100 Bible Verses about Unanswered Prayer

James 4:3 ESV / 728 helpful votes

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

Psalm 66:18 ESV / 425 helpful votes

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

1 John 5:14-15 ESV / 365 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.

Matthew 21:22 ESV / 327 helpful votes

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Mark 11:24 ESV / 277 helpful votes

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

Proverbs 28:9 ESV / 266 helpful votes

If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

John 15:7 ESV / 264 helpful votes

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

1 John 5:14 ESV / 240 helpful votes

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

Matthew 7:7-11 ESV / 239 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. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

John 9:31 ESV / 238 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.

James 1:6 ESV / 230 helpful votes

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Isaiah 59:2 ESV / 216 helpful votes

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

1 Peter 3:12 ESV / 215 helpful votes

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Philippians 4:6 ESV / 215 helpful votes

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 ESV / 210 helpful votes

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Romans 8:26 ESV / 189 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.

Matthew 7:7 ESV / 185 helpful votes

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

John 14:12-14 ESV / 141 helpful votes

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Mark 11:22-24 ESV / 140 helpful votes

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Ephesians 3:20 ESV / 133 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,

Isaiah 1:15-16 ESV / 133 helpful votes

When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,

Luke 18:1-43 ESV / 132 helpful votes

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ...

James 5:16 ESV / 129 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 4:3-10 ESV / 124 helpful votes

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”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ...

1 John 5:15 ESV / 121 helpful votes

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.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV / 120 helpful votes

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

James 4:2 ESV / 118 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.

Luke 18:1 ESV / 117 helpful votes

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Mark 9:23 ESV / 115 helpful votes

And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

1 John 1:9 ESV / 114 helpful votes

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew 6:6 ESV / 112 helpful votes

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Proverbs 15:29 ESV / 111 helpful votes

The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

1 Peter 3:7 ESV / 108 helpful votes

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Matthew 6:7 ESV / 101 helpful votes

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Malachi 2:13-17 ESV / 101 helpful votes

And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

James 5:15-16 ESV / 99 helpful votes

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 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.

John 14:13-14 ESV / 98 helpful votes

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

Hebrews 11:6 ESV / 97 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.

Philippians 4:6-7 ESV / 97 helpful votes

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Jeremiah 33:3 ESV / 97 helpful votes

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Matthew 6:9-13 ESV / 95 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.

Isaiah 1:15 ESV / 94 helpful votes

When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

Romans 12:2 ESV / 93 helpful votes

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 6:18 ESV / 92 helpful votes

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV / 90 helpful votes

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Luke 6:12 ESV / 90 helpful votes

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV / 88 helpful votes

Pray without ceasing,

Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV / 88 helpful votes

Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Proverbs 21:13 ESV / 88 helpful votes

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

Matthew 18:19 ESV / 86 helpful votes

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Matthew 7:7-8 ESV / 85 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.

Colossians 4:2 ESV / 81 helpful votes

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV / 81 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.

James 1:6-7 ESV / 79 helpful votes

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

John 15:16 ESV / 78 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.

Matthew 6:9 ESV / 78 helpful votes

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

1 John 3:22 ESV / 76 helpful votes

And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

1 Timothy 2:8 ESV / 76 helpful votes

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;

Romans 12:12 ESV / 76 helpful votes

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Matthew 17:20 ESV / 76 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.”

Lamentations 3:44 ESV / 76 helpful votes

You have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV / 75 helpful votes

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John 14:13 ESV / 72 helpful votes

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

Jeremiah 29:12 ESV / 71 helpful votes

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

Matthew 6:5 ESV / 68 helpful votes

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 66 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 ESV / 66 helpful votes

Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Luke 1:37 ESV / 65 helpful votes

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Psalm 102:17 ESV / 65 helpful votes

He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.

Matthew 7:11 ESV / 64 helpful votes

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

John 3:16-17 ESV / 63 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Luke 11:1 ESV / 63 helpful votes

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

1 John 5:16 ESV / 62 helpful votes

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

Psalm 145:18 ESV / 62 helpful votes

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Revelation 11:1-19 ESV / 58 helpful votes

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. ...

1 Peter 4:7 ESV / 58 helpful votes

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Malachi 1:7-9 ESV / 58 helpful votes

By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord's table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.

Proverbs 21:2 ESV / 58 helpful votes

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.

Jude 1:20 ESV / 55 helpful votes

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 1:11 ESV / 53 helpful votes

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Romans 8:28 ESV / 53 helpful votes

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Matthew 26:39 ESV / 53 helpful votes

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Psalm 34:17 ESV / 53 helpful votes

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

James 5:13 ESV / 52 helpful votes

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 ESV / 52 helpful votes

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Matthew 26:41 ESV / 52 helpful votes

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Galatians 6:9 ESV / 51 helpful votes

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

1 Peter 5:7 ESV / 50 helpful votes

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6 ESV / 50 helpful votes

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Ephesians 6:12 ESV / 50 helpful votes

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Romans 10:1 ESV / 48 helpful votes

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

Luke 18:1-8 ESV / 48 helpful votes

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ...

Matthew 6:14 ESV / 48 helpful votes

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

2 Peter 3:9 ESV / 47 helpful votes

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Hebrews 11:1-40 ESV / 47 helpful votes

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ...

Habakkuk 1:2 ESV / 47 helpful votes

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?

Proverbs 15:8 ESV / 47 helpful votes

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

Job 30:20 ESV / 47 helpful votes

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.

Mark 11:25-26 ESV / 46 helpful votes

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV / 45 helpful votes

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

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