Powerful Prayers

“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22 (ESV)

Have you ever heard someone say “why bother praying? He already knows what we need!” Maybe you’ve said that yourself from time to time. If we’re being honest, most of us have probably felt this at some point in our faith lives. 

The truth is God always answers our prayers. Perhaps not exactly how we had hoped, or when we expected, but when we come to Him in faith, God answers us. Every time. 

“But how can that be?” some might ask. “I’ve been praying for a long time and nothing ever happens!” 

The answer is found in understanding how God answers our prayers, and – equally important – how we respond. 

Basically, there are only three ways He answers us through prayer: “Wait, be patient,” “No, that’s not in My plan for you,” or “Yes!”  

Let’s take a look at each of these, and how our response can deepen and enrich our walks with God. 

When God Asks Us to Wait 

Let’s face it, waiting is hard! No one really likes to wait, especially on important things and decisions in our lives. How do we respond to God when we pray but He doesn’t seem to immediately answer us? I’ve found three things can consistently help us while we wait on God to answer our prayers! 

• Trust in God’s timing. Trust God, even though it may seem like prayer doesn’t work. Even though it may seem like at the moment He is not near and has abandoned you. If we have faith and sincerely trust God, we will not be concerned as to whether the answer is “wait” or the answer is “no” or “yes.” We must just trust and wait and see if God in His timing will answer as we have requested, or perhaps He has something better in mind for us. Remember your prayers should always end with “Not my will, Lord, but Your will.” (Luke 22:42).

• Pray without ceasing. One of the reasons we feel our prayers are not being answered is because we stop praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says it best, “pray without ceasing.” Paul is more direct in Philippians 4:6, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” In reality, we should not be worried so much about if God hears our prayers – He does and He does care about all of us. What we must always remember is that in a season of waiting, no matter what we are praying for we must not give up.

• Turn our worship to God. Here’s the thing, when we’re so focused on what we are praying for, it is so easy to turn whatever it is into an idol. It could be a future husband, a new career, a child, or a new community, if we long for it more than we long for Jesus, it’s an idol. God is greater than all those other things. So while we wait, let us worship our God who created all things.

When God Says No 

This can either be our biggest challenge or our greatest answered prayer. If God’s answer is “No” we still must be willing to wait patiently, and trust God to answer in his own way and in His timing about what is right for each of us and for His will to be done. Here are two ways to know his NO may actually be good for us. 

• God is protecting us. This can be difficult because we tend to assume we know what is best for our lives. Yet when we pray for certain things to happen and the answer is a no, we should consider that God is possibly trying to protect us from harm or the wrong path. God is all knowing and sees everything in our lives so even when you find out God’s clear answer is no, trust in that. As we read in Hebrews 11:39-40, “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”

• His time, His will. God is interested in every detail of our lives. He hears our prayers and answers them. We must not expect that every answer will be “yes,” since we are fallen, imperfect beings and do not always ask what is best for us. We understand sometimes His answer is “No” and sometimes it is “wait. Even if we are sincerely doing God’s will, and to the best of our ability, following His will for us, He may see that it is best for us not for Him to say “yes” at this time. We must continue trusting Him, regardless of His answer at the moment.

God’s timeline is not the same as ours. He knows better than we do when the best time for our prayers is to be answered, or if they should be granted. For God to give us what we ask for, we must ask “according to His will.” Faith can never take the place of for God’s will to be done.” John writes in 1 John 5:14 “…if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” If we do not ask according to the will of God, we are not asking with real faith in Him. If God’s answer is “No” we still must be willing to wait patiently, and trust God to answer in his own way and in His timing. 

When God says Yes! 

The most wonderful days of my life have been these last 10 years of answered prayers. I rejoice in praise about each one of them and I bet you have too. For those of you who may question or still have doubts if God has given you an answer, here are two ways you can be certain God has clearly answered your prayer. 

• He will open Doors. God won’t say yes to you and then keep all the doors to your prayer shut. When God is answering a prayer with “yes” He will confirm this through the circumstances in your life. On the other hand, when God closes doors in your life, this is one of the clearest signs he is giving you a “no” to the prayer you are asking. Many times, people waste time in their lives knocking on doors God has locked shut because they are unwilling to take no for an answer. 

• He will give you Peace. The Bible teaches us that God brings peace to those who follow him. Paul teach us in 1 Corinthians 14:33states, “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” When we begin straying from God’s will for our lives, one of the ways the Holy Spirit will lead us back onto the path He’s chosen for us is by removing our peace. When you don’t have peace about something, this could be God telling you not to proceed forward. When God does tell us “yes,” this will be confirmed by genuine peace in our hearts. You won’t have to force it and you won’t have to pretend to yourself this is truly what God wants. Psalm 34:14 says, “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Remember – God hears all our prayers and, while we may not always receive what we ask for, He answers those prayers. Trust in Him and have faith. 

Lord, thank you for always hearing our prayers and for the times when you clearly say “yes.” And even when You don’t appear to answer them, we know You are there showering us with your Grace and compassion. Thank You for the lessons we learn from “unanswered” prayers. Thank You for Your undeserved gift of Jesus Christ as our advocate. Thank You for helping us know that even if it seems like You are asking us to wait, the answer from our advocate in heaven’s prayer will always ultimately be “Yes.”

May God continuously lead your path.