Conditions for Answered Prayer
- Thelma Wells
- Published Jan 15, 2004
It is important to understand the conditions for answered prayer. God is a God of order. He does not do anything just for the sake of doing it. He has a master plan for our prayer life that includes our attitudes and our reasons for praying.
Our acknowledgement of God honors, respects God’s good name, His character, His integrity, His sovereignty, and His power as our Heavenly Father. Do you remember in the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, The Lord’s Prayer, how it begins with “Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name.” Acknowledging God as holy opens the door for Him to communicate with His children.
Often people go to an earthly priest to confess their sins or discuss their issues. But they cannot fully relate or understand because they are limited in their flesh. Jesus has no limitations. As our great High Priest, Jesus listens and attends to our confessions. In fact, Jesus is the only priest, pastor, minister, prophet or bishop who can do us everlasting good. When we pray, therefore, we need to pray in the name of Jesus. We can be assured that when we do, Jesus attends to us and prays for us. We never pray alone. We pray with our great High Priest.
1. We must acknowledge God.
Our acknowledgement of God honors, respects God’s good name, His character, His integrity, His sovereignty, and His power as our Heavenly Father. Do you remember in the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, The Lord’s Prayer, how it begins with “Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name.” Acknowledging God as holy opens the door for Him to communicate with His children.
What father does not want to be honored and respected? When we honor our earthly fathers, there is a bond of unity that is established that creates a closeness one can hardly express. Our attitude toward God should be established at the onset to clear the way for our open communication with the Father of the universe.
2. We must support our prayers by the intercession of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The Son of God, Jesus, has the position as our heavenly intercessor to God. This means that He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God praying for us to His Father. I like to think that when I pray, Jesus says something like this to God, “Father, Thelma is in need of peace in her spirit. You promised that You would give her perfect peace if she keeps her mind on Me. Her mind is set on me because I see her studying Your word, applying Your principles, learning Your percepts, and recognizing Your Lordship. Please Sir, give her instant peace.” I believe right then and there, the peace of God comes over me and I calm down and begin to think clearly.
Jesus is our High Priest and has direct access to Deity. He is like the people He represents because He came to earth as a man and lived among us experiencing everything and anything we have or can experience. He understands our hurt, pain, sorrows, joy, excitement, and happiness. There is nothing we go through He cannot relate to. He is different from us because He is Righteousness and Truth. So when we approach God’s throne through Jesus we are there to receive mercy, grace and help in our time of need.
Often people go to an earthly priest to confess their sins or discuss their issues. But they cannot fully relate or understand because they are limited in their flesh. Jesus has no limitations. As our great High Priest, Jesus listens and attends to our confessions. In fact, Jesus is the only priest, pastor, minister, prophet or bishop who can do us everlasting good. When we pray, therefore, we need to pray in the name of Jesus. We can be assured that when we do, Jesus attends to us and prays for us. We never pray alone. We pray with our great High Priest.
Hebrews 4:14-16 reads, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
This just sums it up. When you’ve got Jesus praying for you, you don’t need anybody else. Hallelujah!
I am blown away by the orderliness of God. Not only has He provided for us a heavenly intercessor in Jesus, He has provided for us an earthly intercessor, the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:26-27 God anticipated that we would plead weakness or ignorance or give some excuse about how we can’t pray and don’t know how to pray. So the All-knowing God provided for us an earthly advocate to live inside us to guide us in our prayers.
Listen to this, “The Spirit also helps our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but thee Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
The Holy Spirit always interprets our prayers to the Father in accordance to the will of God. The Holy Spirit helps us understand God’s will for our lives. When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. This Holy Spirit of God is the person who convicts us when we do wrong, comforts us when we are sad, and guides us in what we do. We are so fortunate that God loves us enough to never leave us powerless, to never leave us without help. The Holy Spirit who indwells in us is our advocate in heaven. Wow! We have two great, high and holy advocates always working in unison to bring us into the presence and glory of God our Father.
If you have been feeling alone and not able to pray, trust the fact that you have Jesus and the Holy Spirit overshadowing any insecurity you may have about praying to God. You have the most potent, powerful positions in the universe on your side making your situation known and resolved by the Father.
If you don’t know God as Creator, Jesus as the Savior, and the Holy Spirit as your Guide, this is a great time to ask Him into your heart and to become Lord of your life. You can pray this prayer right now, wherever you are. Jesus, if you are real, if you care about me, please come into my heart and become my Lord and Savior. I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and that You, Jesus live in the world today. I want to be able to fully depend on you to help me in my time of need and to rejoice with me when I’m happy. I receive you as Lord. I want the Holy Spirit to live inside me helping me with all my issues. Thank you for accepting me because I fully accept you. Amen
Your wondering days are over. Jesus came into your life according to Romans 10:9 that says, “If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”
Now you have all the rights and privileges of all God’s children and the promise of life eternal.
Sponsored by Master's Divinity School & Master's Graduate School of Divinity
