Dearly Beloved
The history of the Bible shows the creation of mankind, the fall of mankind, and the process of individual or groups of humans learning to call on to God who answers prayers as they pray according to God’s Will. In His mercy, God teaches and shows fallen man how to pray successfully according to His attributes and His principles that He reveals to them. God’s answers to prayers are the stories of the Bible that has inspired generations of mankind through six thousand years of recorded biblical history to continue to have faith in the God who redeems them and continues to bring them to the place of restoration of all things.
In the New Testament, the heights of God’s joy and delight in answering prayers is expressed by our Lord Jesus in the following verses:
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8)
If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23)
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).
And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it (John 14:13-14).
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you (John 15:16).
And in that day you will ask Me nothing, Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you, Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24).
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:15-16).
With so many verses and so many examples of answered prayers in the Bible, every believer should have confidence that God always answers prayers. God’s answers to prayers many be in the following categories:
- Immediate answers to prayers like Elijah’s prayers for God to set fire to the sacrifice he prepared (1 Kings 18:36-38)
- Answers to prayers that were not really made as an official prayer like Abraham asking God to bless Ishmael (Genesis 17:18-20)
- Delayed answers to forgotten prayers like Zechariah’s prayer for a child (Luke 1:13)
- God answers ‘No’ like Moses request to go into the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 3:23-28)
There are many other categories but for this devotional talk it is sufficient to cover these four categories. Learning that God answers prayers and the various ways He answers, accepting His answers are a part of walking the humble road of total dependence on God for everything in this life.
Category 1: Prayers with immediate answers
Prayers which are immediately answered usually have a background to them. In the case of Elijah asking for God to consume the sacrifice with fire, Elijah has already successfully brought forth a three year and six-month drought through long years of intercession and prayers (James 5:16-17). As it came to the time to end the drought, Elijah issues a challenge to the false prophets of Baal to prove that their god is real. The false prophets failed miserably with much mocking from Elijah (1 Kings 18:27-29). Elijah seemed to have heard instructions as to what exactly to do, for he built an altar of twelve stones according to the twelve tribes of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord has come, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name’ (1 Kings 18:31). He also pronounced the name of the Lord as he built the altar (1 Kings 18:32). He then made a trench with which he commanded water to be filled three times until the whole trench was filled and overflowing with water (1 Kings 18:32). Finally, the timing was about the time of the evening offering, which Israel would have offered daily in the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 18:36). In his prayers, he called upon the covenant of Abraham which Israel has with God, asking that God made Himself known that He is indeed the God of Israel and that Elijah was his servant (1 Kings 18:36). And most important of all, he said that he had done all these things at God’s Word (1 Kings 18:36). Within an instant, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, vaporizing all the water in the trench while consuming the burnt offering.
Prayers that are answered immediately have a working background of obedience to God’s commandments and instructions. Obedience to these many little commands places one in the position of the finale of an official prayer with an instant answer. Another example is Jesus raising Lazarus up from the dead. Four days before the resurrection, Jesus already knew that Lazarus would die of sickness and be raised up from the dead (John 11:1-4). He told His disciples that He was going to wake Lazarus up, which for Him meant that He was going to raise him from the dead (John 11:11). In His word to Martha and Mary, He spoke of resurrection of which they did not fully understand (John 11:23-25; 39-40). And then Jesus made a very simple prayer, saying, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Then with a loud voice, He commanded Lazarus to arise from the dead.
There is always a lot of preparation behind prayers that seem to be answered instantly. The principles behind immediate answers to prayer are:
1a. Be obedient to many little commandments from God that sets the scenario for the official prayer of faith.
1b. Observed the instruction of God as to when is the time to release the official prayer of faith in public with instant answer.
1c. Its main objective is to establish God’s covenant and God’s Will in both the life of the servant of God and the surround circumstances.
1d. It serves as the authentication of God and of His servant.
Category 2: Prayers that were not really prayers but words spoken from the mouth in conversation
Abraham was not officially asking for something specific for Ishmael but was reacting to the word of God that he would have another child of his own through Sarah. His immediate reaction was to bless the current son that he had through Hagar (Genesis 17:18). He was in the midst of laughter and unbelief that Sarah could have a child at the age of ninety years old. Much to his surprise, God answered and said that He has heard Abraham and will bless Ishmael and make him fruitful even to him begetting twelve princes and becoming a great nation (Genesis 17:20). We are to watch the words of our mouth all the time for we might be blessed or cursed when we unwittingly utter something which we cannot take back, especially when God answers Amen to it. I believe Rachel died because Jacob unknowingly cursed her to death by saying whoever have the idols of Laban should die (Genesis 31:32). The Israelites condemned themselves to death when they wished that they die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:1-2, 28). On the other hand, a casual conversation and request to the Lord about the number of righteous people needed to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reduced it to ten for the cities to be saved (Genesis 18:23-33). So is the casual sentence by Jesus to the fig tree that ‘Let no one eat fruit from you ever again’ became an instant cursed (Mark 11:14, 20).
Peter’s utterance of asking Jesus to command him to come to Him on the water was immediately granted, much to his surprise and the surprise of all the other disciples (Matthew 14:27-29). He most likely did not start thinking too much about everything but was reacting to the circumstances of seeing Jesus walked on the water for the first time, of which all those in the boat were frightened thinking they had seen a ghost. There was no place to think about the consequences nor of the amount of energy required to create such a miracle. He just suddenly made the request on the spur of the moment. And Jesus immediately granted His request. As he walked on the water, his mind must have caught up and he realized the impossibility of everything, doubts arose as he saw the wind and waves, which caused him to begin sinking (Matthew 14:29-30). But through it all, he had a blessing that none of the other disciples had, an opportunity to walk on water like Jesus.
