We pray and pray. Sometimes we pray our whole life and don’t see the results of our prayers. We may wonder, “Does God hear my prayers?”
If we’re to believe God’s Word, we need to believe it all. It is his forever truth and he is the great promise keeper. He promises “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) Elijah prayed for fire to come down from heaven and it came. David prayed to be delivered from his enemies and he was. The disciples prayed for boldness to preach the gospel, no matter what happened, and they received it. Jesus himself prayed for his Father’s will to be done – and it was. All evidence that God hears and answers our prayers.
Jesus told his followers, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7) Some false preachers of the prosperity gospel treat this promise like a genie’s magic lamp. Read the words again. There is a condition in Jesus’ promise, an ‘IF.’
Some like to think that God sent his Son so everyone would be saved. But what the bible says is “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” There’s a condition to the promise. We’re used to conditional promises: you get paid IF you do the work, you lose weight IF you follow your diet, you reap a harvest of veggies IF you plant the seeds. We like to think that it’s different when it comes to prayer, but it’s not. The answer to prayers sometimes depends on the condition of our heart.
1 John 5:14 – “If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
Psalm 66:18 – “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
Sometimes we don’t receive the answers to prayer because the condition of our heart is not right. Sometimes it is because we lack faith. We ask, but we don’t really believe God is willing or able to do what he says. Sometimes God’s answer depends on the actions of others. He will not ‘make’ someone love you the way you want to be loved anymore than he will ‘make’ you act against your own will. Sometimes we live out the consequences of our own thoughts and actions: the sin is forgiven, but the consequences live on. Sometimes God answers prayers but we fail to recognize it because we want something else. He doesn’t give us what we want because he knows what we need and has something better for us. We want only ice cream and cookies for dinner but he offers real nourishment for our bodies and our souls.
There are multiple reasons why God might not answer every prayer or answer it in the way we ask. But if we believe God exists and accept his Son, we can be assured he hears our prayer and will be faithful to respond – regardless of how it seems. Maybe it would help our prayer life if, in addition to asking for all those ‘things’ we desire, we primarily focused our prayers on drawing closer to God . . . to see him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly. Would not our Heavenly Father be pleased to hear such a prayer from his beloved children? May this be the true desire of our hearts!
