Does prayer have to be answered for people to believe in its power?
You have asked a very excellent question. Each and every Christian has asked
themselves and God that same question many, many times. Some have even cried out
in desperation that their prayers are not being answered.
Prayer is our communication link with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Not
every prayer is answered right away. God has four answers to each question we
ask, Yes, Maybe, Wait, and No.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that we must operate in the faith mode. Faith is being
sure that whatever we hope for, pray for, seek God for, we will believe that God
will answer that request even when we do not see the prayer being answered at
that moment.
Turn to Luke 11:1-13, Jesus was teaching about prayer. Prayer isn't like the
'Santa Claus' in the sky list of what you want because you have been good. It is
also not rubbing the magic glass bottle and forcing a genie to grant you three
wonderful wishes. Prayer is humbling yourself before the Lord in recognition of
your own lack and God's great ability to supply. It is respectful and persistent
pouring out of your heart's desire to the only one who can change or fulfill
them. Prayer is your expression of your longing to commune with God. Perhaps our
first prayer request should be "Lord teach me to pray to honor you."
In Daniel 10:12-13, Daniel was praying to the Lord questioning why his prayers
were not answered. God told Daniel that he heard his prayer from the first day,
but Satan did everything he could to block the answer to the prayer. If you ever
felt like God did not hear your prayer, then you are not alone. Every Christian
would like to receive an immediate response to prayer. And when we do not
receive an answer we think that God does not hear us or He just does not care.
But neither is true. God always hears - and he always answers- each and every
single prayer. However, His answer is sometimes delayed for reasons that are out
of our control or have nothing to do with us. Please wait patiently on God
knowing that He will answer in his own way and in his own time.
For over 26 years I have been a Christian. A few of my prayers took many years
to be answered while other ones were answered the same day. And yet many have
not yet come to fruition. But I will not give up praising God for the unanswered
prayers.
In the year 2000, God had called me to the ministry. I was in college studying
theology in preparation for ordination. But upon graduation each and every door
had been blocked. I kept asking God "Why," and never truly heard an answer. I
kept the desire for my ministry to begin someday. This past June, God spoke to
me "Now is the time!" The floodgates opened and from June 17, to today, I have
been so busy and involved in a ministry that is still unfolding. I thank God for
letting me wait patiently for 6 years. During that time I recovered from 2
severe illnesses, financial loss, my church has fallen apart, loss of dear
friends and family members, and I still kept praising the Lord. That is what God
wants you to do. Patiently waiting on the Lord, no matter how long, totally
trusting in the Lord that He will give you the desires of your heart.
I was reminded of a prayer template that we can follow when we approach the
Father.
A. We are to acknowledge what the Father is to us. Tell Him personally how you
feel about Him.
B. Praise Him for what He has done in your life. Praise Him for what He has done
for mankind. Praise Him for the creation.
C. Confess your faults to the Lord. Ask Him for forgiveness and strength to
continue onward without sinning.
D. Confess your needs before the Lord. Remember that He already knows what you
need, but He wants to hear it from your lips and heart.
E. Thanksgiving. Thank the Lord for sacrificing His son Jesus on the Cross.
Thank God for the answer to your prayers. Thank the Lord for all the blessings
He has given you.
F. Salutation. This is the love feast before the Lord. Singing praises, saying
Psalms, reading to the Lord, Telling the Lord how much you love Him. Continual
praising.
Then sit in quietness before the Lord. Just wait on Him. Maybe you will not hear
anything right at that moment, but just rest in His comfort and calm.
I truly wish to set aside a time every day to pray. But, I am the type of person
that cannot commit to a set time, so my prayers to the Lord run continuously all
day long. However you choose to commune with the Lord, know that He will meet
you, stand beside you and listen to you.
Sue Ramsey
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No it does not!
If we are talking about Christian people, they already know the power of prayer
for God answered the first prayer they ever really prayed and that was the
prayer of a sinner that we prayed at the time of our conversion.
If we are thinking of unsaved people, then most of them believe in the power of
prayer because of the lives of truly converted individuals that they have
watched change before their very eyes.
Next if people believe the bible like the unsaved of my family did, yes they
believe in prayer.
I would have to say that most people believe in prayer even if they have not
actually seen prayer answered. My reasoning behind this is the great number of
unsaved that has asked me to pray for them.
As someone has rightly said, there is no atheist on the battlefields of war.
So to answer this question, No, people do not have to see prayer answered to
believe in prayer.
Besides all this if we believe in God, then we must believe in prayer.
James Avery
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God always answers prayers. However, sometimes, when it's for the greater good of the person involved and the greater glory of God, the answer is "no" or "not yet". Many who feel their prayers haven't been answered simply didn't receive the answer they were expecting. That being said, people do definitely believe in the power of prayer when the answer is yet unknown. We may not know in what way God will answer our prayers, but we can trust Him to provide for us!
AJ
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The prayer should answer the people and they should believe that it powered.
Sasha Kipnis
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Not necessarily it is only God who
knows which prayers to answer and which ones not to. Some prayers will not be
answered because the motive of making such prayers is not right. The attitude
which every Christian believer should have is to pray with the right motive
without ceasing and leave the rest to God. Whether prayers are answered or not
God remains God and praise be to his glory.
Weldon Siongok
Nairobi Kenya
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Though from the past, one could believe that prayers has effect but people
that are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God want to see that God
still answers prayers before they believe. This is one of the reasons why people
move from one church to the other searching for answers to their prayers. Also
note that hope deferred makes the heart sick even to the believers. It is true
that prayers need to be answered for people to believe in its power based on the
following reasons:
1. John 4:48 - Jesus Himself said, except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not
believe.
