Ask and You Shall Receive: 8 Things to Consider When Seeking Answers to Your Prayers

If you haven’t been getting answers to your prayers, here are 8 things to consider before assuming that God is not listening to you…

"Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." -John 16:24

All throughout the Bible, we are repeatedly told that if we simply "ask" of God, that we will "receive" anything in line with His will (Matthew 7:7, 21:22, James 4:2, John 16:24). However, when we ask God for anything, there are a few things we should keep in mind when asking:

1. We must be living in obedience and in alignment with God's word and will.

In order to receive what we ask for, we must be obeying God and living in alignment with His word. The Bible tells us that "If our consciences are clear, we can receive from Him anything that we ask, because we are obeying Him and doing the things that please Him" 1 John 3:21-22. We must be obeying God, and following His commands in order for our lives to be blessed.

I love what it says in Psalm 84:11. We are told that, "the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." That verse tells us that when you honor Him, there's not a single good thing that He will withhold from you! How great it that!?

"If our consciences are clear, we can come to the Lord with perfect assurance and trust, and get whatever we ask for because we are obeying Him and doing the things that please Him." 1 John 3:22

Deuteronomy 28 tells us all the blessings that will occur in our lives if we simply choose to surrender our ways, and instead follow God's perfect way. It says: "If you fully obey the LORD your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in your towns and in the country. You will be blessed with many children and productive fields. You will be blessed with fertile herds and flocks. You will be blessed with baskets overflowing with fruit, and with kneading bowls filled with bread. You will be blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going. The LORD will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! The LORD will bless everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. If you obey the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways, the LORD will establish you as his holy people as he solemnly promised to do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you. The LORD will give you an abundance of good things in the land he swore to give your ancestors -- many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens to bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the LORD your God and carefully obey them, the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today to follow after other gods and worship them." In other words, when we obey God, Good things Happen!! God has given us the choice. He's given us the choice to be blessed or not. His word tells us, "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses...Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

When we obey God, good things happen! When we obey God, our lives our blessed.

You may think that obeying God is difficult, but Jesus said that through Him, "ALL Things are POSSIBLE" (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27). He can give you the strength and ability to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Not only that, but when you ask yourself, "Is it worth it to suffer the consequences for my own stupid actions?" versus, "Is it worth it to suffer through the difficulty of making the right choice even when it isn't easy, but reap the benefits later?" I think you'll find the latter is much more rewarding. Either way we're going to experience a little discomfort and pain in this life--because we live in an imperfect world--but would you rather suffer the consequences of sin and doing the wrong thing, or suffer the temporary discomfort that sometimes comes along with doing the right thing, and then reap all the benefits of that wise decision later? I think you'll agree that making the wise decision, even if difficult, is by far more worth it in the end!

With God, All things Are Possible.

2. We must be free from sin in our life.

In 1 Timothy 2:8 (TLB) Timothy tells us, "I want men everywhere to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from sin and anger and resentment." The Bible tells us that if we want to see answers to our prayers, that we must be free from sin in our lives. Please note: This does not mean we have to be perfect! It simply means that God wants us to confess our sins to Him and ask for forgiveness if we want to see an answer. Psalm 66:8 says, "If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." Seeking answers to our prayers is not about being perfect, but simply asking God for the forgiveness when we do fall into sin. Remember that "if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely" (1 John 2:1-2).

3. We must be Seeking God's Love more than anything.

The Bible tells us to "seek first the Kingdom of God, and all else will be given to you besides" (Matthew 6:33). A similar verse tells us to, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need" (Luke 12:31). We are to seek Him first, and above all else if we expect for our needs to be met. When we seek God's love above anything else, He answers us in amazing ways and blesses our lives like never before. Psalm 37:4-5 tells us to, "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”

"Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalm 37:4

4. We must be Persistent 

I love the story Jesus tells His disciples when He was teaching them the importance of being persistent in prayer: "Teaching them more about prayer, Jesus used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you" (Luke 11:5-9).

God wants us to keep on praying until we see an answer! His word tells us to, "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). If we want to see answers, we MUST be persistent in prayer!

Many people give up on praying and don't see an answer to their prayer without realizing that they have given up on praying too quickly! A good acronym to live by when it comes to prayer is "P.U.S.H" or "Pray Until Something Happens!" Be persistent in prayer and keep praying until you see an answer!

Keep on praying until you see an answer!

5. We must be Patient.

So often when we ask God for something, we ask and then expect--"POOF"--an immediate change to occur. Sometimes we do see amazing changes happen almost instantaneously, or overnight, but most often we see answers to our prayers after our faith has had a chance to grow in patience. Sometimes God doesn't allow our prayers to be answered right away because there is some work He wants to do in us to prepare us first. Sometimes He doesn't answer right away because He wants to test our faith. He wants to make sure we don't just give up on Him when we don't see immediate change or when answers don't go our way, or as we would have hoped or expected for. 1 Peter 1:7 tells us, "These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. "

James 1:2-4 (TLB) says that we are to "be happy when the way is rough, because it gives [your] patience a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of [your] problems. For when [your] patience is finally in full bloom, then [you] will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." We need to be patient when it comes to receiving an answer for our prayers, because it's in this time that God is working in us, and preparing us for all that He has in store for us.

