Obeying God’s Word is the key to having our prayers answered. This probably doesn’t sit well with believers who don’t believe there is the consequence to an ungodly lifestyle. So let’s look at this verse another way: “And whatever we ask we will not receive from Him, because we do not keep His commandments and do not do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Jesus made this same principle perfectly clear when He said, “If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7). According to these two scriptures, answered prayer is directly linked to the priority we place on our personal relationship with the Lord, and the measure of His Word we choose to keep alive in our hearts and allow to influence our daily lives.
The book of Proverbs confirms that the Lord takes no pleasure in, in fact, He is insulted by the prayers of His children who have deliberately rejected His instructions and chosen to grow cold in their walk with Him. “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). A heart that is truly pursuing God and the intimacy found in His Presence is a heart that deeply loves His Word and lives by it’s wisdom. His prayers are a delight to the Lord and will always be answered!