Why God Isn't Answering Your Prayers with Allen Nolan

this is the fourth and final sermon in our series entitled since you asked so this morning I'm going to answer the fourth question and I was kind of surprised this wasn't the most popular question because I'm asked this quite frequently the fourth question I'm going to be answering this morning is why does God seem to answer some prayers but not others and that's a good question I'm sure everyone here at some time or another has asked God for something or to do something and it didn't happen for whatever reason our prayer wasn't answered and we don't understand why why didn't God answer our prayer well I wish I could tell you exactly why God didn't answer your prayer but I can't and the reason I can't is because I'm not God but I can give you some of the reasons why God doesn't answer certain prayers so let's do that let's start with the most common reason the number one reason God doesn't answer some of her prayers is because what we're praying for isn't God's will turn to 1st John chapter 4 verses 14 and 15 I'll show you what I'm talking about this is a passage of Scripture that probably probably most of you are very familiar with but I would dare say you really don't understand it so I'm gonna go a little bit deeper than I normally do when I refer to this passage of Scripture so follow along as I read this and this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us and if we know that he hears us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him now I want you to notice the phrase he hears us that's an interesting phrase because God is omniscient which means that God knows everything including our thoughts and our desires nothing is hidden from God he sees everything and he hears everything so when this says that God hears us when we pray according to his will it doesn't mean that he physically hears us because God hears everything and I mean everything the good the bad and the ugly so what this means is that God doesn't turn a deaf ear towards us now the phrase turn a deaf ear is actually a figure of speech and it means you choose not to hear you say some prayers God chooses not to hear other prayers he chooses to hear so in first John chapter 4 verses 14 through 15 it means that God chooses to hear our prayer and we know that if he chooses to hear our prayer then he's willing to answer our prayer and that's what this passage of Scripture is saying it's saying this is the confidence that we have in God if we ask anything according to his will he hears us in other words he chooses to hear us he doesn't turn a deaf ear towards us and we know that if he doesn't turn a deaf ear towards us then we have the things that we've asked of him or that we've prayed for that's what this passage of Scripture is saying so if you want God to answer your prayers you better make sure that you're praying according to the will of God if not God's not gonna answer it that's what this passage of Scripture is saying now most of us tend to think that what we're praying for is God's will when in reality it's not most of us deceive ourselves if we were to ask or if I was to ask when you pray do you pray for things that are according to God's will I would dare say that 99% of you say well of course I do I don't pray for anything that's not God's will but in reality probably 99% of the things you pray for are not God's will and let me explain why I say that most of us tend to think that we're the protagonist in the story called life everyone knows what a protagonist is right anyone not know what a protagonist is well let me define it for you just in case you don't a protagonist is the leading character in his story a movie or a book everything else revolves around him he is the main character now the truth is most of us think that we are the protagonist in the story called life in fact that's why we call it my life you know what's really important is my life is all about me so when I pray I pray about me and those things that affect me I pray about my family my finances my job my problems my desires the truth is in my mind and in your mind it's all about me I'm sure you think the very same way is that not true in your mind is it not about all about you well this might come as a shock to you but the truth is it's not about me and it's not about you it's about God you see in reality God is the protagonist not us in fact let me get you give you a principle to help you get this if you're taking notes I want you to write this down and if you're not taking notes I want to know why all right here God does not exist to serve you you exist to serve God now I know there's new revelation if you had a mama like my mama she trained me to believe that I was the protagonist in the StoryCorps life everything revolved around me I was her favorite just as my siblings seriously of course they'll say this she called every one of her children my favorite one day it's kind of interesting I walk down in the jury store this is before Lisa and I bought it before we sold it but anyways my mom was working down there who he was there who's my father-in-law I walked in and my mom looked up oh there's my favorite son and after we talked awhile I left and we went to my mom and he said Phyllis you really shouldn't do that what if one of Alan's brothers or his sister heard that he's your favorite my mom just last she said who all of my children are my favorite but my mom you know her way of expressing love was through words of affirmation so she was always telling us how great we were how much we were loved