What to do if prayer constantly doesn't work?

You could go to church and talk to someone there about it if you believe in the bible. Its hard to get answers about god online because it triggers so many people.

I'll give you the biblical answers for that (without citing the references).

God answers on their time, not on your time. You may not yet be ready for the answer that God would give; and it may be years before you are fully ready to understand the answer.

The other thing is that so many things (love, prayer, etc) are actually action words. They don't work unless you are taking other actions to accomplish it.

What else are you doing in your life to accomplish or answer what you prayed about?

Many "Christians" will tell you that all your best efforts by yourself will never get you to heaven without your accepting God and reaching out to God. What they often do not tell you is that the corollary is also true. God does not help those who make no real effort. It takes a joint effort. How much effort are you applying and for how long?

I've been working on certain things for decades. Now I did receive a direct answer from God on 1 occasion, and I believe I have received indirect answers many other times (I believe the answers was planted ahead of me to only be found when I did something).

I hope this helps...

I am quite sure you didn't ask this question to have your beliefs about the nature of God changed, but I can share how I think, if you like.

As we can surmise from Boojum, there is no hard-and-fast 'method'. I don't appreciate it being said about me and/or my friends, though, that I am given to 'blither' or that my beliefs are 'bs'. That's just uncivil.

I think the assumption that there should be a 'way' to get prayers answered, can only be made if we presuppose that God is subject to our whims, like a machine or a puppy. I think a good way to pray is to acknowledge what kind of being you are talking to, to understand what God's priorities are because God is not a vending machine or a genie in a bottle. God has an awful lot of things to take into account when he acts. Everything that happens has an impact on everything else.

Would doing what you want him to do, be in the interests and character of God? And if God had other plans or priorities, or different things that had to happen that would affect something else, he would be within his 'rights' not to tell us. He does not owe us anything.

For me, the key is remembering that that God is independent from us and can do what he wants, and he has the right to. He doesn't *have* to answer our prayers on pain of not existing.

You dont pray and expect it to magically work. You work and pray.

Cant imagine god looks kindly on those who just pray and not do the work to get it done. Done it countless times and it somehow works for me. I'm agnostic so that just means I must be doing something right.

... you stop... obviously because prayer is baloney. I’m gonna be straight with you: you can remain hopeful in tough situations, but you can’t just wish for things to happen and seriously expect it to work. There’s nothing wrong with you, it’s the practice of prayer that’s wrong.

Just remember and I believe there is even a country song about it. Unanswered doesn't equate to unheard. It doesnt mean God isn't listening.

Unanswered can be the answer in itself. Rather than say no or not now. it is just not answered. We have a tendency as humans to think answered prayers are those we get what we want. All answers are not positive.

Work towards your goal, keep asking for pease of mind but ask for help getting there and to show you what you need to do.

I suggest you stop praying and start focussing on how you can get what you want in your life by your own efforts, rather than relying on a non existent deity to do it for you.

Obviously, you're praying to the wrong god. You should pray to Yaldobothgatorogh, and send me lots of money so that I might grow my congregation and private jet collection.

You touch yourself at night.

A Christian would probably blither on about how you didn't get an answer to your prayer because you weren't really listening, or you didn't believe enough, or you're not saved, or you need to belong to their brand of religion before God will hear you, or you prayed the wrong way, or some other utterly unhelpful BS. Religious people are very good at making excuses for God, because they've spent their whole life figuring out ways to explain away his silence and indifference.

Accept the fact that there is no God. Accept the fact that the life you have right now is all there is. Accept the fact that if you have a desperate need for forgiveness, you'll need to get that from the people you've wronged.

Then figure out where you've screwed up in the past, and how you can make sure you don't make those particular mistakes again. Accept that you own your life, and the decisions you make and their consequences are all on you. The only hell you're ever going to experience is the one you might create for yourself if you choose not to behave in ways that are positive and life-enhancing for yourself and those you choose to spend your time with.

Praying does nothing

How do you expect anything to happen? Any action needs a cause in our universe, things don't just happen on their own. At what point could a god possibly intervene to influence the world? All your thoughts are a constant process of electron movements through your nerves, if we looked closer we would see that even these follow predictable laws of nature, like everything in the world.
We understand the universe so thoroughly that these human beliefs that originated from centuries ago in an attempt to explain things have turned into absolute abstraction

You're not going to Hell. Don't worry.

What are you praying for, OP?

It depends. What were you praying for? Sometimes the answer to a prayer, much like a good parent would say, is NO.

Like many have said, you have to act upon your prayers. What formalin said is actually quite relevant. How do you expect praying from a state of impenitent mortal sin to give you an answer? Just as an insincere baptism does not save one from Hell, an insincere prayer does not gain an answer.