that don’t directly affect your life is a powerful way to strengthen your prayer relationship. I encourage you to implement this kind of prayer into your routine.

Consider Your Blind Spots

“You don’t know what you don’t know.” We’ve all heard this phrase before – plenty of times. But it definitely applies to your prayer life. 

There is so much going on in our lives and the lives of those around us. We can’t know the intentions of others and God through all of this.

God’s presence may be in places you don’t expect it. God may be at work – and it isn’t always how you think it should be happening. 

Just remember, you don’t have all the details. You don’t know what you don’t know. God may be working in ways you don’t expect. 

By accepting that God could be working in your life and the lives of others without seeing it, you can have faith that God truly is listening to your prayers.

Don’t Stop Praying

It’s so easy to give and stop praying. But keep praying. Be persistent, and don’t quit!

Persistence is important in many areas of life – especially when it comes to growth. If you have a fitness goal, maybe it’s running three consecutive miles or hitting a certain weight goal, you wouldn’t expect to achieve success within 1-2 times of trying, right? 

Growing means being uncomfortable. It means taking yourself out of your comfort zone and trying new things. And growing your prayer life is no different than growth in other areas of life. 

So spice it up! Try different methods of prayer than what you are doing now.  You can write down your prayers in a journal or type them in a document. You can pray out loud in the car on your commute or you can spend some time silently reflecting. You can pray with others or you can pray by yourself. 

And if you forget to pray sometimes, make it a habit! Try setting a reminder on your phone or put up sticky notes where you’ll see them in your daily routine.

You can also incorporate prayer into a current habit you have. If you make coffee every morning, try adding prayer while you’re pouring your first cup of the day! 

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Consistency and persistence is the way to see growth.

Remember the Answered Prayers

Reflect on the times God did answer your prayers. This may seem impossible at first, but give it some deep thought. 

What’s something you may have been praying for last year or a few years ago? What ended up happening? 

Think back on previous situations where you persistently prayed for something or someone. Was this answered in the way you thought it would be? And how long did it take? 

Maybe God was working in way you didn’t expect. How did it all turn out? 

Remembering the times God did answer prayers helps us shift the way we are praying today.

This is why prayer journals can be so great! You can look back on past prayers and reflect on how they ended up turning out. Seeing God work through the words on the pages is really incredible.

Keep me updated!

Ultimately, God does hear and answer our prayers. However, it takes some growth, reflection, and effort on our end, too. Prayer isn’t a one-way street that ends with us getting exactly what we asked for. Prayer is a way to communicate and connect with God to form a deeper relationship. 

If you try any of these tips, I want to know! Send me a text and let me know which one worked best to help improve your prayer life.