that we could do anything but I'll be honest with you the bad thing about that is I got the idea that I'm the protagonist in the story called life everything revolves around me and the truth of the matter is I got to the point where I thought that God was a personal genie that God existed to serve me not that I existed to serve Him in fact when Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew chapter 6 he said to pray this way he said thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven you think in heaven everything revolves around God it's all about God so if we're praying for God's will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven like we're supposed to then our prayers will revolve around God and not us in fact look back at what I pray for and I want you to notice how it changes the way I pray once I realized that God is the protagonist not me once I realized that God does not exist to serve me but I exist to serve God notice how it changes the way I pray first of all with my family this is the way I pray now god I want my girls to be in an occupation where they can use their gifts talents and abilities to serve you God I want you to change their heart so they see but you're the most important thing in life but everything they do is to glorify you god I pray Lord for my finances father I pray Lord that you would bless me not so that I can buy anything and everything that I want because God I'm a steward and god I thank you that you're good and you allow me to use so much but father you bless me so that I can bless others help me to see the huge responsibility that I have to give according to your will God show me the needs that I need to be giving to the Lord let me be wise with my finances my job god I pray Lord that I would use my job to glorify you that I'd be able to witness for you the father everything I do would not bring reproach upon you but God would draw people to you my problems God I'm going through a tough time and you know I'm going through a tough time and it's hurting but Lord your word says that when I go through trials and tribulations I should count it all joy because you're you're working out Lord those things in my life that need to be worked out you're teaching me patience and father you're also increasing my faith I know God that you're gonna answer these these prayers you're gonna you're gonna fix these problems that I have but God I want Lord to learn during this time father I want my faith to grow I want to remain faithful like Joe I want to be doing your wheel and I want to be concentrating on others instead of myself keep me from being so focused on me how do you see how everything begins to change once I realize that I'm not the protagonist but you know most of us don't do that and we never get to this point so when I ask are you praying for things accordance to God's will you've searched the Scriptures to find every little promise that oh yes I am God's promised this but we don't read it in the Hope context people I have this for you some of you will never be happy and the reason you will never be happy is because you are not doing what God created you to do there is no greater joy there is no greater happiness than knowing that you are serving the Almighty God and that what you're doing has purpose and meaning is not trivial you know to be honest with you it's a wonder that God hears any of our prayers at all because even when we think that we're praying for God's will to be done we're really praying for our will to be done we're praying for what we want not for what God wants listen to me one more time God does not exist to serve you you exist to serve God so if what you're praying for is all about you and not about God it's probably not going to be answered and I say probably because sometimes God still answers to our prayers because God is a good God and he's a compassionate God and he's the most unusual protagonist you'll ever meet even though everything revolves around God and he's the main character in fact when we get to heaven here's what's interesting if you'll read what Heaven's going to be like the reason it emphasizes everyone's around the throne er were all casting our crowns before him and we're praising him and we're worshipping him it's because we finally have come to the point where we realize he's the protagonist people is all about God but it's so sad that we got to get we have to go to heaven before we realize that the second reason God doesn't answer some of her prayers is because we're praying with the wrong motive turn with me if you would to the book of James chapter 4 verses 2 & 3 and I'll show you what I'm talking about very familiar passage of scripture again but I think the majority of us really don't understand what James is talking about so let's go a little bit more in depth on this if you don't mind let's start with verse two you want what you don't have so you scheme and you kill to get it how many of you have ever killed anyone anyone I murdered around here I don't have any dead bodies buried in the backyard anyone living next to a serial killer and you suspect they have dead bodies in their backyard no okay so this doesn't really apply to us so let's keep reading right you are jealous of what others have but you can't get it so you fighting wage war to take it away from them how many of you ever waged a war against another nation anyone ever started a war no one ever got on vacation and you did something you shouldn't have done and now America is in a war because of you anyone ever done that no so this doesn't really apply