How to pray when your prayer must be answered

Hi, Jesus loves you

Answering prayers is what God wants to be doing for His children. He said in Matt 7:7,”Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”  (NKJV) Furthermore, to prove His willingness to answer all our prayers, He said in Matt 7:1,”if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”. (NKJV) As a child does not need to do anything special for his father to meet his needs, so also we do not need to do anything special for our father in heaven to meet our needs.

However, the challenge is that many do not see God as their father, but as that man up there in heaven waiting to hit us with the sledge hammer any time we do wrong. If this were so, we would all be gone by now. He is merciful and loving, bearing our weaknesses and sometimes chastises us so we can be better children. An understanding of the father – child relationship between us and God will eliminate the tension, doubts and fears that crowd our minds when we approach God in prayers. We ought to come with confidence, with expectation to receive whatsoever we ask of God. This is assuming your position as a child not as a servant. God is a good God and Father.

Murmuring and complaining, coupled with anxiety also limit answers to prayers. We are expected to approach God with thanksgiving, reminding Him of His words concerning those issues that need His intervention. In the multitude of words that we say to God in prayer, God is itching to hear us declare His words (scriptures) back to Him. God says in Isaiah 43:26 that we should put Him in remembrance that we may be justified. Christ, when He was tempted in the wilderness, overcame the devil by declaring what was written in the scriptures concerning the temptations presented by the devil. Therefore, it’s not ‘how many words’ but ‘what words’ were declared in prayers that matters.

Also, God looks out for a heart that believes that He is able to do what He said He would do. We must have faith in God and His words, for without faith it is impossible to please God. It is not just any cry that God hears but the cry of faith. The woman with the issue of blood was not the only that touched Jesus in Luke 8:43-48. She touched Him with the heart of faith and she was made whole. A heart of faith will single you out of many people and deliver your answers to you.

Elijah depicts how to pray when your prayer must be answered. James5:17-18 says,” Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” (NKJV) Elijah, in the full story in 1Kings 18:41-45 gives us some hints on how to receive answers to our prayers. He said he could hear the sound of the abundance of rain when there was no sign of rain. This tells us to declare what we want and not what have now that we don’t want.  Even Jesus called those things that were not as though they were. He said that Jarius’ daughter was not dead when everybody knew that she was dead. And when He called her to rise up, she rose up as if she was just sleeping.  We must declare what we want before we can see it.

Elijah went to the mountain top to pray, where he could be alone with God. A quiet and peaceful environment enables one to concentrate and pray aright. Also, he did not stop praying until there was a sign of the imminent rain. It does not mean that we have to pray non-stop till we get our answer. It means we should stay in faith till we receive our answer. Perseverance is a vital attitude for our prayers to be answered. One should not give up but hold on in faith until answers are received.

God said in Jer 33:3,”Call unto me, and I will answer thee..,” (NKJV) Go ahead and call Him now.

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Ngozi Nwoke

Grace and peace of God be unto you.

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Image @Dreamstime by Andres Rodriguez