Be patient in prayer.

6. We must have Faith.

"When you ask for something, don't have any doubts… A person who has doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord." –James 1:6-7

God’s word is clear that in order to receive an answer to our prayers, that we must have FAITH and be free of doubt. James 1:6-7 (God's Word) tells us that, "When you ask for something, don't have any doubts." A person who doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. A person who has doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord." 

In order to see answers to our prayers, we MUST believe and trust in God and His ability to do ANYTHING.

 “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”

 Any time there is a story in the Bible of Jesus curing the sick, healing the blind, the lepers, the paralyzed, or the lame, Jesus always makes the remark that it was their faith that healed them. Time and time again, any time Jesus healed someone, He remarked that it was their faith that healed them (Mark 10:52, Luke 7:50, Mark 5:43). And what exactly is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (NIV). Faith is believing without seeing. It is believing that God is working on your behalf “behind the scenes” in the spiritual realm, without necessarily having to see any result in the physical realm. Here are some biblical examples of the importance of faith when it comes to receiving healing or answers to our prayers:

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21:22).

"By your faith it shall be done" (Matthew 9:29, 15:28, 8:13).

"Your faith has healed you" (Mark 10:52, Luke 7:50).

"And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive" (Matthew 21: 22).

Notice that the faith always precedes the miracle, the healing, or the answer to our prayers. Faith, it seems, is the key to unlocking miracles, seeing God’s power at work in our lives, and receiving answers to our prayers.

Faith always precedes the miracle, the healing, or the answer to our prayers. Faith is the key to unlocking miracles and receiving answers to our prayers.

And here’s the cool thing about faith: If we are lacking in faith (If we are having trouble believing God's word and His promises are true), the cool thing is that we can get more of it. “How?” you might ask. Well, the Bible tells us first of all that faith comes by hearing, listening to, and spending time in God’s word (Romans 10:12), as well as God’s Holy Spirit working in us (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). So if we need more faith, we can spend time focusing on God’s promises to us which can inspire and revive our faith in God’s ability to do anything, or we can simply ask God and pray for more of His faith-giving, live-giving Spirit. His word tells us He will give His Holy Spirit to anyone who asks (Luke 11:13).

I want to share a Biblical story with you to display just how important faith is; especially when it comes to seeing answers to our prayers or miracles in our lives. The story can be found in Mark 9:21-25 where it tells of Jesus healing a man’s son who is possessed:

“Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’

‘From childhood,’ he answered. ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’

‘If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’

 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again’” (Mark 9:21-25).

Notice that the man was lacking in faith. He doubted God’s ability to even heal his son, and yet he asked, “Help me to overcome my belief” and God performed the miracle for Him. We must have faith in order to see answers, and we can ask God for more if we are lacking it.

After Jesus drove out the demon, His disciples came to him asking: “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” And Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:19-20). This verse tells us that even a little faith, even if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, that we can “move mountains.”

Something I encourage you to do, as an act and display of your faith, is to start praising God in advance for the answer you are about to receive. Instead of moping around and asking “Why haven’t you answered me yet God?!?” Start praising Him in advance as an act of faith, start saying “Thank you Lord for pulling through in an amazing way! Thank you Lord for _____ (fill in the blank).” Start praising him in advance and I can guarantee you’re going to see results, and even if you don’t see an immediate answer, you’re going to feel a lot happier because praising God gets you in a mindset of gratitude. You may even come to realize that you no longer desire what you were asking for, because the praise elevated your mindset to being completely content without whatever it is that you were asking for. Remember what it says in Philippians 4:6: It tells us to not worry about anything, but instead pray about everything, and with both petition and thanksgiving we are to present our requests to God. We are to be thankful even before we see an answer to our prayers. 

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”       -Matthew 21:22

7. We must ask in Jesus' Name.

God tells us that, "You can ask for anything in my (Jesus') name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father" (John 14:13)

"Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy." John 16:24- Another translation reads, "Your joy will be full" or, "your joy will be made complete."

"You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it…” -John 14:13

8. Just ask.
James 4:2 tells us that "the reason you don't have is because you don't ask." God is just waiting to show you His kindness and favor; all you have to do is ask for it! If you haven't already done so, get to it! Don't miss out on all the favor and blessings of God's amazing love. Just ask, and you will receive ;-)

"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!" -Isaiah 65:24

Last but not least, it’s important to know that God’s grace surpasses our mistakes and our actions. This post was not written to act as a get-your-prayers-answered checklist. We can’t earn answers to our prayers, or bribe God to answer them the way we would like! (See Deuteronomy 10:17) His love and grace (His undeserved kindness) towards us are not something that we can earn! Sometimes all you need to do is rely upon God’s grace, and find peace knowing that although it’s important to obey God, there’s nothing you can do to “earn” His love, kindness, or answers to your prayers. Just ask, believe, and receive, be patient, and have peace in knowing that the answer is on it’s way.

I hope you know and feel for yourself how much God loves you, I hope you found this post helpful, and I hope you all have a wonderful week! God bless! :)