Times When Prayer Has No Power

Prayer is pouring our hearts out to God. For Christians, it is deeply personal and powerful. But there are times when prayer has no power at all. I'm not talking about the fact that sometimes we must wait for an answer to prayers. I mean, there are times when prayer is futile and worthless. 

It might come as a surprise to some that a Christian would say prayer can have no power, but consider these 6 times when that is a true statement.

·      There is no power in prayer when we do not pray regularly.  In Luke 18:1 Jesus told a parable to show that men “always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

·      There is no power in prayer when we put our faith in prayer but not in God.  Mumbling words to a “higher power” is not effective prayer.  “Thinking good thoughts” is not effective. Prayer itself is not effective.  It is only effective when the audience is the Almighty!

·      There is no power in prayer when we pray for our own lusts.  James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

·      There is no power in prayer when we pray for what is not God’s will. 1 John 5:14 states, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” For example, God wants to heal and forgive us, but He will NOT forgive simply because we pray to Him.

·      There is no power in prayer when we abuse our relationships with others.  1 Peter 3:7 warns, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.”

·      There is no power in prayer when we refuse to repent of our sins.  Three times Jeremiah was told, “Do not pray for these people” (Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14; 14:11).  This was because of the sins of the people.  They simply refused to change!  When Joshua was defeated at Ai, he went into the tabernacle and fell on his face before the Ark of the Lord asking why they failed.  God’s response was not to have him pray more.  He said, “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?  Israel has sinned....Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies....Get up, sanctify the people...” (Joshua 7:10-13).  Sin separates us from God so that He will not hear us (Isaiah 59:1-2).

How's your prayer life? Need some help? I'd love to hear from you.

Can you add to the list of times when prayer has no power? Let's talk about it below.