I’ve heard it said that God only gives one of three answers to our prayers: either yes, no, or wait. Let’s face it, no one wants their prayers to be declined, and in this age of instant gratification, I think it’s safe to say that most of us find it painfully difficult to wait on the Lord’s timing.
We can’t really do anything when God tells us to wait for an answer except to go full steam ahead with our own plans anyway like King Saul did when his patience ran out and decided to forge ahead against God’s plan (1 Samuel 13:7-14). This didn’t go well for Saul and pursuing our own plans without consulting and obeying the Lord usually doesn’t turn out very well for us either.
But here’s the good news: your prayers don’t have to go forth like a roll of the dice at a high stakes roulette table. There are some things you can do to increase your chances of having your prayers answered in the affirmative.
Live your life according to God’s will
The Lord’s prayer is a model for how to pray according to God’s will. In fact, the words “your will be done” in the Lord’s prayer make it perfectly clear that we’re expected to do His will (Matthew 6:10). And guess what? If we live in accordance with God’s will instead of living to fulfill our own fleshly desires and sinful nature, what we request from God in prayer will reflect that.It’s important to point out that living God’s way and not our way requires that we practice righteousness instead of practicing sin. This means we do our best to follow God’s precepts and laws and repent and ask for forgiveness when we mess up. 1 Peter 3:12 says that God hears the prayers of the righteous and that’s an important step towards getting the answer we are hoping for in response to our prayers.
If we live according to God’s will, we bear fruit, which means that we naturally do good works out of our love for Him, and one result of this is answered prayer.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.We’re blessed and our prayers bless others when we live God’s way because the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16 NIV).
John 15:16 (ESV)
Ask in Jesus’ name
Jesus taught the disciples that when they petition God in prayer, they should ask it in His name (John 16:24). He promised not only once but twice in John 14:13-14 that whatever is asked in His name He would do it so that God would be glorified.It’s perfectly fine to add “in Jesus’ name” to the end of your prayers, but please understand that it’s not some kind of magical invocation or incantation to get whatever you’re asking for. What the phrase “in Jesus’s name” actually means is that we’re acknowledging that we are asking God to answer our prayer for the purpose of furthering His kingdom, thereby glorifying God and not for our own selfish motives. Praying in Jesus’ name also means that we’re asking for our requests to be granted based on the Lord’s merit and not on our own.
If you pray in Jesus’ name and your prayer is in accordance with God’s will, you’ve got a splendid chance of having your request granted.
Ask with the right motive
And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to his will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.If we pray with the right motive, and our prayer is in alignment with His will, then God grants our request. But how can we know what God’s will is? Let’s face it, we don’t always know God’s will in every single situation but we can know what His will is in general by reading His word, the holy bible and spending time with Him in prayer. If you spend time with the Lord in prayer, asking for His guidance and listen to His voice, you will often get insight into His desired outcome for a particular situation.
1 John 5:14-15 (ESV)
So, I’ll bet by now you can guess what happens if we go to God in prayer with the wrong motive. Yep, you guessed it.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.I know it’s tempting to ask God for things we want for ourselves but don’t really need like a luxury car, exotic vacation, winning the lottery and so on. But now we know better, don’t we? Instead, let’s practice righteousness instead of practicing sin and pray in accordance with God’s will so that our prayers will be powerful and effective.
James 4:3
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