Does God always answer prayer?
Genesis 30:17God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.
Psalm 116:1-2I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
1 Peter 3:12“The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”
God listens carefully to every prayer request and answers it. His answer may be yes, no, or wait. Any loving parent gives all three of these responses to a child. Answering yes to every request would spoil us and be dangerous to our well-being. Answering no to every request would be vindictive, stingy, and kill our spirits. Answering wait to every prayer would be frustrating. But sometimes God just wants to talk to us, because it is through a conversation that we learn and grow our relationship. Many of the best times with a parent are spent just talking. The same is true with God.
John 15:7“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!”
James 5:16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
1 John 5:14We are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
As we maintain a close relationship with Jesus and consistently study his Word, our prayers will be more aligned with his will. When that happens, God is delighted to grant our requests.
2 Timothy 2:11-13This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
1 John 1:8-9If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
A genuinely repentant confession and request for forgiveness is one prayer God always answers in the affirmative. He demonstrates his faithfulness even as we demonstrate our unfaithfulness and need for healing.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
Sometimes, like Paul, we will find that God answers our prayer by giving us something better than what we asked for.
John 14:14“Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”
Jesus’ name is not a magic wand. Praying in Jesus’ name means praying according to Jesus’ character and purposes. It mean exercising the authority he gives us while at the same time affirming, as Jesus himself did, that our deepest desire is to see God’s will done. When you pray like this, you are asking for what God already wants to give you.
Exodus 14:15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!”
Acts 12:6-16The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.
Effective prayer is accompanied by a willingness to obey. We should pray, expecting God to answer. When God opens a door, walk through it! When you get an answer, accept it.
