Pastor Mark's Blog

Archive for February 15th, 2012

Have you ever wondered when you clicked the “send” command on your computer if your e-mail actually got to its destination? Have you ever thought, “Will someone be there to receive it? Will I get a response?”

You may have had those same questions in another realm of communication–prayer.  Look at what the Bible says about the promise of prayer.

Jeremiah 33:3  Call to me and I will answer you…  (NIV)

Psalm 138:3  When I called, you answered me…  (NIV)

Does this mean that God will answer our every prayer and that He is at our beckon and call to answer our requests? I think a lot of people have that idea and never consider that God has placed very specific restrictions or limits on how He answers us.

Lots of people wonder why their prayers are not answered and think God isn’t real. The problem with unanswered prayer isn’t with God but with us.

For your e-mail to arrive, your equipment and programs must function correctly. Sometimes your prayer life can have a “glitch” in it.  What does God promise then concerning our prayers?  What are the conditions that need to be met in order for God to hear and answer our prayers?

First, we must ASK

One of the most important elements of prayer is asking.  If you don’t ask you can’t get an answer.  A lot of people are just too stubborn and proud to pray and ask God for anything.  Prayer is a sign of dependance upon God and not on yourself.

James 4:2c You do not have, because you do not ask God. (NIV)

Second, we must have the RIGHT MOTIVES

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (NIV)

God doesn’t promise to answer a selfish prayer or a prayer that is prayed with the wrong kind of motives. Selfishness is one of the biggest barriers to prayer.  You can’t live a self-centered life and expect God to answer your prayers.

Third, we must pray ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.   15 And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him. (NIV)

Notice in verse 14 that if we  “ask anything according to His will, He hears us”.  The only prayers that God will listen to or hear are those that are according to His will.

Fourth, we must pray IN THE NAME OF JESUS

John 14:13-14 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.   14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?  To pray in the name of Jesus means to pray based on his power and authority.  Imagine if you will a police officer comes to your home and he knocks on your door and says, “Open up in the name of the law.”  The officer is not asking you to open your door based on his own power or authority, he is asking you to open your door based on the authority of the law.

When you pray to God in the name of Jesus you are asking God to do something not because of your power or authority, but His.  God promises that if we will pray in the name of Jesus He will answer.

Fifth, you must pray BELIEVING

Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (NIV)

What does the word “believing” mean?  It means to trust and not to doubt.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (NIV)

James 1:5-7 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.   6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.   7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. (NIV)

Today many people have the idea that God will answer anyone’s prayer no matter how they pray or who they are?  Does God promise to answer anyone’s prayer no matter who they are?

Sixth, you must BE OBEDIENT

1 John 3:19-22 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence   20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.   21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God   22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. (NIV)

According to this passage God will not answer a person’s prayer or even listen to a person’s prayer if they aren’t willing to obey His commandments or do the things that are pleasing to Him.

Psalm 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear. (NASB)

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (NIV)

Proverbs 28:9 God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to him. (MSG)

These are very strong words and make the point that we do not come to God in disobedience. The prayers of the disobedient are an abomination to God.  God does not promise to answer a person’s prayer when that person isn’t obeying the Lord and is living outside of God’s will.

Seventh, you must be AT PEACE WITH OTHERS

Family problems can surely cause our prayers not to be answered. Arguing, bickering, fighting in the home will destroy it. It will rob a home of peace and joy. It will destroy the peace and security of the marriage.

Matthew 18:19 Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. (NIV)

Eight, you must BE PERSISTENT

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.   8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (NIV)

The words “ask, seeks & knocks” are all in the continual mode meaning that we are to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking.

Clearly the Lord is teaching us that we should be persistent in our prayers. There have been things that Christians have prayed for, for years and God in His time answered. It is not that God does not want to answer and that He wants to withhold the answer to our prayers, but God knows the time when it is best. Our persistence shows our faith in God and His promise to answer prayer.

My grandfather passed away when I was a child.  I remember one day my father and I went to his garage to clean it out.  My grandfather had many old tools.  One was a hand drill. I could barely get the wheel to turn. The gears were clogged with dirt, and the pieces that held the drill bit in place were missing. But I wanted to see if I could get it to work.

I wiped it clean, oiled it and kept working the handle back and forth until it finally started turning smoothly.

Working with that old drill can teach us all something about prayer. If we don’t meet God’s conditions, our prayers will be ineffective – just like that old drill.

If your prayer-life is malfunctioning, make sure you’re meeting the conditions. When you do, you can be confident that your prayers will be effective.

If you want your prayers to reach heaven, make sure you have a good connection.

2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear their prayer from heaven, forgive their sins,  and heal their country. (GW)