“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.”
Most of us believe that when we “cry out” to God—that is, appeal to Him through prayer—He always hears those prayers. “Ask,” we read in Matthew 7:7, “and it will be given to you.”
God sees, hears and knows everything—including our prayers. Nothing escapes his attention. Why then do we sometimes feel like God does not listen to His people’s cries for help.
It is possible that some people sabotage their own prayers. The Bible mentions several attitudes and actions that can influence the response we have to our prayers: sin (see Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:2; Jeremiah 14:10–12), disobedience (see Peter 28:9), hypocrisy and insincerity (see Isaiah 29:13; Malachi 1:7–9), wrong motives (see Matthew 6:5–6; Luke 18:11–14; James 4:3), lack of faith (Hebrews 11:6; Jamess 1:6).
Finally, what sometimes appears to be no answer to prayer may actually be a delayed answer (see Daniel 10:12–13). Other times God may deny our request in order to give us something better than what we knew to ask for.
If you’ve ever had the experience of praying for something and receiving no clear answer, it’s natural to wonder whether or not God heard the prayer in the first place. Did He ignore the prayer? Should God’s silence be taken as a “No” answer?
The Bible passages above give each us a way to weigh our thoughts and motivations to discern whether or not we’re going to God in prayer with the right heart. And when we do approach God earnestly, we can rest confidently on this promise: “The prayer of the righteous person is powerful in what it can achieve.”
RAYED REDEMPTION MINISTRY
Euless, TX 76039
www.rayedredemption.org
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