Answering Prayer Bible Study
When our prayers are answered, we're filled with joy and gratitude to God for hearing us. But when a prayer hasn't been answered, we're left wondering "Why hasn't God heard me and answered my prayer?" I've asked the same question so recently I sat down with my Bible and a concordance to find out what God says about answering prayers. I discovered a few things that I already knew, but most of it was a surprise to read! Here's a short study about what I discovered.
During my study, there were six major issues that kept coming up. Three involved what we do in our lives and prayers and three in God's hands.
The first three involve how we pray, our faith, and if there is anything we are doing that stops God from hearing us.
1) We need to pray in the name of Jesus. He is our mediator between us and our Heavenly Father, as He says in John 14:6 - "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Later in the chapter, He says "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will dos it." John 14:13-14. If we don't use Jesus' name, then our prayers can't get through to the Father. This also means the only person we should be praying to is our Heavenly Father, no one else. (Matthew 6:9-13) We pray to God the Father through Jesus the Son with the help of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26).
2) When we pray, we need to have faith and put away all doubts. At one time, the disciples were struggling to cast out a demon from a child because there was an issue with doubt. "And He [Jesus] asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Mark 9:21-24 (emphasis added). Again, when Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered away, the disciples were amazed. He then told them "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark 11:22-24. In the book of James, it also talks about doubt and prayer "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." James 1:6-7. We always need to bring our requests to God in faith.
3) When we pray, we need to make sure there is nothing that blocks our communication with God. The Bible says that nothing can separate us from the Love of God (Romans 8:36-39) but it also says that certain things we do in our daily lives can block our prayers from reaching God.
Sin is a major one. Psalms 66:18-20 says "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me." We need to make sure that when we pray, we aren't holding onto any sins in our hearts or a sin that we haven't repented of and forsaken. Psalm 51 is a lovely chapter to read.
Our motives for our prayers is another issue. James 4:3 says "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." We need to search our hearts and see if our prayers are for the Glory and Honour of God, or if it is for our own sinful desires.
If we refuse to help the poor and those in need, then that can be a block too - "Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard." Proverbs 21:13. We need to help others with a selfless motive as recorded in Matthew 25:31-46.
The final block that I found was if we purposely turn away from obeying God's commandments and silence the Holy Spirit, then your prayer is an abomination to Him. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Proverbs 28:9 Jesus said in John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." and again in John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." When we refuse to do what is right and according to God's law, then we are knowingly stepping onto Satan's ground and become enemies of God. James 1:25 "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." Romans 6 and Psalm 119 also cover this point.
We have to clear up all these issues before the Lord can hear and answer our prayers.
So we've gone over what we can do to have our prayers heard by God. Next, I'll talk about the three things that are for God to decide on before He answers our prayers.
Our prayers have to be in His will, answered in His time and in His Own way.
1) God will answer our prayers if it's in and according to His Will for us. 1 John 5:14-15 says "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." As Christians, we want to walk and live according to His Will at all times. Jesus lived His life entirely in His Father's will. In John 6:38, He said "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." Even when faced with a cruel death on the cross and the fear of being separated from His loving heavenly Father, He put God's Will first. "And He [Jesus] went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt... He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." Matthew 26:39, 42.
2) God will answer our prayers in His Time. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" Ecclesiastes 3:1. Waiting patiently can be a challenge sometimes, especially in today's world where instant gratification is the norm. His timing is perfect and often He uses a period of waiting to give us patience. "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:4. In His time, He'll give an answer to your prayers. "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Romans 5:3-5
3) Lastly, God will answer our prayers in His Way. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9. Usually, the way we want or expect our prayers to be answered is quite different from how God will answer them. His ways are perfect and true - "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." Psalm 145:17.
God's focus is on preparing us for eternal life with Him. So often we get caught up in the present physical side of life and forget about the spiritual. When it doesn't make sense to us why He doesn't answer right away, we have to remember that God will answer our prayers when it is for our eternal good.
Romans 8:18 says "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." And in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, it says "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
God will also allow things to happen that can be difficult and make us question "Why?" The famous verse of Romans 8:28 is very true. We need to trust the Lord to answer our prayers in the way that will benefit us and other people the most. The Bible says that if we trust in God, He will give us peace. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:" Isaiah 26:3-4. "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6.
May we keep seeking the Lord with all our hearts and strive to abide in Him at all times.
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13
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