Part 2: When We Are Out of Alignment With God
Part 1 dealt with inward heart issues.
The next step moves vertically, examining the relationship between us and God. Prayer flows out of fellowship with God.
Our heart must be right if we expect God to hear our prayers. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father must also be right if we expect Him to hear us.
6. Not Asking According to His Will
The foundation of answered prayer is confidence that we are aligned with God’s purpose. If we are out of His will, we cannot expect His hand.
1 John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”
7. Refusing to Listen to God’s Word
Proverbs 28:9 says, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”
Prayer cannot replace obedience. You cannot ignore God’s commands and expect Him to respond to your requests.
8. Idolatry in the Heart
Ezekiel 14:3 says, “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?”
An idol is anything that takes the place that belongs to God. When the heart bows to something else, prayer becomes empty and dishonest.
God will not accept second place. An idol of the heart is anything we allow to guide us before we seek the Lord. When something else sits on the throne of the heart, prayer loses its sincerity because the heart is already ruled by another master.
9. Not Abiding in Christ
John 15:7 says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will.”
Branches only bear fruit when connected to the vine. When Christ’s words shape our thinking, our prayers begin to align with God’s will.
10. God Answered Differently Than Expected
In 2 Corinthians 12:8–9, Paul asked three times for his thorn to be removed. God answered, but not with removal.
He said, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Sometimes God answers prayer by giving strength instead of changing the circumstances.
Prayer is not a mechanical process; it is fellowship. When that fellowship with God is right, prayer becomes powerful again.
10. God Answers Differently or Delays
Sometimes God answers prayer by giving strength instead of changing the circumstances.
*2 Corinthians 12:8–9 “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Answers to prayer can be delayed due to spiritual warfare we might not see.
*Daniel 10:12–13 “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. [13] But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
* Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
