What Prayers does God answer?

We all want our prayers answered but most of us haven't taken the time to see what we need to do to get them answered! And yes, the Bible has a lot to say on the subject.

You've probably heard this scripture, you can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it.

Wow! This scripture says you can pray for anything.... I want a million dollars...

How many of you get 100% of everything you've prayed for?

The Bible records Yeshua praying to God our heavenly father 25 different times.

Did God give Yeshua everything he asked for?

Matthew 26:39 He (Yeshua) went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, praying, "My Father! If it's possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine."

Sometimes God won't give you what you ask for because it isn't what is best for you.

That's a good thing right!

There are other reasons that God won't hear or answer your prayers!

Matthew 6:31 "So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things?  Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

Matthew 18:19 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

Luke 11:5 Teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. And you say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' He would call out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed. I can't help you this time.' But I tell you this, though he won't do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won't be damaged. "And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.

Luke 18:1 One day Yeshua told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city who was a godless man with great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, appealing for justice against someone who had harmed her. The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she wore him out. 'I fear neither God nor man,' he said to himself, 'but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'"

John 16:23 You can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will grant your request because you use my name.

what is his name? The Name God told Mary to call her baby was Yeshua not Jesus!

Hebrews 5:7 While Yeshua was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death. And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for God. (A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love. )

James 5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Confess 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 wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years! Then he prayed for rain, and down it poured.

1 John 3:21 Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him.

Yeshua gave us an example of how to Pray.

Matthew 6:5 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food for today, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

1 John 5:14 And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will.

So why would God not answer our prayers?

2 Corinthians 12:7 I Paul have received wonderful revelations from God. But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.

 

1 Peter 3:7 You husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.

 

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."

 

Matthew 17:15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn't heal him." Yeshua replied, "You stubborn, faithless people! Bring the boy to me." Then Yeshua rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. Afterward the disciples asked Yeshua privately, "Why couldn't we cast out that demon?" "You didn't have enough faith," Yeshua told them. "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

 

James 4:2 You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong, you want only what will give you pleasure.

 

God has given us all the information we need to get our prayers answered!

 

The things he says we should do to get our prayers answered are things we should be doing anyway!

 

If you're doing everything you should be doing, and a prayer doesn't get answered, it must not be his will! But when that happens, thank God, because there must be a good reason that it wasn't answered!