4 Keys to Answered Prayer
Have you ever wondered if your prayers make a difference or if they are being heard or answered? If you knew for sure your prayers would be answered would you pray more? How to get your prayers answered is a question many believers have. I want to share with you 4 simple Biblical keys that unlock the power of prayer and guarantee that your prayers will be answered! It’s important first though to understand what real prayer is.
Prayer Defined
Prayer defined in its simplest terms is talking with God. You sharing with Him and Him sharing with you. Prayer involves both talking and listening. Too often, we do all the talking. I want to encourage you to spend more time listening to what God wants to speak to you. Following that one tip alone will make a huge difference in how effective your prayers are. Just like communication with your spouse is crucial to the marriage relationship, prayer is an essential part of your relationship with God. So, make talking with God a priority in your life every day. Not only do you need to know how to get your prayers answered you need to know what real prayer looks like. We only need to look at the life of Jesus to find out.
Jesus Modeled a Life of Prayer
Prayer is an important element of the every day life of a Christian. Jesus’ disciples clearly saw this and the effect that prayer had in His life. He spent time in prayer by Himself and the disciples realized that the results Jesus was getting and the demonstration of God’s power and wisdom flowing from Jesus’ life directly was impacted by the intimate fellowship He enjoyed with His Father. We can experience greater results and fruit in our life when prayer is a vital part of our life. Read through the four gospels and note all the times Jesus prayed to the Father.
Different Kinds of Prayer have different rules…
There are many different kinds of prayer; united prayer, intercession, prayer of petition, corporate prayer, prayer of faith, prayer of agreement, etc. Each prayer has its own purpose and unique protocol. So, their are some unique rules for each different kind of prayer. It’s important to know what kind of prayer you are praying and use the rules that apply to that kind of prayer. That being said all prayer has common keys that need to be used.
How to Get Your Prayers Answered – use these 4 Keys
Here are 4 keys to getting your prayers answered regardless of the kind of prayer you are praying;
1. Pray God’s Will. The first key to getting your prayers answered is to pray what God wants. 1John 5:4-5 tells us, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” What an incredible promise. The way we pray His will, is to pray His Word. God reveals His will through His Word. Therefore, find scriptures that promise what you are praying for and include those scriptures in your prayer. When you do you can be assured God will hear that prayer and He will watch over that Word to see it accomplished. (Jeremiah 1:12)
2. Understand Righteousness. James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” In other words the prayers of a “righteous” person get answered. To be righteous means to be right with God. How do you get right with God? You must put your trust in Jesus. 2Corinthians 5:21 tells us “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ” Jesus takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. We are not made right with God based on what we do or don’t do, we are made righteous based on what Jesus did and if we believe and put our trust in the work of Jesus He gives us His righteousness. You must know and understand this Biblical key for your prayers to be effective.
3. Ask the FATHER in JESUS name. Jesus tells us in John 16:23, “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.” This is an important principle of prayer. “In that day”, means today, now that Jesus has ascended into heaven. When we are asking for something in prayer we need to be asking Father God in the powerful name of Jesus. The good news is as a believer you have direct access to the throne of God. You can come boldly before God and ask (pray) God according to His will. You only can do that when you know your are righteous (#2) and when you do make sure you are asking Him according to His Word. (#1)
4. Pray in Faith. James 1:5-8 says, “let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith , with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” This is a huge key to answered prayer. To have faith means you have one hundred percent confidence in God concerning whatever you are praying. You are fully persuaded with no wavering, questioning, or doubting. You know, that you know, that you know you have what you are praying for. How do you get faith? What do you do if you are doubting or wavering? You meditate on the Word of God that deals with the area of your prayer. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” You need to have unwavering faith in what you are praying for and in Jesus Christ.
Prayer is nothing fancy or complicated. Simply humble yourself, get alone with God, worship and praise Him, pray (talk with God), and let your needs be known according to His Word. Spend time in His presence, listening, praying in faith believing you have received and your prayers will be answered. How to get your prayers answered – put these 4 keys into practice and get ready to see “BREAKTHROUGH IN PRAYER”.