Jesus said on two occasions, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:38 & Luke 10:2)

    Have you ever prayed that prayer? Or if you have, do you pray it regularly?

    I haven’t.

    And I guess most believers would say the same. It isn’t always at the top of our prayer list.

    I suspect most of us pray occasionally for lost people—especially for family members that we want to see in Heaven.

But Jesus thought, and said, that praying for harvest workers was important, so important that he spelled it out specifically, ”Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.”

If he thought it was so important, I’ll bet he prayed it himself. Often. And with passion.

So, here’s the big question—why don’t we pray more often for the Lord to send workers?

· Maybe we don’t think it’s a life or death issue. Are we reluctant to “change someone’s religion”, believing that most people are going to find God on their own without our help?

· Maybe we don’t believe that hell is real and that people actually go there. The reality of hell is a central doctrine of the Bible. And Jesus spoke about hell more than anyone else did. It’s real and people really go there—not because God hates them but because Satan rules human flesh (1st John 5:19) and he’s taking people to hell with him (Rev. 20:10-15).

· Maybe we don’t believe prayer makes much difference. We think God will do what He’s going to do without our input. But the Bible says otherwise; “You do not have because you do not ask God.” (James 5:2)

· Maybe we just don’t get around to it. Maybe someone else will do it.

Whatever has caused our prayerlessness, begin now to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send them out (and send us, too)!

This is it. The most common question I get when teaching a prayer seminar.

“Why didn’t my prayer get answered?” Or “I prayed and prayed about ____________but it’s like God never even heard me”.

Why does that happen? Well, I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but here are some I’ve discovered in the Bible…

1. Unforgiveness. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” -Jesus (Mark 11:24-25 NIV).
2. Sin that’s cherished. “If I had cherished sin in my heart the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” -Psalm 66:18-19 NIV
3. Disrespect in the home.  ^“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.“ -1 Peter 3:7 NIV
4. Evil motives. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” -James 4:3 NIV
5. Lack of faith.  ^“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” -Jesus (Mark 11:24 NIV). Also –  ^“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” -Jesus (Matthew 21:22 NIV)
6. Hypocrisy. ““Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other (the self-righteous Pharisee), went home justified before God.” -Jesus (Luke 18:13-14 NIV)
   
7. Quitting too soon. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (See Luke 18:1-8 NIV). Also – “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” -Colossians 4:2 NIV

No – you don’t have to be perfect to get amazing answers to prayer… but you do have to be consistent. Since all our prayers come from inside the human spirit, and are filtered through our heart’s condition, prayers arrive at God’s throne with the imprint of our own discipleship.

Seven reasons prayers get rejected. I’m sure there are many more. Can you think of any?