Introduction
We often pray to God and expect an answer, but we don’t always understand why He answers some prayers and not others. The Bible teaches us that there are principles that influence how God answers our petitions. In this study, I will explore the 6 Conditions for Answering Prayers, looking at what Scripture says about faith, forgiveness, obedience, and other aspects essential to an effective prayer life.
We Must Pray
The Bible teaches us to pray to God. We can all raise our voices to the God of heaven. It is a privilege we have through Jesus, our mediator. However, the Bible also presents some conditions that exist for God to answer our prayers, or those who ask us to pray.
In today’s study, we will learn a little more about prayer. In this study, we will present the necessary conditions for God to hear us.
1st Condition: Have Faith and Believe in God
Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.“
Mark 11:24 – “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive it, and it will be yours.“
Of the six conditions for prayers to be answered, the first one we can mention is having faith in God. Having faith is the same as believing and trusting in Him. The biblical text tells us that whatever we ask of God, we must believe that we will receive it. Obviously, there are exceptions to what we ask of God, as we will see later.
When God promises a blessing, we can ask Him for it, because He promised it to us! If the conditions for receiving it are within the Lord’s expectations and conditions, He will certainly grant it to His child. However, for this to happen, we need to have faith and trust in His promises. God is the One who searches our hearts. He knows when we make our requests only in words or if there is in fact confidence and belief when we ask for something. He will reward each one according to their faith.
2nd Condition: Forgive Our Neighbor
James 4:3 – “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, that you may spend it on your passions.“
The second condition for God to answer our prayers is related to the purpose for which we ask for something. The apostle James warns us that many requests are not answered because they are motivated by selfish intentions. Even if our intentions seem good, God knows the results of the blessings He grants us and knows how they can affect not only our lives, but also the lives of others.
An example of this might be the desire to become a great doctor. Although the request for wisdom may seem legitimate, God, in His omniscience, knows the future consequences that we cannot see. Imagine that, after passing a medical school entrance exam, a person deviates from God’s principles during college, embracing theories that distance him or her from the faith. Although the request may seem good at first glance, it can have destructive consequences for the spiritual life of the person making it.
Therefore, the requests we make to God should not have selfish purposes. Even if there are no selfish intentions, what we ask for may be detrimental to our faith. God, in His wisdom, knows what is best for us and often does not grant requests that could distance us from Him or that bring more harm than good into our lives.
3rd Condition: Forgive Our Neighbor
Matthew 6:14-15 – “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.“
Christians widely practice the prayer of “Our Father“, taught by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. However, many repeat it without reflecting on what they are asking, especially in the part that says: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Jesus teaches us that the forgiveness we ask God for is conditional on our ability to forgive others.
Jesus clearly warns that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us either. Divine forgiveness is directly linked to our willingness to forgive those who offend us. Therefore, how can we expect God to answer our request for forgiveness if we do not demonstrate the same attitude towards our fellow men?
This principle goes beyond forgiveness and applies to other situations in which we ask God for something. If, for example, we refuse to help someone who is in need, God may reject our request for similar help. Unforgiveness or selfishness toward others can invalidate our own requests to God unless there is true repentance for our actions. Among the conditions for prayers to be answered, forgiving our neighbor is of utmost importance!
4th Condition: Do Not Live in Iniquity
Proverbs 28:9 – “Whoever turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer will be an abomination.“
Psalms 66:18 – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.“
Isaiah 59:2 – “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.“
For God to answer our prayers, it is essential that we do not live in the practice of sin and wickedness. When we disobey His will, we separate ourselves from His fellowship and therefore cannot be considered children of God. In this case, the only prayer that God will answer is that of repentance and asking for forgiveness, which must result in a genuine change in our lives, abandoning the practice of sin.
Many Christians, however, live in sin and still consider themselves children of God. However, God is clear that our iniquities create separation between us and Him. If we do not live according to His principles, He will not hear our prayers, regardless of how close we feel to Him. When we stray from His ways, He will not answer our petitions.
“If we still cherish iniquity in our hearts, if we cling to any conscious sin, the Lord will not hear us; but the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul will always be accepted. After we have made amends for all the faults of which we are conscious, we may believe that God will grant our petitions. Our own merits will never commend us to God’s favor; it is the merit of Christ that will save us, His blood that will cleanse us; but we have a work to do to fulfill the conditions of acceptance.” – Steps to Christ, pp. 95-96.
5th Condition: Keep His Commandments
1 John 3:22 – “And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.“
The fourth condition presents us with the need to stop practicing what is wrong. The fifth condition presents us with the need to live and obey God’s will, within the limits that we know it.
The apostle John justifies that we will receive from God what we rightly ask for “because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing in his sight“. Note that here there is an active position on the side of the one who asks. A Christian who considers himself a child of God to the point of asking for something must be living His principles so that God will answer his requests.
It is not enough “don’t do what is wrong“! We must do what is asked of us! Many may consider themselves as not living in the practice of iniquity (fourth condition), but they fail greatly in this fifth condition!
Keeping His Commandments is one of the conditions for prayers to be answered. Obviously, this condition becomes conditional on what is known to Him. God will never charge someone to do something that he does not know what should be done, not even when it is partially known to him, without having a full understanding of some commandment. God is called “good judge” and certainly analyzes each case individually.
6th Condition: Strong Decision and Insistence
Luke 11:5-8 – “And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine on his way is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him; and he shall answer from within, and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give them unto them; I tell you, though he will not get up and give them, because he is his friend; yet because of his importunity he will get up and give him as many as he needeth.“
The sixth condition is related to the insistence and importunity of the beggar. In the practical example that Jesus presented in the text above, God also considers the insistence in the request made. Insistence demonstrates real concern and interest in what is being asked. God tests our requests by the constancy and insistence with which we ask. Of course, it is not enough to simply “to bother” to God with a specific request for Him to grant us. We also need to consider everything that was presented in the other conditions.
The Bible presents us with these 6 conditions so that the Lord can answer our prayers. Of course, there are exceptions to each of them, and it all depends on the person’s knowledge and the moment in which they find themselves. God is good and knows how to judge each case, as I mentioned earlier. There are times when the Lord may answer someone’s request, even if they are not living within these conditions, because He is God and knows all things! But, on our part, we can only do what we know, ask with faith and believe that we will receive, according to His will! We also need to consider everything that was presented in the other conditions.
May God bless us!
