Is There Such a Thing as a Bad Prayer?

Bad prayers? Surely not, you say. Prayer is good, always good. Doesn't God always hear our prayers?

The answer may surprise you. It all revolves around several meanings of the word "will."

God tells us in His Word, "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (I John 5:14). That sounds a lot more restrictive than it is in reality. God gives us over 6000 promises in His Word that we can claim according to His covenants with us. Some of those promises are amazingly broad, especially when you consider that God says He gives His beloved children "far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20).

All that being said, the fact is that many good people pray some terribly bad prayers. And they can actually do harm to themselves and others. I know. I've often been the victim.

As I said, the answer revolves around the word "will." First of all, God expects us to know His Word so that we can pray according to His will. His will is revealed in His Word, as well as in revelation from the Holy Spirit that never contradicts the Word (John 16:13-14).

Sometimes we don't get answers, at least the ones we want, because we do not pray according to the Word. We pray our own selfish desires -- or even worse.

We sometimes do something in prayer that God would never do. God gave us free will. Even He does not force a person's will. He gave us dominion over all the earth (Gen. 1:26-27) -- but not over other people! If He does not try to control the will of others, why should we?

"Oh, God, make my husband stop being so stupid about our finances and let me have that luxury item he says we don't have the money for right now!" "Make him love me!" Those kinds of prayers are prayers that try to control the will of others, something God never does. Oh, but witches do it all the time!

Oh yes, it is indeed a witchcraft prayer -- a controlling prayer. And surprise, surprise -- God doesn't even hear it. Satan does. He's the one who inspires witches, even some of them who say they don't believe in the devil, to pray controlling prayers and cast spells on people to make them do things against their will.

God has nothing to do with the prayers of some Christians, prayers that are more witches' brew than prayers of love. Prayers patterned after Satan's format go down, not up. They go right to him and the demons -- and they have to answer these prayers. They will enforce our words if those words are not God's words (Prov. 18:21). Speak Satan's words -- get satanic results. It will boomerang back on us and will cause harm, sometimes even physical harm and pain to another Christian.