"Prayer is simply faith....faith and prayer move God." - E.M. Bounds
First of all, to have your prayers answered by God, you need to be a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. The only prayer God hears by a deliberate sinner is one where the sinner comes to God in true repentance and sincerely asks for forgiveness and for Jesus to come into his heart and transform him and his life. Needless to say, when believers commit unintentional sin, we too should confess it and ask the Lord for forgiveness. We cannot be deliberately sinning and expect God to grant our every request. Indeed, you should question whether you are truly a believer if you deliberately and willfully sin. But I am reminded of King David where he committed adultery and had the woman's husband killed. When he felt remorse and repented, the Lord forgave him, but there were consequences. David had severe trials and family relationships went sour; one of his sons wanted to overthrow him and become king instead, and David had to flee for his life. (2 Samuel 11, 12, and 15).
The LORD God had said of David that he was "a man after Mine own heart." (1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22)
So even godly David fell into gross sin, but when he showed true repentance, God forgave him. My point is, when you sin , immediately repent and ask God's forgiveness so that He can heal you and restore you to a right relationship with Him once again. Then He will continue to answer your future prayers.
That brings me to the thought that you need to have a close, personal, intimate relationship with God through Christ Jesus so that your prayers will more likely be answered by Him. If you have this close relationship and are reading your Bible daily, you will have a better idea of what God's will is, and you will pray accordingly. If a prayer goes against God's will He, of course, will not answer that prayer.
1 John 5:14-15 informs us: (14) "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: (15) And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him."
Someone has said there are no unanswered prayers. That your prayer is answered even when God says "no". And how often have you prayed and then waited and waited for what seemed like forever before your prayer was answered? We dare not question the Lord's timing. He knows best.
For our prayers to be answered, we need to be definite and specific in our requests to God. We should not be vague in our prayers, nor should we have some sort of abstract belief that God "might" answer our requests. Faith and prayer go hand in hand.
Remember the parable of the importunate widow? (Luke 18:1-8) She continually persisted in her plea to an unjust judge, who got so tired of her pestering him that he finally granted her request. This widow is a wonderful example of what insistent prayer can do. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." - James 5:16b
We need to pray with importunity, insistence, earnestness, faith; heaven respects and God hears and answers such prayers. Importunity in prayer consists of "insistence, intensity, persistence, perseverance, and patience. "
For our prayers to be answered, we need to be definite and specific in our requests to God. We should not be vague in our prayers, nor should we have some sort of abstract belief that God "might" answer our requests. Faith and prayer go hand in hand.
Remember the parable of the importunate widow? (Luke 18:1-8) She continually persisted in her plea to an unjust judge, who got so tired of her pestering him that he finally granted her request. This widow is a wonderful example of what insistent prayer can do. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." - James 5:16b
We need to pray with importunity, insistence, earnestness, faith; heaven respects and God hears and answers such prayers. Importunity in prayer consists of "insistence, intensity, persistence, perseverance, and patience. "
Sometimes we pray in a ho-hum manner and/or out of habit and do not pray fervent, heartfelt prayers, not prayers with importunity, as we should be doing. Prayers with no soul, if you will; or "prayerless prayers", as E. M. Bounds calls it. If you are so disinterested in your manner of prayer and your prayer is not heartfelt, why should the Lord be interested in paying attention to and answering your dull prayers?
"It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you to hate and flee from sin as you should." - A.W. Tozer
"Prayer is not monologue, but dialog. God's voice in response to mine is its most essential part." - Andrew Murray
It has been said, "Prayer moves the arm which moves the universe." Also, "When our prayers are answered it is the evidence of our abiding in Christ. To pray and receive clear answers, not once or twice, but daily, this is the sure test, and is the gracious point of our vital connection with Jesus Christ." - E.M. Bounds
"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." - Jesus speaking at John 15:7
Just a thought: the fact that God answers prayer is proof that He does exist. The fact that a life can be transformed through faith in Jesus Christ is proof of our Lord's redeeming power. Therefore, God and Jesus care about us, are interested in us, and listen to us. And, if we have a pure heart, will also answer our prayers. Don't be a Christian in name only; let it be true and totally surrendered devotion to the Lord and not to the world.
Also, when God answers our prayers, it brings glory to Him. We are always to give God the glory !
Answered prayer gives us the assurance that God is near, that He loves us, and is watching over us. Answered prayer also builds our faith. It encourages us to come even more frequently to the Lord with our requests, and with great faith that He will answer in due time.
I have also written about reasons to pray as well as the power of prayer . The main thing is not to just read about prayer, but to actually get down on your knees and pray fervent and heartfelt prayers to the good Lord. The time is short. The Rapture could occur at any time. We are now living in the end of the end times. Now is the time to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). If you are not sure how to pray, stop and ask the Lord for the wisdom to pray in His will.
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." - James 1:5-7
The above verses give another way to have your prayers answered: to ask in faith, not doubting.
"....(the) power of prayer can never be overrated. They who cannot serve God by preaching need not regret. If a man can but pray he can do anything. He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal." - Charles Spurgeon
"Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness."
William Carey
More could be written about how to have your prayers answered, but I have touched upon the vital points to consider. For a long time, I did not pray at all, but I was not truly born again then. It took awhile for me to get into the habit of praying frequently once I actually knew the Lord. It really does make a difference in your relationship with the Lord when you are often in fellowship with Him, and it surely builds your faith and love for God when He answers your prayers.
Have a blessed and Christ-filled weekend!
"I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech." - Psalm 17:6
"The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles."
Psalm 34:17
