Someone asked me to compile
about prayer with Scripture references, and this is what I gathered from Reference Bibles. I
took help from ThomsonChain-Reference Bible and Torrey’s New Topical Textbook. They are good books
for scripture references.
Prayers not answered because of:
-- Disobedience (Deut. 1:45) “And you returned and wept before the LORD, but the
LORD did not listen to your voice or give ear to you.”
-- Secret sin (Ps
66:18) “If I had cherished iniquity in my
heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
-- Indifference (Prov. 1:28) “Then they will call upon me, but I will
not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.”
-- Neglect of mercy
(Prov. 21:13) “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of
the poor will himself call out and not be answered.”
-- Despising the law (Prov. 28:9) “If one turns away his ear from hearing
the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”
-- Blood-guiltiness
(Isa. 1:15) “When you spread out your hands, I will
hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.”
-- Iniquity (Mic. 3:4) “Then they will cry to the LORD, but he
will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because
they have made their deeds evil.”
-- Stubbornness (Zech. 7:13) “As I
called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says
the LORD of hosts,”
-- Instability (Jas. 1:6) “But let him ask in faith, with no
doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and
tossed by the wind. (Jas. 1:7) “For
that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord”
-- Self-indulgence
(Jas. 4:3) “You ask
and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
Prayer to be answered of:
-- Contrition (2Chr. 7:14) “if my people who are called by my name
humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
-- Whole-heartedness (Jer. 29:13) “You will seek me and find me, when you
seek me with all your heart.”
-- Faith (Mark 11:24) “Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be
yours.”
-- Righteousness (Jas. 5:16) “Therefore, confess your sins to one
another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous person has great power as it is working.”
-- Obedience (1John 3:22) “and
whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do
what pleases him.”
Prayer is accompanied with:
-- Repentance
(1Kgs. 8:33) “When
your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned
against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray
and plead with you in this house,”
(Jer. 36:7) “It may
be that their plea for mercy will come before the LORD, and that every one will
turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the LORD has
pronounced against this people.”
-- Confession
(Jas. 5:16) “Therefore,
confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
(Neh. 1:7) “We have acted very corruptly against
you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you
commanded your servant Moses.”
-- Self-abasement
(Gen. 18:27) “Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have
undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.”
-- Weeping
(Hos. 12:4) “He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us-”
(Neh. 1:4) “As soon as I heard these words I sat
down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before
the God of heaven.”
-- Watchfulness
(Luke 21:36) “But stay awake at all
times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are
going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
-- Praise
(Ps. 66:17) “I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my
tongue.”
-- Thanksgiving
(Col. 4:2) “Continue
steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”
(Phil. 4:6) “do not
be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
In Conclusion, (Heb. 4:16) “Let us
then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.”