Prayer as we all know is one of the most powerful channels human beings use in communicating with God his creator. Prayer is what holds the bridge that connects God and us.
For you to have a successful prayer life, there are things you should not allow to control your mind or your life whenever you are praying, because these things can prevent your prayer from being answered by God.
Below are those things.
1) Unforgiving Spirit. This is one of the reasons why most times, you will be thinking that God has abandoned you, or he has forsaken you. He hasn't forsaken you; you are tied down by your Unforgiving spirit.
You have to forgive other people who have committed wrong things against you, then come to the presence of God with a clean heart and he will answer your prayers. Unforgiveness is more dangerous than you could imagine, it can destroy valuable or strong Marriages and Relationships, and it can destroy family happiness too.
"The Bible says in the book of Ephesians 4:32, “And be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.”
2) Carnal thought. You don't expect God to open his windows and doors of heaven and listen to your prayer points when you are thinking about how to make love to your girlfriend or boyfriend, when you are thinking of how to defraud someone, to tell lies to your parents, wife, or husband.
You must have a clear thought if you want the spirit of God to dwell in you, which will help you to always have smooth Communication with God.
3) Envy. This is one of the worst diseases that has stolen the blessings of so Many children of God. A brother in the church bought a car, bought a house, or bought land, and instead of joining him to appreciate God's blessings in his life, you start complaining, you start making him your enemy, and you stop talking to him. You forget that when you join him to praise God for the blessings he has received, God will bless you as well. Kill envy; it's preventing God from answering your prayers.
4) Pride. A proverb says, "If you raise yourself, God will bring you down but if you bring yourself down, God will raise you." Kill pride because it's dangerous and it prevents God from answering your prayers.
5) Lack of faith. For God to answer your prayers, you have to first believe in God, you have to believe that he has heard your prayers. If your faith is as small as a mustard seed, you will move mountains.
"To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1"
Hebrew chapter 11 made it clear to us how different people moved God into great action with their faith, Abraham did it, David did it, and many other people. Your faith has a role to play in your Relationship with God and also in your prayer request. Be faithful.
Be mindful of these things because they are causing delays in answering your prayer request.