What Does the Bible Say About Prayers Unanswered?

James 4:1-17 ESV / 4 helpful votes

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ...

Ephesians 3:20 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

Psalm 66:18 ESV / 4 helpful votes

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

1 John 5:14-15 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

James 5:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

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.

James 4:3 ESV / 3 helpful votes

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Mark 11:24 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Matthew 7:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

James 4:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes

You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

Romans 8:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Romans 3:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”

John 16:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes

In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

John 15:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

John 15:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 14:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 14:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 9:31 ESV / 2 helpful votes

We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.

John 6:53 ESV / 2 helpful votes

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

John 4:24 ESV / 2 helpful votes

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Luke 10:25-37 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ...

Mark 10:17-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ...

Matthew 17:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 13:1-58 ESV / 2 helpful votes

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ...

Matthew 7:7-8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Matthew 6:9-13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Malachi 3:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Daniel 10:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.

Daniel 10:1-21 ESV / 2 helpful votes

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ...

Daniel 9:1-27 ESV / 2 helpful votes

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. ...

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Proverbs 4:1-27 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. ...

Psalm 102:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But you are the same, and your years have no end.

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...

38 Bible Verses about Prayers Unanswered

James 4:1-17 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 3:20 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 66:18 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 John 5:14-15 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 5:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 4:3 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 11:24 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 7:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 4:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 11:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 11:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 8:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 3:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 16:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 15:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 15:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 14:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 14:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 14:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 9:31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 6:53 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 4:24 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 10:25-37 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:17-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 17:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 13:1-58 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 7:7-8 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 6:9-13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Malachi 3:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Daniel 10:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Daniel 10:1-21 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Daniel 9:1-27 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 4:1-27 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 102:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Suggest a Verse

Enter a Verse Reference (e.g., John 3:16-17)