to us we should really go under the next verse right no people James is speaking metaphorically he's he's speaking in a way for us to understand what we're doing by comparing it to something else you see we might not physically kill someone but we assassinate people's reputation all the time we will kill someone's chance for a promotion at work and that's what he's talking about you know if it's me against them to get this promotion then I scheme on how I can assassinate their chances or kill their chances for getting that promotion so I'll get it oh yeah and then I'm jealous of what other people have so what do I do I fight and wage war to take it away from them to try to get it for myself now I might not wage war with another nation but you know where I wage wars I wage wars or we wage wars in our families oh yeah siblings don't get along with you you wage this war because you're jealous of what your other sibling has or this took place we wage wars in our workplace we wage wars with their neighbors this is what is talking you want to know what the root cause of all of this is because they had things we want and we'll do whatever it takes to get it yeah this is why he started off with that now he's going to get to what we really need to do and how we can understand how God sees snakes so let's keep reading yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it in other words you don't pray the reason you don't have it is because you're scheming to get it yourself and if you have to kill someone to get there not physically but metaphorically you'll do it if you have to wage war in your workplace to get that promotion you'll do it if you've got a wage war to get your neighbor to move that fence two feet over you'll do it that's your property you paid for that two feet right yeah yeah and God says what the reason you don't have it what you wants because you don't ask for it oh you mean God all I had to do is pray for it you'd be a magic Genie well I don't know let's keep reading and even when you do ask even when you do pray you don't get it oh crap because your motives are all wrong you want only what will give you pleasure do you see that you don't get what you ask for because you're asking with the wrong motives again it's all about you it's not about God it's about what you want it's about what you desire again we're back to your the protagonist it's your life this is what I want God and many times what we're really asking for is for God to fulfill our temptations yeah let me say it again most times what we're really asking for is for God to fulfill our temptations you see we're all tempted by riches by Fame and power we want God to help us obtain those things so in essence we're asking God to fulfill our temptations and God says no I'm not going to do it in fact he won't even hear those types of prayers look with me if you would in Psalm chapter 66 verse 18 and I'll prove it to you if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me what does it mean he won't hear me does it mean he can't hear me oh no God's omniscient God sees everything God hears everything in fact you can't even whisper it in your mind without God hearing it God knows your thoughts and desires he even knows well I'm not even gonna go there because I could get in trouble if I say that just the evil in your heart I'll just put it that way but here's the whole thing when it says if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me it means he won't or he'll turn a deaf ear towards me so if I want God to hear my prayers and not turn a deaf ear towards me then I have to make sure that my heart is pure because if their sin in my heart then more than likely I'll ask for things I shouldn't be asking for things like riches Fame and power let's be honest how many of you want to live win the lottery what do you want to win the lottery richest I can do this I can buy that I don't have to work I don't have to use my gifts talents and abilities I don't have to be nice to people I can do whatever I want how many of us want to have fame you know we're Scoobies call a popularity we want to be popular we want everyone to know us we want everyone to to want to be us and what about power you know wouldn't it be nice if you walked in someplace and someone wasn't helping you enough you say hey you know who I am I'm gonna call your boss right now and you're gonna be fired yeah you think we want riches we want Fame and we want power in essence we want what is rightfully God's did you know that we want what is rightfully God's I want to read a passage of scripture to you that I'm not gonna come up on the screen but the reason it's not coming up on the screens because you already know it I just got through teaching a series on prayer and I told you the last part was it benediction but I want you to understand what a Tsang it's so that you end in the right attitude when you get to the end of the Lord's Prayer it says this in verse number 13 I'll read all of verse 13 so we're coming to the prayer and you'll be able to recognize it says the lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil and notice this fir vine vine whose nine God for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever people if you have the kingdom that means you have the riches if you have the power it means you have the authority to do whatever you want if you have the glory it means you have the fame you know what's interesting we want what is rightfully God's we want riches we want fame we want power and you know what the Bible says when you ask for things because you want