How to get your prayers answered [1]

Memory Verse: John 15: 7 – “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

The Word for Today devotional by United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) says

Have you spent weeks, months, or even years praying about something specific? Are you saying, ‘Lord, I know what Your Word says, so why isn’t it working for me?’

In order to get the result you are praying for, you must be able to answer these three questions:

1) Are you praying for God’s will? Jesus said, ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you’ (v. 7 NKJV). The word ‘abide’ speaks of intimacy and close connection.

It paints a picture of ‘home’, the place where you experience provision and nurture. When you have that kind of relationship with God, you will know His heart and His desires so well that your will is going to line up with His will. As a result, you will get what you ask for. Do not just assume that what you are praying for is in line with God’s will.

Instead, test your prayer by applying the ‘abiding principle’. Abiding brings spiritual maturity. When you are spiritually mature, you begin to pray differently. Your prayers are not self-centred and self-seeking.

The time you spend in the presence of the One you love most becomes more important to you than the end result you hope for. You do not mind waiting, because you realise God’s timing is always perfect.

When He chooses to say no to your request, you rejoice and say, ‘Then you’ve something better in mind for me, and I trust you.’ Have you reached that point yet in your walk with Him?