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There are a lot of discouraged pray-ers out there. I know, for I have been there too. So that we are not defeated before we even start, we would do well to take note of these five elements that the Bible says are essential to having God both hear and answer our prayers. If we do these things we can be sure that our prayers will be answered. That is not to say that we can use these principles as spiritual "magic charms" to make God accomplish our will on earth. The whole point is to accomplish His will on earth as it is in heaven. Thus, central to praying properly is the idea of aligning our hearts and minds with the heart and mind of God. He will then enable us to pray rightly, properly, and in accordance with His will. The job of prayer is not, as many teach, to change God’s will, but to come into alignment with it. Many teach about using prayer to change circumstances, which God very well may do. But let us not forget that one of the most important aspects of prayer is that it changes us. Our sanctification is crucial to our spiritual health, part of which is praying properly. How kind of God that He gives us such a wonderful opportunity to approach Him directly with our concerns and petitions. So let’s do it as He has asked us to do, and let’s not be surprised when things start happening. Here are five prerequisites for answered prayer:

1. Faith

Mark 11:22-24 says, "And Jesus answered saying to them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.’" The principle here is that we must have faith that we have received what we have asked of God in order to receive it. There is no room for doubt (see James 1:5-8). This is not some power of positive thinking ploy, nor is it an excuse for commanding God to do what we want. If we feel that we are forcing faith into a certain prayer, it may not be God’s will. When we are in line with God’s will, faith to pray something is not worked up by our flesh but rather it flows out from within us like a spring that overflows. Such is the work of the Spirit when we are aligned with the plans and purposes of God.

2. Persistence

Luke 11:5-10 says, "Then He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him"; and from inside he answers and says, "Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything." I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.’" The clear lesson in this story is that God honors persistence in prayer. God doesn’t always give us what we ask for right away. Sometimes He tests our faith by allowing us to have to continually and consistently seek God in prayer. Persistence demonstrates faith, and as God puts us in such positions, our motives can be purified and refined so that we can see what is really going on in our hearts. If we want to see answers to our prayers, we need to tarry in prayer, not just one time, but over and over again, not losing heart all the while.

3. Without Ceasing

1 Thessalonians 5:17 gives us another qualification for answered prayer. It says that we must "pray without ceasing." This command is echoed in Ephesians 6:18 which says, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." Since Jesus Himself wasn’t literally praying constantly but only at certain times, it would be unwise to conclude that we should spend our entire lives in a prayer closet. I think the principle on an individual level is that everything we do, say, and want in life must be filtered through the will of God according to the grid of Scripture. This will require that we are faithful to make time to pray because we will realize that prayer is inseparable from a lifestyle that depends fully on Christ. But this command could also be understood to be directed to the church as a whole, meaning that the church, which Jesus called a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13), should be faithful to be doing what it can to be praying around the clock. Not everybody can pray all the time, but somebody can pray some of the time. This does not need to be made legalistic, but the heart of Christ is clearly that prayer would come to take on a higher priority in the church. The same is true for us as individual believers.

4. Righteousness

James 5:16 says, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." The principle which this passage exposes is that the church’s prayer, as well as the individual’s, is hindered by the presence of unconfessed sin. If we want to discern the will of God and pray rightly, we must first confess our sin to God and to those whom we have sinned against.

5. According to God’s Will

1 John 5:14-15 reminds us that we must pray according to God’s will if we want to see our prayers answered. It says, "And this is the confidence that we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." To pray according to God’s will is to pray according to what God wants done. This is something the Spirit of God will enable us to do (see Romans 8:26-27) if we are humble and willing to listen and be changed according to the Scripture.

God delights in giving us the chance to commune with Him through prayer and to move mountains just by faith if only we would ask. Prayer is powerful, and we must not underestimate its worth. Answered prayer is possible and the desire of God, but we must do it God’s way by His Spirit and according to His Word and guiding principles therein. May God make us effective and powerful pray-ers.

Adapted from Catch Fire: A Call to Spiritual Awakening by Brent Barnett.

"'Christ in You...'" from Dale Krebbs

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