KEYS TO ANSWERED PRAYER
Memorised: O thou that hearest prayer,
unto thee shall all flesh come. Psalm 65:2
Read: Matthew 7:7-11, Bible in one year:
Hosea 11:14, Matthew 7:1-23
If Christians can master the art and
practice of prayer, this world will definitely become a battle place to live in
for them. Someone described prayer as a paradox. It is both simple and complex.
It is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try, and the sublime
strains that reach the Majesty on high. What is prayer? John Bunyan, while in
Bedford Prison, defined prayer as “a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring
out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance
of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God had promised according to the Word
for the good of the Church, with submission, in faith, to the will of God.” Our
God is a prayer-answering God. It is God’s will to answer the prayer of His
children. However, He operates on principles. There are conditions which
activate the answering of prayers by God. These I will refer to as keys to answered
prayers. Are you a child of God? It is the desire of your Father to answer all
of your prayers (John 16:23). If your prayers are not being answered, look
inward. Are you employing the appropriate keys to answered prayers?
One of such keys in contribution (2nd
Chronicles 7:14). Contribution described a state of feeling or showing of
sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming. Do you want your prayers answered?
Examine your relationship with the Lord. Are there sins not confessed in your
life? Psalm 66:18 says,
“If
I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
Approach God with humility and confess
your sins, iniquities and shortcomings to Him. Repent of them and ask for
forgiveness. Another key to answered prayers is whole-heartedness (Jeremiah
29:13). This has to do with your commitment and intimacy. How committed are you
to the Almighty God and to His work? How intimate is your relationship with God
and His Word? John 15:7 says,
“If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.”
Do you want all your prayers answered?
Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. The next key to answered prayers
is faith. Faith is one of the most important factors required for prayers to be
answered (Mark 11:24). How strong is your faith? To receive anything from God,
you must believe that you have received what you asked for and then you will
have it. The forth key to answered prayers is righteousness (John 9:31). Simply
put, righteousness denotes acting in accordance to the divine nature and being
free from the guilt of sin. A righteous person is morally upright. Such a
person abstains from all appearance of evil. The last (but not the least) key
to answered prayers is that you must ask in order to receive (Matthew 7:7).
Action Point:
Do you have any unanswered prayer? Apply
the keys to answered prayer to it today.
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