Biblical Prayer: God Answers

God promises to answer all prayers…
Exodus 22:23, 27b; Psalms 91:14-15, 34:15, 17; Zechariah 13:9
Psalms 37:4-5; 65:2
Isaiah 58:9, 65:24, 30:19; Jeremiah 29:11-14, 33:2-3
Matthew 18:19-20; Mark 11:23-24

…Except the prayers of the Wicked
Proverbs 28:9; Zechariah 7:11-14; Proverbs 15:8, 29; John 9:31

But if the Wicked repent, God hears them, too.
2 Chronicles 7:13-15; Psalms 51:16-17; Isaiah 55:6-7; Ezekiel 18:21-23, 27-31

Sometimes the answer is “No.”
Luke 16:19-26, God will not change the past.
Luke 16:27-31, God will not cross another person’s will.
Numbers 22:2-6, 24:10-13, God will not harm someone else to benefit you.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10, God will not give you what you want when He has something better in mind.
Numbers 20:8-12; Deuteronomy 3:23-26, God will not change His previous final answer.

More About Biblical Prayer

Copyright information, disclaimers, and sponsors
Return to homepage


God promises to answer all prayers…

 Exodus 22:23, 27b; Psalms 91:14-15, 34:15, 17; Zechariah 13:9 (9/19/08)

The saddest words I ever hear at church are "God didn't answer that prayer."  This sentence makes me sad for two reasons.  First, it means that God chose not to deliver whatever was requested, and the speaker was disappointed, hurt, or angry – sometimes all three.  But second, it shows that the speaker has some basic misconceptions about prayer.   The Bible contains many promises that God will always answer the prayers of his people.  We are reading six of them today.

Today’s Prayer: Dear God, Give me grace to accept your answer, whatever it is.  Amen.



Psalms 37:4-5; 65:2 (9/22/08)

God always answers prayer, one way or the other. Many passages suggest that if you do what God wants you to do, God will grant your petition.  That seems kind of mercenary, at first glance, and I have read books and heard conversations that dismiss these passages on the grounds that "they reflect a primitive understanding." 

Here's an alternative:  maybe these passages reflect an extremely sophisticated understanding of my relationship to God.  If I, with all my heart, want to do what God wants, then I am very likely to get what I want, because what I want will be completely aligned with God's will.  What did Jesus say?  "Here's what I want – but nevertheless, thy will be done."  More than what he himself wanted, Jesus wanted God's will be to done.  And that, he got.

Today’s Prayer: God, Help me to know what you want.  Then help me to do it.  Amen.



Isaiah 58:9, 65:24, 30:19; Jeremiah 29:11-14, 33:2-3 (9/23/08)

It isn't just the psalmists who say that God always answers prayer.  The prophets say the same thing.  Jeremiah, the gloomiest prophet of them all, was about half-way convinced that the Israelites had lost their position as God's Chosen People, but even he reports that God promises to answer prayer.

Today’s Prayer: God, You know what help I need better than I do.  Help me.  Amen.



Matthew 18:19-20; Mark 11:23-24 (9/24/08)

Hebrew and Greek do not have the forms "thou, thee, thy, thine."  They do have the forms, "you, y'all."  Between archaic forms and failure to distinguish singular from plural, most English translations obscure which "you" is meant in the original language.  Most of the time, this isn't a problem, either because the context is clear, or because it doesn't much matter either way.  Sometimes I think it is a problem, especially in the promises that God will give us what we pray for. 

Many Bible readers are puzzled by today's passages.  I believe there are three keys here.  First, we need to pray in the name of Jesus.  This means praying exactly the way Jesus would pray, for exactly the things He would pray for.  It does not mean saying "inJesusnameamen" at the end of an un-Christlike prayer. 

Second, it means praying for things that are or would be endorsed by the larger Christian community.  You don't have to tell any other person what you are praying about, but you might consider whether other Christians would agree that what you are praying for is appropriate. 

Finally, Jesus had absolute confidence that God would give him good gifts.  Pray with absolute confidence in God.    

Today’s Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, Make me more like you.  Amen.



…Except the prayers of the Wicked

 Proverbs 28:9; Zechariah 7:11-14; Proverbs 15:8, 29; John 9:31 (9/25/08)

To the best of my knowledge and belief, none of the members of our study group are wicked.  Sinful, yes; wicked, no.  The difference is that a sinful person is – or at least in this group I expect would be – sorry, and wants to get right with God.  The wicked person just doesn't care about God.  And God isn't about to force anything on those folks; for example He isn't going to force them to believe by answering their prayers in any way.  Furthermore, their prayers are probably un-Christlike, and thus unlikely to be answered positively in any case. 

So.  After telling you for a week that God answers all prayers, I'm now giving you the exception.  But it doesn't apply to you, my dear reader.

Today’s Prayer: O God, I know I'm a sinner, but I want to be a sinner who comes back to you and talks with you, and not a wicked sinner who ignores you.  Amen.



But if the Wicked repent, God hears them, too.

 2 Chronicles 7:13-15; Psalms 51:16-17; Isaiah 55:6-7; Ezekiel 18:21-23, 27-31 (9/26/08)

In many places the Bible says that God does not hear the prayers of the wicked.  Well, that's pretty tough on them, isn't it?  What if they decide they want to talk after all?  Actually, in many, many places in the Bible, "hear" has the connotation of "hear and obey," and I believe that's true of the places where God is not "hearing" the wicked.  He isn't saying, "LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU."  He's saying, "While you are unwilling to obey me, I will not grant your least petition.  If you change your mind, let me know."