It is important to guard our words in all circumstances, for by our words we are justified and by our words we are condemned (Matthew 12:36-37). The true perfect spiritual person has control of their tongue (James 3:2). The key in this category is to always observe a positive and biblical outlook in life, never speaking words that are against the bible or against ourselves and others in a negative way. As this becomes our default nature, then sometimes when opportunities come and special presence of God is manifest, we will still be able to automatically react in the right manner and receive from the fruit of our lips the positive and wonderful blessings of God (Proverb 18:20; Isaiah 57:19; Hebrews 13:15). Our Father God and Jesus is hearing all our conversations twenty-four hours a day, whether alone or surrounded by people. A lot of unintended prayers are being prayed by people who did not know that God was listening to their every word. Watch your tongue, and let only blessings flow forth.
Category 3: Delayed answers to forgotten prayers
It must have been long, long ago when they were newly married that Zachariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child. Through their long marriage and many years of servitude to God, they remained childless into their senior years. All the prayers of their youth were forgotten by them, but not by God. Archangel Gabriel was sent to them to announce the good news that it was now time for them to have a child, and that this child was going to be special (Luke 1:13-17). Zachariah regards his situation as impossible and when he said that his wife was well advanced in years, probably meant that she has surpass her menopause (Luke 1:18). Yet through all the physical impossibilities, God wrought a great miracle but Zachariah has to be shut up for the duration of the pregnancy. In the end when John the Baptist was born, great was the joy of Zachariah and Elizabeth.
Abraham must have been very satisfied with Ishmael and probably thought that he was God’s promise child through his own loins (Genesis 15:1-4). There was no sign that he was still seeking another child when God appeared to him at the age of ninety-nine and told him that he will have a child through Sarah. Both he and Sarah did not believe at first, laughing at the impossibility (Genesis 17:17; 18:11-12). Abraham very quickly overcame his initial shock and disbelief, and followed after God’s commandment and circumcised himself and all his household (Genesis 17:24-27). He must have been very surprised when God said that He will establish His covenant with Abraham with Isaac whom Sarah will bear for him (Genesis 17:21-22).
When it is time for a forgotten prayer to be answered, God always imposes the conditions upon it of which we must be obedient. For Zachariah, he was struck dumb throughout the pregnancy before John was born. For Abraham, he has to be circumcised and to follow the Lord. There is always a right time for God to answer and we must be patient and let God do it in the fullness of time. We summarise the principles below:
3a. Surrender to God when you have prayed a prayer, remove the time element as faith transcends time.
3b. Every prayer has its own set of time to be answered by God, wait patiently
3c. When the fullness of time comes, there are sometimes conditions that must be met. Learn to obey carefully all the conditions and commandments given.
3d. Flow into the fullness of the answered prayers. Many times, the longer it takes for the answer to come, the more glorious it is when the answer comes, even to the point of changing the entire dispensation and time continuum.
Category 4: When God answers ‘No’
Moses must have been very, very disappointed when God forbid him to enter the promise land and also told him not to pray and ask for that any more (Deuteronomy 3:26-27). He pleaded to God many, many times but to no avail. God told him not to speak of it anymore. However, when God cannot answer a prayer, He always seeks to reward us and comfort us with something close or better. With Moses, God ask him to go to the top of Mount Pisgah from which he is allowed to see the promise land in all directions (Deuteronomy 3:27). God might have even given an amplification of the things he saw, as God said ‘I have caused you to see with your eyes’ (Deuteronomy 34:4). On top of that, God Himself personally buried Moses and later resurrected his body early, an exception which the devil protested (Deuteronomy 34:5-6; Jude 1:9).
David prayed with all his might and strength for the child he had with Bathsheba. He fasted one whole week for the life of the child (2 Samuel 12:16-17). But God was not moved and took the child home as it was the judgment that must take place for David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:14). Despite this punishment upon David, God forgive him and gave him another son through Bathsheba. God especially loved this child and anointed this child from young (2 Samuel 12:24-25). The child was named by God as ‘beloved by the Lord.’ This was the child that God choose to continue the throne of David, and whom God chose to build His temple.
Whenever God says ‘No,’ He always has something better than what we ask. God understands all our desires and inclinations and limitations. Thus, when our hearts are clean and pure and we seek God and ask as according to His Will, even when it is not an accurate prayer or something which God can grant, He will always till reward and bless us with something better than we could have ever conceived or ask. Learn to trust in God that God knows far better than we do, what we need and what we require. This is the trust that David had learned through the many years of walking with God, such that when he made a mistake in numbering the Israelites, David chose to fall into the hands of God rather than into the hands of man (2 Samuel 24:14). In the end God used this incident to reveal where to build His temple but David was the first to build an altar of the Lord there (2 Samuel 24:25).
We should always trust in the goodness and mercy of our Father God. He created us and knows what is best for us. By all means, learn the secrets of prayer and be a mighty man or woman of prayer. In its finality, prayer is total surrender and dependence on God. It is utter trust, complete faith, true dependence on our invisible God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like our Lord Jesus said, our Father Himself delights in answering all our prayers that we pray in Jesus Name.