7 Reasons Why Prayers Go Unanswered According to Jewish Wisdom

We all want our prayers to be accepted, but sometimes it may feel as if something is blocking them, and as though the gate to Heaven is closed. What can cause a prayer to go unheard? Are there specific sins or actions known to prevent prayers from being accepted? Following are seven key reasons brought down in Jewish sources that can delay or block prayer:

1. Prayer Without Intention
King David teaches in Tehillim (145:18): “The Lord is near to all who call Him, to all who call Him in truth.” Prayer said without focus, sincerity, or heart may lack the power to rise upward.

2. Refusing to Listen to Torah
Mishlei (28:9) states: “He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.”

Rabbi Moshe ben Machir, in his book Seder HaYom, explains that if a person avoids hearing Torah because they claim, “I’ve already learned this before,” Heaven will treat their prayers the same way by rejecting repeated requests. God answers our prayers daily, never tiring of them, but if we tire of His Torah, our prayers are not cherished.

Rabbi Shlomo Baruch of Budapest adds in Hanhagot Tzaddikim: “When one hears a halacha or a Torah insight, he should not say, ‘I’ve already heard this.’ For such an attitude reflects what the verse warns: ‘He who turns his ear from hearing Torah…’”

3. Ignoring the Cry of the Poor
“Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.” (Mishlei 21:13)

The Metzudat David commentary explains that someone who refuses to listen to the suffering of the needy will, measure for measure, find Heaven silent when he himself calls out in distress.

4. The Sin of Theft
The Midrash teaches: “Anyone whose hands are stained with theft — when he calls to the Holy One, blessed be He, He does not answer him.” (Shemot Rabbah 22:3). Dishonesty and injustice block prayer.

5. Gossip and Slander (Lashon Hara)
In Shemirat HaLashon and in the Zohar, we are warned of the severe consequences of speaking negatively about others. Lashon Hara not only destroys one’s merits but also blocks prayer: “He who speaks gossip — his prayer does not ascend before God, for an impure spirit clings to it.” Only through repentance does prayer regain its power.

6. Many Sins Without Repentance
Rabbi Saadiah Gaon, in Emunot V’Deot (Fifth Essay, Ch. 6), writes: “If one’s sins are many and he prays without repentance, it is said: ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they call, I will not listen.’” A life of uncorrected wrongdoing creates a barrier between man and God.

7. Wearing Forbidden Clothing (Shatnez)
The great Kabbalist Rabbi Alexander Ziskind, in Yesod V’Shoresh HaAvodah, notes that even if one prays with proper intention, wearing clothing that violates the prohibition of Shatnez (mixture of wool and linen) can block prayer. He points out that the letters of the word Shatnez hint at “Satan” and “idolatry.”

Sometimes prayers seem unanswered not because God ignores us, but because spiritual blockages stand in the way. Through sincerity, Torah learning, kindness, honesty, guarding our speech, repentance, and awareness of mitzvot, we can clear the path so that our prayers ascend unhindered.