Why Aren’t My Prayers Answered?
You are probably familiar with the phone commercial on TV which shows a techie testing the phone reception as he stops and says, "Can you hear me now?" Then he takes a few more steps, stops again, and repeats his question, "Can you hear me now?"
Commercially it's about clarity of reception and dropped calls. Spiritually it's the age old question about unanswered prayer. The Bible is full of unanswered prayers. The Koran is full of unanswered prayers. The Torah is full of unanswered prayers. The Bagavad Gita is full of … you get the picture.
You may even have your share of unanswered prayers. If so, you're not alone. As a matter of fact you're in good company:
Moses prays to enter the Promised Land, but his request is refused, and he dies on Mt. Nebo. Jeremiah laments national calamity when he cries, "You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through." (Lamentations 3:44). The prophet Habakkuk exclaims in despondency, "Oh God, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear me?" (Habakkuk1:2). Job says, "I cry to Thee, and You do not answer me!" (Job 30:20). King David laments, "…God does not hear me!" (Psalm 66:18)
You may even have asked out of frustration, hurt, or anger, "God, can you hear me now? Are you listening?" Many a grieving parent has asked, "God where are you?" Millions of widows and widowers have asked, "Why did God take him away from me?" - "Why did God take her. Doesn't He know I need her?"
On Sept. 11th 2001 three hundred million Americans asked, "How could you let this happen God? Where were you? Where are you now?"
Unanswered knee-mails (prayers) have one thing in common. And we have known what it is for over 2,000 years. James, the brother of Jesus reports Jesus as saying, "You ask, and receive not because … you ask amiss!" (James 4:3)
What does he mean by 'amiss' ? What causes our prayers to go unanswered? Here's the answer! Are you ready? Jesus the Christ said, … are you sure you're ready? … He said, "If we do not forgive others, our prayers will not be answered." (Matt.6:15)
He didn't say - If we fail to forgive others, it will be difficult to get our prayers answered, or that it may take a little longer to get them answered, or that our prayers will be answered anyway because were nice people.
He said if we don't forgive others, our own prayers will not be answered. Seems pretty harsh doesn't it? He's giving us absolutely no wiggle room.
Unity's founder, Charles Fillmore says, "The mind must let go of every unforgiving thought." "The refusal to forgive is the linchpin of unanswered prayer," says Richard Smoley in his bestseller, Inner Christianity. Harry Fosdick, in his classic book, The Meaning of Prayer, says, "We are not ready to receive answered prayer until we forgive."
Seems pretty clear doesn't it? We pray amiss if we don't forgive. And until we forgive, our prayers will not be answered.
So, we invite you to look into your own heart and forgive anyone and everyone who has ever upset you, disappointed you, wronged you, or harmed you in any way. That may be a tall order for some of you. You may have been significantly wronged, or harmed, or upset by someone. You may feel forgiveness is out of the question.
But if you want your prayers answered, you've got to learn to forgive. You must go from bitter to better.
From a metaphysical perspective, forgiveness is a necessary condition for answered prayer. Metaphysically, forgiveness means giving up the false for the true. It means living from our Christ Consciousness instead of our coma consciousness.
We're kidding ourselves if we think we can walk the spiritual path on unforgiving feet. Unanswered prayers are the products of an unforgiving heart. When we tighten our connection to Spirit by unloosening our attachment to an unforgiving spirit, we won't have to ask, "Can you hear me now?"
When we eliminate the static of unforgiveness, the reception will be crystal clear.
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Tags: Forgiveness, Prayer, spiritualityRelated posts
Tags: Forgiveness, Prayer, spirituality
December 15th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
[...] Bil & Cher Holton presents Unity Spiritual Life Center Blog » Blog Archive » Why Aren’t My Prayers Answered? posted at Unity Spiritual Life Center Blog. I have long thought that our emotions, feelings and [...]
December 16th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Good essay!
So what exactly are the properties of true forgiveness. I would offer that true forgiveness is the belief that the violation never happened. It simply could not have occurred. Anything less maintains that you are a ‘body’ that can be violated and not the spirit of Christ that is impervious to harm.
When you realize that in an illusory world you cannot be violated due to its illusory nature what is there to forgive. However, if you experience violation then you do assert belief that you are a body in an illusory world bereft of the Spirit of God.
This illusory world requires fear, and fear is the “cloud” through which moses’ prayers go unheeded and it is this very same cloud that obstructs our payers. When you “Dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven Within…” you do so in realization of spirit and in finally denying that you could have ever been a body. Therefore, without fear your prayers are easily answered and “…all else is added unto thee.”
Just my humble opinion
Mike S
December 19th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I found your writing interesting. Food for thought.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Very interesting!
_________________
http://thesecretgathering.com
February 14th, 2008 at 10:21 am
The point of this article is that prayers cannot be answered if we live in a state of non-forgiveness. This is stated in the bible: “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.(Matt.6:15, NIV), and Dr. Bil gives an excellent answer as to why forgiveness is necessary:
“From a metaphysical perspective, forgiveness is a necessary condition for answered prayer. Metaphysically, forgiveness means giving up the false for the true. It means living from our Christ Consciousness instead of
our coma consciousness.”
Further, in the Gospel of Luke it states: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37, NIV). When I read “Forgive and you will be forgiven”, this didn’t seem to be the whole truth to me for it implies a ‘this for that’ mentality–reward and punishment. It implies “If I am good, God will reward me”, which is really just more embedded theology. So, I took some advice from Unity author, H. Emilie Cady, and I took this verse to meditation. After spending some time in the silence along with Dr. Bil’s definition that forgiveness is really just turning in the false for the true, I received a more clear definition of this law. It is not that I will not be forgiven if I do not forgive another, but really that I cannot be. For as long as I hold to the false and do not forgive I am stuck in error thinking. I am pretending that the pain someone caused me is more important than their divinity.
Forgiveness is a higher state, and to reach it means that I must let go of the false state of separation and fully internalize the truth that no one can take anything from me for freely I am given to and freely I give. To reach a state where you can forgive means that you have become unencumbered by the errors that have defined you, and therefore forgiveness is simply a state of higher of consciousness.
So why is this necessary for prayers to be answered? It is not necessary for prayers to be answered, but really so that prayers can be heard! In Shakespeare’s Hamlet there is a scene where the king kneels and prays not so much for forgiveness for his “rank” offense in killing his brother, but rather that he will get away with it. When he finishes praying, he rises and utters: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” How often do we go to prayer with our thoughts, emotions, and words all going in different directions? If we do not know the truth, then how can we ask rightly? Forgiveness is necessary for prayer to be heard, because it allows us to remove our focus from the false so that we can align our thoughts, words, and deeds in the truth. And when we are fully aligned in truth, we have a clear channel to the Almighty source.