Answered Prayer


According to the teachings of the Word of God there are 12 things you MUST do and 1 thing you MUST NOT do in order to have your prayers answered.

  The one thing you must NOT do is ask amiss.

  • James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
  So then if you are asking for selfish reasons, or greedy reasons, you will not receive what you ask for. The Best prayers are always those that pray for others.

  Now, as i mentioned before, there are 12 things that you must do, according to the Word of God, so that your prayers are answered, they are:

1)        You MUST ask,
  • Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
  So if you do not ask, how do you expect to receive?

2)        You MUST pray to the Father,
  • John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
  • John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
  So we do not pray to Jesus, we are to pray to the Father if we are in need of something. This is not saying you can’t pray to Jesus, you can pray to Him, to thank Him, to praise Him, or to just commune with Him. But if you are wanting something, it is best to ask, how the Word of God instructs us to ask, and that is to His Father.

3)        You MUST pray in Jesus name,
  • John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
  • John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
4)        You MUST believe you will receive it,
  • Matthew 17: 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
  • Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
  • Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
  • Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
5)        You MUST have faith, and not doubt,
  • Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
  • Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
  • James 1:6 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. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
6)        You MUST forgive others,
  • Mark 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
7)        You MUST have thanksgivings with your prayers,
  • Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
8)        You MUST abide in His Word,
  • John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
9)        You Must be righteous,
  • James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
  The question then is, what is righteousness? Forget what i believe it is, forget what you think it is, forget what people say it is, what does the Word of God say it is?
  • I John 2:29 If ye know that He (Jesus) is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
  • I John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He (Jesus) is righteous. 8 He that (knowingly and willingly ) committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not (knowingly and willingly) commit sin; for his seed (the Word) remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
  • Ezekiel 3:20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
  • I Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
  • I Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (sin)
10)    You MUST treat your Spouse as Bible says to, if your married,
  • I Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker (physical) vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
  It’s possible your prayers are not being answered, because you are not treating your spouse as the Word of God says to treat your spouse.

11)    You MUST keep His (Jesus) Commandments,
  • I John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That we should 1) Believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, AND 2) Love One Another, as He (Jesus) gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
12)    It MUST be the will of God,
  • I John 5:14 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.
  Want you prayers answered, Do these 12 things:

1.    Ask.
2.    Pray to the Father.
3.    Pray in the name of Jesus.
4.    Believe you will receive what you are asking for.
5.    Do not doubt, have faith.
6.    Forgive others.
7.    Pray with thanksgiving.
8.    Live by what the Word of God says.
9.    Do only righteousness.
10.  Treat your spouse like the Word of God says to.
11.  Keep His Commandments (Believe in Jesus, AND Love One Another)
12.  Ask that His will be done and not yours.

  If you have a need from God, confess this need to a Christian brother or sister, so they may pray for you also. If you refuse to ask Christian brothers or sisters to pray for you concerning a particular matter or need, your prayers may not be answered, because of a Pride issue that you may have. Humble yourself, if you need help from God, First do what you can on your own, if that fails and you still need help, confide in a Christian brother or sister and listen to advise, if then you still need help, then both you and who you confided in take it to God in Prayer.
  • Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
  Many people pray to God by themselves, instead of sharing their problems or concerns with others, then wander why God does not answer their prayers, when the Truth is, they have not did all they can themselves first. God only helps those who help themselves. First confess what your needs are, or need help with, to a Christian brother or sister,
  • James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
  So if you pray to God for something, God’s first thought might be, have you confessed your need to other Christians, before taking it to the Creator of the entire Universe? Have you done all that you could do? If you haven't then God’s hands are tied.

  For example. Bill has a lusting problem all his life, he go Saved 10 years ago, but he can’t stop looking at Porn. He has prayed to God many times over the years, to help him with this problem. Bill knows it is a major fault in his Christian walk, but he continues to pray to God for help in this area of his life. The problem is, even though God desires to help Bill, He won’t, because Bill is not going by the instructions that God gave him in His Word. God (through His Word) has told Bill, that he must confess his faults to each other so they may be healed. Bill has bypassed this step, and went straight to God with his problem. You see God is ready to help Bill, as soon as he starts doing what the Word of God says to do. God is prepared to deliver Bill of Lusting, when Bill humbles himself, confesses his faults to other Christian brothers or sisters, and then his healing can begin.
  • Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
  You have a need from God? You need help from God? Who else is praying with you concerning your need?

  Also, when praying, realize, that God’s time is not like our time,
  • II Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
  Many falsely claim, this means God has no time at all, however the verse is quite clear that one thousand years is but a single day to God. King David verifies this in:
  • Psalms 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
  So when you pray, try to keep that in mind, If you pray for something and God answers your prayer within 4.22 days, He has answered your prayer in less than a second according to His time. If God answers your prayer in less then 8.44 months, He has answered your prayer in less than a minute in His time, and if He takes 42.2 YEARS to answer a prayer, that’s less than an hour in His time. So be patient, His time is not our time.

In His Holy and Precious Name, Jesus Christ