riches you want fame you want power you're wanting it for your own pleasure because if you had the right attitude you had the right heart you had the right motive you'd be praying for God's kingdom for his power for his glory yeah that's good preaching pastor Alan the third reason God doesn't answer some of her prayers is because we don't have enough faith yeah people without faith it's impossible to please God look with me if you would in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 notice what it says and without faith it's impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him in other words to please God you have to believe that God exists and you also have to believe that he rewards those who diligently seek Him in other words praise to him now look at James chapter 1 verses 6 through 8 because we're going to tie these two scriptures together it says but when you ask you must believe and not doubt because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind that person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord such a person is double minded unstable and all they do now according to James if you doubt when you pray to God then don't expect to receive anything from the Lord because it's not gonna happen you have to believe that God is going to answer your prayers now some of the things that we pray for requires more faith than other things yeah some things that we're praying for requires more faith and if you don't have enough faith then you're not gonna be able to receive what you're praying for even though it's God's will even though you're asking with the right motive the reason it's not going to be answered is because a hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 and because of what james says yeah turn with me if you would to the book of matthew chapter 17 verses 19 through 21 this was a good lesson for the disciples because they had been walking with jesus they had been talking with jesus they had been living with jesus they'd been watching jesus perform all of these miracles and then jesus had given them the sethe or 'ti and he had sent them out they came back all excited because even the demons were subject unto the name of jesus and they thought they could do anything and then this man brings his child who has a demon and he asked the disciples to cast this demon out and they can do it so he has to go to Jesus oh they failed so Jesus is going to explain something to them let's read this so then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said why could we not cast this demon out we prayed that he would go out it didn't happen so jesus said to them because of your unbelief for surely I say to you if you have faith as a mustard seed you will say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you however most of us just stop right there notice what he said however this kind what you're praying for in this instance this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting do you see that in verse number 21 jesus said this kind go without not but by prayer and fasting in other words some things require greater faith faith obtained through prayer and fasting so you're probably wondering will passed around huh how do I grow my faith to the point where when I'm praying for something that requires more faith that I have that faith well look at Romans chapter 10 verse number 17 I'll show you notice what it says so then faith comes by hearing hearing by the Word of God now when it says the Word of God is not referring to the Bible it's not referring to the Lagos it's talking about something else entirely different now if you don't know Greek you wouldn't know that if you want to know how to get faith someone says we'll go home we read Romans 10:17 and then you read faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God you know I just need to read my Bible more so you read your Bible every day do you read five and six chapters a day and then you realize one day where you still aren't growing in faith what's the deal this isn't talking about the Bible this isn't talking about the log-off's how do I know that well because of one Greek word says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word that word word is translated from the Greek word Rhema it is not the Greek word Lagos the Bible is the lagos this is the word of God the Lagos of God but this doesn't say Lagos in Romans 10:17 it says faith comes from the Rhema of God now what's ARIMA ARIMA is a word that God quickens in our spirit in other words when God speaks to us through a particular Bible verse or maybe when the pastor is preaching a sermon all of a sudden the Holy Spirit speaks to you or maybe you're praying and all of a sudden God speaks to you that is a Rhema it is a word that God and then when I say word I mean like a phrase it's a sentence it's a cause where God speaks to you and all of a sudden you know that is God people that's a Rhema but that's also how faith grows you see the more that God speaks to us through ramas the more that we grow one of the reasons you need to go to church is because God speaks to you through the pastor even if you don't like me I know people who come to our church and they go you know I can't stand pastor Allen I don't like his voice I don't like the examples he uses sometimes he gets snarky and you wonder well why do they keep coming because God speaks to them you you don't realize that if you come ready to hear the word of God I promise you if you come and you want to hear God will speak to you you'll receive these ramas and the more rain as we receive