Why Is God Not Answering My Prayers?, Part 2 Series

Note: Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can’t believe; unbelief is won’t believe. Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness. (John Drummond (1851-1897), Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 2930.)

1. Where unbelief refuses to believe, doubt wants to believe.

2. When we have doubts, we must rely on prayer and the Word of God to strengthen our faith.

Note: The anguish that filled the father’s heart is portrayed by his immediate response as he cried out in almost contradictory ejaculations. He did believe, and yet he was acutely conscious of the unbelief that struggled with his desire to trust implicitly. His unbelief was not an obstinate refusal to believe; it was a weakness with which the man himself could not deal. Hence his cry to Christ for help. (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press.)

3. Unresolved doubt, however, will turn to unbelief, and will cause our prayers to be hindered.

II. AM I GUILTY OF HYPOCRISY? Matthew 6:5-6

Illustration: Double Message Noted

A man sat down to supper with his family and said grace, thanking God for the food, for the hands which prepared it, and for the source of all life. But during the meal he complained about the freshness of the bread, the bitterness of the coffee, and the sharpness of the cheese. His young daughter questioned him, "Dad, do you think God heard the grace today?"

He answered confidently, "Of course."

Then she asked, "And do you think God heard what you said about the coffee, the cheese, and the bread?" Not so confidently, he answered, "Why, yes, I believe so."

The little girl concluded, "Then which do you think God believed, Dad?"

The man was suddenly aware that his mealtime prayer had become a rote, thoughtless habit rather than an attentive and honest conversation with God. By not concentrating on that important conversation, he had left the door open to let hypocrisy sneak in. (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 433.)

A. Hypocritical Prayer Is Self-Righteous.

1. It is a pretense of religiosity intended to make one appear righteous.

2. It does not reveal the true character of the heart, serving only as a pious display of works.

Note: The term hypocrite originally referred to actors who used large masks to portray the roles they were playing. Hypocrites are actors, pretenders, persons who play a role. What they say and do does not represent what they feel or believe, it only portrays the image they desire to create. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

B. Hypocritical Prayer Is Self-Seeking.

1. It serves only self interests.

2. Its reward is in its speaking.

III. AM I GUILTY OF IDOLATRY? Ezekiel 14:3

A. Anything That Comes Between Me And God Is An Idol. Colossians 3:5

B. Anything That Has A Higher Priority In My Life Than God Is An Idol.