The God Who Answers Prayer

God answers prayer. To be counted among God’s children, we must believe that He answers prayer, for there is no purpose for prayer if we lack faith in God. “And without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6a) In fact, our journey in Jesus begins with a sinner’s prayer. “…they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” (Acts 26:20) And we have assurance in God’s Word that He does answer.

1 What mighty praise, O God,
 belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
2 for you answer our prayers.
 All of us must come to you.
3 Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
 you forgive them all. 
- Psalms 65:1-3, emphasis added

We also have historical proof that God answers prayer.

¹⁴ “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…”

^{18 “}Pray that it may not happen in winter.” – Mark 13:14-18 ESV

The event that Jesus prophesied was fulfilled when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem on August 30, 70 AD. It was in August, not in winter! God answers prayer. Jesus said, “Pray.” He didn’t say, “Hope it’s not in winter.” Jesus, the Son of God, called upon people to pray. We should learn from this.

If ever the reliability of prayer was demonstrated, it was demonstrated by Christ Jesus. Jesus didn’t just encourage His followers to pray; during His earthly ministry, he lived a life of prayer. He sought out solitary places to pray (Mark 1:35), and He prayed during great suffering (Luke 22:39-46).

Because God answers prayer, Jesus taught us how to pray. “The Lord’s Prayer” sprang from His disciples seeing Him pray.

“Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
– Luke 11:1

Jesus spent a great deal of time teaching about prayer. Included in His teachings was the instruction not to seek attention or to pray with empty words. In Matthew 6:5a, Jesus said, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly.” And in verse seven, Jesus said, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.”

God, our Father, anticipates us praying sincerely and humbly to Him in faith, with persistence, forgiveness toward others, and according to His will, not as a show for other people, not with flowery words, but trusting His character, His Word, and His timing. Truly, we can trust in the God who answers prayer.