the more our faith grows so you need to understand that when you're praying you say God I want you to speak to me and you listen for God to speak to you when you read your Bible and I made this comment I think someone misinterpreted the last time I said this I asked how many of you read your Bible through in a year I said that's great but if you read your Bible just to check it off it really doesn't matter and they thought I meant I was putting down reading your Bible 3 no no I'm not saying how you need to read your Bible but what I'm saying is you don't just read it to check it off you read it and you ask God to speak to you through it because as you're reading alone all of a sudden something jumps out at you go oh my gosh that's good that that applies at work all of a sudden you start realizing that God is speaking to you through this your faith begins to grow to the point that when you're praying and you know something is God's will you have the faith to stand and God can answer it that's good teaching the fourth reason God doesn't answer some of her prayers is because we're not treating others the way we're supposed to turn with me if you would to the book of first Peter chapter three verse seven and I'll show you what I'm talking about this is talking about prayer but it's also talking about marriage notice what it says in the same way you husbands must give honor to your wives that word honor let me go off on tangents on ER is translate from the Greek word tomorrow it literally means heavy now most of us don't realize that's what honor means honor means heavy weighs a lot and what it really means is if we honor someone it means we respect them it means what they say carries a lot of weight with us if what you say doesn't really matter to me I don't honor you if I honor someone I listen for what they're saying when they saying whatever they say it carries a lot of weight with me that means I'm honoring them that's what honor is whatever they want carries a lot of weight with me whatever they desire carries a lot of with me that's what the word honor means so he says in the same way you husband's must give honor to your wives what your wife thinks should carry a lot of weight with you what your wife wants should carry a lot of weight with you what your wife says should carry a lot of weight with you then he goes further treat your wife so that we're treat treat your wife with understanding as you live together she may be weaker than you are but she is your equal partner in God's gift a new life if you've ever heard me talk about this usually we're referring to the emotions not always I've seen some women that are more emotionally strong than men but again that's what it's talking about not just physical even though physically we are stronger should be with testosterone goes further treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered now I want you to underline that word hindered hindered is translated from the Greek word a capo a capo means to cut off so can you see what this is saying it's saying that if you don't treat your spouse right your prayers will be cut off and they'll continue to be cut off until you make things right think of it like a prayer or a telephone conversation you ever been talking to someone it just gets cut off well I want you to understand something when you're talking to God many times he doesn't listen to you doesn't hear you he turns a deaf ear to you and the reason he does is because of several reasons but here's because you're not treating your wife right but it goes further it's not that he just turns a deaf ear to you he just cut you off I'm not listening to you till you start treating your wife right and people it's not just with your spouse this applies with everyone look at proverbs chapter 21 verse number 13 whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered you know one of the great things about America is that we take care of other people yeah you know I've just recently gotten back on Facebook I'll probably get off pretty soon anyway but anyways when I start seeing all these things that people ride it I don't know I won't go there but there's a new thing on there called go fund me and we'll see the go fund me it was kind of amazing people say go fund me to do this go fund me to do that and what's kind of interesting is people respond to that you want to know why it's because really there's a lot of compassion in America and it's a good thing says because whoever shuts their ears to the cries of the poor will also cry out and not be answered now people that's a spiritual principle that God adheres to if you want God to hear you and your time of need then you need to make sure that you don't shut your ears to the cries of those in need in other words you don't turn a deaf ear towards them you see we do what God does sometimes God doesn't hear us if we're asking for things that's not according to his will he doesn't hear us if we ask for things with the wrong motive but he also doesn't hear us if we're not treating other people right that's what this is saying and what that's telling us is we're not to turn a deaf ear to people who are really in need which in a minute we're gonna go to another reason why God doesn't it's prayer and it's gonna shock you it's going to balance this but you need to understand and what we're talking about here the second greatest commandment in the Bible is to love your neighbor as yourself the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength but the second is likened to the first in other words it's just as important