2. John 14:13 Whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do that the father may
be glorified in the son. If ye ask anything in my name I shall do it.
3. John 9:3 That the work of God should be made manifest in Christ.
Jesus said, thank you because you always answer my prayer. After feeding people
with bread and fish, they believed and followed him everywhere. When they saw
answered prayer in the Bible the seven sons of Sceva wanted to demonstrate the
power at last. Acts 19:17-19 "Fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord
Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came confessing and telling their
deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together
and burned them in the sight of all." NKJV
Hoping that I have tried in answering the question.
Femi Jacobs
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This is a good question and I pray that God will give us a greater level of
insight and understanding about the power of prayer.
In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus said "Have faith in God. 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. Therefore
I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them".
Hebrews 11:1 says "NOW FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen".
According to the scriptures listed above, we have to have faith in order for our
prayers to be answered.
Notice what Jesus said in Mark 11:24 "What things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." This means that we
have to believe that we receive the answer(s) when we pray; not after the answer
comes.
If we believe in the power of prayer after we receive the answer, then it is no
longer faith. Faith in God requires us to believe Him even when it does not look
like things are changing for the better. Therefore, we should believe in the
power of prayer even though we do not see immediate results. If we put our
faith, hope and confidence in God while we pray, then the answer(s) to our
prayers will come.
Melvin Lewis
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This question is one I'm not sure there is a definite answer to. I think it
depends on a believer's level of spiritual maturity and where their walk with
the Lord is at. It brings many questions to consider, I think.
My first question back to this is are you sure your prayer wasn't answered or
just not as you wanted it to be? We live in a society that tells us we deserve
all we want and, with fast food, that we should get it fast and hot! Some people
pray for a situation for years before they receive an answer.
Do you have a balanced prayer life? Do you only pray when in need, or do you
pray to praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He has done or given to
you?
Do you pray in the will of God? This may be hard to tell, but there are some
guidelines I learned through a study I have been in. You are in the will of God
if you are asking for blessing for others, if you are asking for His kingdom to
be expanded, if you are asking for Him to send someone, be careful it may be
you, to do His work in some area (Matt. 9:37-38-Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the
harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field."), asking for
salvation for others (1 Tim. 2:4-who wants all men to be saved and come to a
knowledge of the truth.), rebuking Satan in the name of Jesus Christ (Eph.
6:12-For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of
this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms.)
The Scriptures I looked at showed me that when people prayed "in the Spirit" (or
as they felt God called them to and for what He called them for) and trusted and
submitted to Him, He answered. 1 Chron. 5:20, Romans 1:10, Eph. 6:18, 1 Tim.
2:1, and Hebrews 5:7
When the people didn't follow Him or were rebellious, He didn't answer. Proverbs
28:9 and Isaiah 1:15
Does that mean every time we don't get answers we are doing something against
Him? Not always, we just may need to be persistent in prayer and listen and
watch for answers that may be different than what we were expecting.
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Prayer has absolutely no power whatsoever. This is why people are
disillusioned and disgruntled when their prayers are not answered. They think,
"Why is my prayer not answered? There must not be a God. God is mad at me." Or
whatever they think. The truth is that many pray. Many of all religions pray.
The power is not in the prayer. It is in the God that they are praying to.
Answered prayers are exclusively contingent upon the choice of God to answer or
not. Believing that He loves us and knows what is best for us is the key to
happiness. If we pray to the one true God, the Father of Jesus Christ, and He
chooses not to grant us our desire, it is because He knows there is something
better for us than what we want. Perhaps this failure will launch us to greater
victory. Perhaps giving us the thing we ask for will invoke pride and arrogance.
God knows. The question is which God are you praying to and do you believe in
Him? Check out James 4:2-3.
James Jones, Pastor
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The simple answer is "NO". God answers all prayers but in three ways, i.e.,
Yes, No, Wait. A prayer is simply our trust in the Almighty and All Knowing God.
If we do not get a positive answer to our prayers, it does not mean that prayer
has no power. A glance at the Word of God would provide ample evidence for the
power of prayer.
Biju George, Punthala
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The Issue of answers to prayer is quite interesting. We must know that the
power of prayer cannot be discussed in relation to whether its answered or not.
Eventually it is our responsibility to pray and God responsibility to determine
how he will answer prayer. He may answer and say:
1. No
2. Yes or Hold on its not yet the time to receive what you are asking for
Eventually answers to prayer are based on God's will for our life. Daniel's
prayer was heard and answered the very day he prayed in Daniel 9,and 10. What
caused his prayer to be answered was: He understood what was on the heart of
God, that is, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years and the 70
years were over and they needed to be delivered from bondage. He also understood
that just because the 70 years were over did not mean the will of God will be
automatic. Secondly he went through the emptying process. This is when he
repented of the sins that had taken them into bondage thirdly he waited upon the
Lord in prayer - for God is (not us) responsible for when and how he would
answer prayers.
Some people are busy answering their own prayers - like I think God does not
want or its not the will of God.....prejudging the process
It takes faith to know that God will answer prayer. Why should you even bother
praying if you suspect that God is not capable of answering the prayer?
Bernard Bushe
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No - prayer does not have to be answered in order for people to believe in its power any more so than carbon monoxide has to be smelled in order for it to be deadly. Besides, we are not fully capable of knowing when or how prayer is answered, especially when the answer does not conform to our presuppositions and parameters. When it comes to prayer, seeing (an answer) does not equate to believing and especially so when we realize that God very well may delay His answer for a lengthy period - again well beyond our parameters. Besides, we are told to pray out of obedience and God will hear, but the Bible never says we will receive a discernable answer every time.
David Paterson