So the exception to yesterday's exception is that even the wicked can get a hearing when they want to talk about repentance.  One of the greatest contributions that John Wesley made to theology is the understanding that God's grace is available to everyone, no matter who they have been up 'til now.

Today’s Prayer: Dear God of Grace, Today I especially pray for my friend _____.  Soften _____'s heart to turn back to you.  Amen.



Sometimes the answer is “No.”

 Luke 16:19-26, God will not change the past. (9/29/08)

Some time ago I was reading an extremely popular book on prayer.  I didn't care much for it – it was a very dry, academic, verbose treatment, with little in the way of scriptural support.  Then it got to the part about unanswered prayer.  The writer said something to the effect that many people say that the reason some prayers "don't get answered" is that the answer is "no," but that's too glib.  "Glib."  Now there's a word you don't see every day in Biblical commentaries.  Anyway, that's when I stopped reading the book entirely.

Here's the thing.  It may or may not be "glib" to say that God's answer can be "no," but it's true!   There's plenty of Biblical basis for the idea that God answers "no."   There's virtual unanimity among the writers of the Bible that God always answers the prayers of His believers.  So who ya' gonna believe?  A best-selling author, or the Bible?

There are quite a few reasons that God says "no."  One is that we often pray for things not to have already happened – today the rich man in effect prays, "God, make it so that I didn't do that!"  Nope.  You did it.  If you are still in a position to repent, good; if not, uh oh.  In either case, it still happened, and the inevitable consequences are still going to occur.

Today’s Prayer: Dear God, I know the past can't be changed, but that You have a plan for my life starting today.  I want to be part of your plan for me.  Amen.



Luke 16:27-31, God will not cross another person’s will. (9/30/08)

When you were a kid, did you ever go to your mom and say, "Mo-o-m!  Make him stop doing that!"  No, of course you didn't; sorry.  But many of us do.  We go to God and say, "Make him stop doing this!  Make her start doing that!"  The answer will always be "no." 

Biblically (and according to John Wesley and UMC doctrine), God will not force people to believe in Him.  Neither will God coerce anyone into doing His will, much less my will.  

(Of course, the scary part of all this is that God won't cross my will, either, even to save me from myself.  But that's a topic for another study.)

Today’s Prayer: Dear God, I'm concerned about my friend ______.  I think my friend is not doing your will.  Tell me what I can do today to help you bring my friend back to you.  If I'm the problem, change me.  Amen.



Numbers 22:2-6, 24:10-13, God will not harm someone else to benefit you. (10/1/08)

Did you know that everything in the world affects everything else in the world?  True fact.  In particular, some things that I pray for to benefit myself could directly or indirectly harm someone else.  Now, I may not know that, or I may not care, or maybe that's exactly what I'm praying for!  God does know, and God does care, and if that's exactly what I'm praying for, He gets Peter to write it down against my name in the Book.  In any of those cases, however, the answer will be "no."

Today’s Prayer: Dear LORD of Everything and Everybody, Help me to remember that I'm not your only child.  Amen.



2 Corinthians 12:7-10, God will not give you what you want when He has something better in mind. (10/2/08)

The "no" that is easiest to understand – usually in retrospect – is the one that is accompanied by an "instead."  It's very common these days to talk about doors that open and close:  "God closed the door I wanted to go through, but He opened another door instead."  Off hand, I don't recall anyone ever saying to me, "God closed the door I wanted and forced me to go through a door that was just terrible!"  What God has in mind for you is better than you can possibly imagine.

Today’s Prayer: Dear God, I am so excited to see what gift you have for me today!  Amen.



Numbers 20:8-12; Deuteronomy 3:23-26, God will not change His previous final answer. (10/3/08)

Sometimes when my kids were younger, they would come to me with a request, and I would say "no."  Then they would explain, wheedle, or bargain, offering some sort of reason why I should change my mind.  Often, it worked.  Other times, I had said "no," and I meant "no."  God is not an unreasonable person, and we will see in a couple of weeks that persistent prayer can be effective even when one prayer is not.  Nevertheless, when God gives you "no" as a final answer, that's it.  Move on along.   

By the way, notice that Moses and Aaron are punished for their own actions, but Moses later blames his punishment on somebody else.  That's the second-oldest sin in the Book.

Today’s Prayer: Dear God, Help me to know when to keep praying, and when to accept your answer as final.  And by the way, help me to take responsibility for my own sins, so that I can repent.  Amen.



More About Biblical Prayer

The Purpose of Prayer
Conversations with God – Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon
When God Speaks
God promises to answer all prayers…
The disciples talk about prayer.
How to Pray
Copyright 2008, 2011 by Regina L. Hunter. All rights reserved.

Opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the author, Regina Hunter, and may or may not be shared by the sponsors or the Bible-study participants.  Thanks to the Holy Spirit for any useful ideas presented here, and thanks to all the readers for their support and enthusiasm.  All errors are, of course, the sole responsibility of the author.

Our Sponsors:
St. John's United Methodist Church, "Transforming Lives Through Christ."
 2626 Arizona NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110

St. John's Music Ministries now has a YouTube channel, bringing you free concerts and choral music. Check it out!

Traditional worship services are held Sundays at 8:15 and 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.  Casual worship services are held Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center.  Jazz Vespers are held monthly on the second Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. St. John's feels especially called to the worship of God and to the service of our neighbors through our music program.


This website is supported in part by the generosity of Mrs. J. Jordan.