you remember the lawyer came to Jesus and he was trying to stump Jesus he said what's the greatest commandment the Bible and Jesus didn't bat an eye he didn't hesitate for a second he said to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength and everyone's gonna good that's good that's the greatest commandment the Bible but he still didn't finish he went further and he says and the second is lacking to the first in other words the second is just as important and that's to love your neighbor as yourself in the early church they called it ethical monotheism in other words they believed in one God but they believed that you couldn't worship this one God right unless you had a right relationship with everyone else the early church believed that the reason they believe that is because many of them had walked and talked with the disciples and they understood the first in the greatest commandment they also understood the second greatest commandment was like an adverse it was to love your neighbor as yourself and they also realized that if you didn't do that your prayers would be hindered they would be cut off God would turn a deaf ear to you because if you turn a deaf ear to others when they're in need then God will turn a deaf ear to you when you're in need because he's not gonna do for you what you won't do for someone else that's good preaching pastor Allen but it also brings us to the fifth reason God doesn't answer some of her prayers the fifth reason God doesn't answer some of the prayers is because we're not doing our part yeah you see God helps those who help themselves I once heard a pastor say in fact I've heard many pastors say that that's not biblical you won't find that in the Bible well if you've ever heard a pastor say that they don't know their Bible so let me say that again in fact if you're taking notes write this down god helps those who there you go god helps those who help themselves that is a biblical principle and it's found in the book of Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 and verse 5 now it doesn't say it in those specific words but that's what it means so let's read verse number 2 and then we're going to jump down to verse number 5 and we're gonna read it here's Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 bear you one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ that's the law of Christ and it is what's the law of Christ people Galatians 6:2 bear you one another's burdens that was the maxim of the early church what it should be today now this regulation 6/5 for every man shall bear his own burden now notice that the word burden is used twice once in verse number two and once in verse number five but the word burden in verse number two is a different greek word than the word bird in verse number five in verse two it's the Greek word borrows and it literally means burden a heavy weight not in a good way you know I told you tomorrow means heavy but it means it in a good way it carries weight with you but baras means heavy weight in a bad way it is a burden to you it's so heavy you can't go but a few steps you gotta sit down to rest you just don't think you can do it that's what it means borrows so what this is saying is that when we see someone trying to carry a heavy weight by themselves were to help them carry it people that's the law of Christ we help people in their time of need we don't turn a deaf ear to their need we don't go well you know nothing don't think about that no we help them in their time of need that is the law of Christ everywhere that Christ went you know it got to the point that his mother was worried about him she gathered up the brothers sisters they probably didn't like it but they went to find Jesus because they heard he's ministering all over the place he's doing all these things he doesn't have any time to eat he doesn't have any time to rest and so he started ministering to people and someone comes says your mother and your siblings are outside and he says who is my mother who are my siblings but those who love and do the will of my father which is wonderful but lets us know that we have spiritual brothers and sisters that are closer to us than our physical brothers and sisters or at least it should be that way in the church does that make sense but anyways the reason they were upset or the reason that she was worried is because Jesus had been ministering so much she was afraid that you know he's about ready to have a physical and mental breakdown but the reason she was worried about him is because he didn't stop but the reason didn't stop every time we tried to get away there's always someone that needed him and the law of Christ if you need me I'm there now the only problem with this is some people expect others to carry the weight for them and that's not what God meant by this that is not the law of Christ that's why he added verse number five look at verse five again for every man shall bear his own burden now the word bort burdened in verse number five is translate from the Greek word 40 on and it literally means responsibilities so here's what I want you to do if you brought your Bible or if you're able to do this on your telephone or iPad or whatever you have I wouldn't be able to do this I want you to cross out the word burden in verse number five and I want you to replace it with the word responsibilities because that's what it really means that's the Greek word 40 on now let's read this and see what it says for every man shall bear his own responsibilities but what does that mean what does it mean it means that you're supposed to fulfill your own responsibilities and not expect others to do it for you so if someone's not fulfilling their responsibilities I don't feel any obligation to help them because they're not doing their part and God feels the very same way it's true god helps those who helps them help themselves if they don't help themselves he doesn't help them in fact let me give you an example of this turn with me if you would to second Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 10 notice what it says 4 even when we were with you we gave you this ruled we gave you this precept this is something you should be teaching your children the one who is unwilling to work she'll not eat now I like the way the King James says those who don't work don't eat listen to me it's not my job and it's not God's job to support those who won't work I don't believe in welfare I don't believe in food stamps let me tell you why I don't believe in that because the Bible says you don't give people things if they're not willing to do their part it should be work fair if you need something and you don't have a job you can't find a job you should be able to go to our courthouse and you should be able to pick up whatever the trash is around and be paid for that but you should not be able to be able to sit home on a couch and receive a check for doing nothing that's what the Bible says well I think you take away the dignity of people let me explain something to you because we've lost it in this generation all work is honorable you know what I'm thinking about doing I just can't find the time to do it and you know the Lord's probably going to tell me one day will you quit preaching for two weeks and you go do this I'm thinking about going to Sonic and asking them they don't even have to pay me I will car hop for you three to four hours a night three or four nights a week for free because I want to carry that out and when people go are you passed around yep have you been fired no I'm working and I want people to understand all work is honorable the only thing that is not honorable is not working if you can I'm bleeding food stamps we need to go back to commodities you shouldn't be able to buy pop and potato chips you shouldn't be able to buy candy well what about dignity let me explain how we change things we changed the wording to try and change the mentality of people we used to call it charity now we call it entitlement programs because if you call an entitlement programs it means that everyone's entitled honey you're not entitled to that that's charity and it's biblical now let's relate this to prayer because we're talking about why does God answer some prayers but not others and I told us because you're not doing your part so how do we relate this to prayer well if you're asking God to do something for you but you haven't done your part then don't expect God to answer your prayer because God won't do for you what you won't do for yourself that's your responsibility now once you start bullying it once you start doing it yourself and it's heavy being God comes alone he says let me help you with that that's when people come in and say you're doing a good job I know this heavy let me help you with that but when you said you go I don't want to carry it it's heavy God says I'm sorry I'm not going to carry it for you I'll help you carry it but I won't do it for you some of you want that promotion but one of the requirements is that you have a college degree and you don't want to go to school at night or take an online class and as a result of that you praying will God can you supernaturally give me that job and God says honey you need to do your part you need to enroll in that online class or you need to go to school at night well god I don't want to do that well I'm sorry if you don't want to do that I'm not gonna do it for you hmm the sixth reason that God doesn't answer our prayers it's because it might not fit into his timetable turn to Genesis chapter 15 verses 13 through 16 now let me show you something interesting something most of us had never even thought about even though we've read it many times says it he said unto Abraham know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs in other words your descendants I'm reading the King James Version it means your descendants they're going to be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and they shall serve them and they shall afflict them for hundred years and also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge and afterwards shall they come out with great abundance or substance and that shall go to thy father's and peace but that shall be buried in a good old age but in the fourth generation they shall come hither again for the iniquity of the am righteous not yet full full but I want you to notice he said your descendants are gonna be in a nation and they're gonna be servants for 400 years people I want you to think about this we declared our independence in 1776 my brother graduated in 1976 200 years later in 2000 seventy-six were only going to be three hundred years and 20 176 it's going to be four hundred years we think about what a long time it was seventeen the children of Israel were in captivity they were slaves in Egypt 400 years now the reason the children of Israel were not brought out of Egypt sooner was because the sin or the iniquity of the ammonites was not yet full in other words God would not take the land of the Emirates and give it to the Israelites until the sin of the Enright's was so bad that he had to judge them for it until then the children of Israel had to remain as slaves in Egypt even though they continually cried out to God for for 100 generations for 400 years they cried out God deliver us and he didn't answer their prayers even though they continually cried out my mom didn't want to die and I remember when she first started getting sick head started start shaking that she'd reach out to hold my hand because I could hold her hands till and then it got well she wouldn't start shaking then it got worse true then she got the mask then she got dementia she told me one time she said I'm praying that Jesus won't return so I won't have to die I'll be raptured she said I pray that every day my mom prayed every day that Jesus would return but that didn't happen because it didn't fit into God's timetable it wasn't time for Jesus to return in the case of the Israelites it wasn't time for God to deliver them and people God works on his timetable not ours so sometimes we have to wait there are things I'm praying for that I might not see in my lifetime I truly believe we're the generation that will receive it will see the return of Jesus Christ I so wish my mom would have got to see it but some things are just not in our timetable and I can't wait until the rapture occurs because I'll see my mom again in a 28-year old body I'll get to see her young again healthy beautiful she was a beautiful woman but I want you to understand one of the things that christianity ch's us as patients sometimes you don't see what you pray for even in your own lifetime most of the prophets in the Old Testament never got to see what they prophesied about and what they looked for most of them died waiting for the promises of God and they still haven't been fulfilled and we need to understand that now there are more reasons than just the six that I gave you but those are the main reasons that God answers some prayers but not others now what I want to do is I want to give you some homework you guys don't mind if I give you homework right this week I want you to remember that God does not exist to serve you but you exist to serve God so in your prayer time I want you to make God the focus of your prayers I still want you to pray for those five things your family your finances your job your problems your desires now they're up here and a notice that says my family because right now you still think you're the protagonist you still think that God is a magic Genie and he exists to answer your prayers but I've told you differently so now you look at these five things and what I want you to do this week is I want you to start off by coming in and saying god I recognize and realize I'm not the protagonist life does not revolve around me I am not the main character in the story in two hundred years everyone will forget about me except for those who have died and gone on to heaven and knew me God I'm still gonna pray for these five things but I'm gonna pray for these five things from your perspective what do you want to do with my family even if it means I'm gonna turn them loose I'm going to allow the the devil to destroy their body that they're so might be saved in the day of the Lord God I don't care what it takes I want my children serving you God I want you to be Lord of their lives God I want that to happen God in my finances I've been asking you for this vacation this know new cars and asking you for for that vacation home god I realize you're a good god you're you expect me to be a Stuart God you show me what you want me to do with your finances because they're not mine and I want you to go right down this list doing this I want you to see when you begin to pray from God's perspective how all of a sudden your life is going to change but more importantly you're gonna start seeing God answer your prayers let me tell you this happened to me many years ago I got a hold of me me said Alan you're the most selfish bastard I believe I've ever seen what do you mean God do you think you're the protagonist do you think the only church that matters is your church do you think you're the most important thing there is and when they got a hold of me it changed and you know what's interesting when I started praying for my family saying god I don't want my family to serve you God started doing great things in my family when I started praying for my finance thing God what do you want to do fine I'm telling you our church started getting blessed when I started praying for my job you wouldn't believe what took place when I did it from God's perspective if you want to see God really work in your life you change your heart you start seeing God as the protagonist you quit seeing God as his magic Genie that answers all of your prayers and you start seeing God as the rightful one of the kingdom the power and the glory and here's how you'll know if you win the next 300 million dollar lottery would you do what God tells you to do with that money if not you're not there yet

Channel: Cornerstone Fellowship

Views: 3,315

Rating: 4.818182 out of 5

Keywords: Why Does God Answer Some Prayers and Not Others? with Pastor Allen Nolan, why does god answer some prayers and not others, why does god answer prayers, why does god answer my prayers, why does god answer only some prayers, why does god answer our prayers, why god isn't answering my prayers, answering prayer, theology of prayer, christian prayer, allen nolan, pastor allen nolan, pastor allen nolan genesis, pastor allen nolan revelation, unanswered prayers, prayer

Id: qXwmmEBaukE

Length: 48min 32sec (2912 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 05 2020