The following passages deal with various aspects of petitioning God. May we be encouraged and instructed by what they tell us about this most wonderful privilege.
Promises on Prayer:
“Call
unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty
things which thou knowest not.”
Jeremiah 33:3
“Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you: for everyone that asketh receiveth, and he
that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8
Adjuncts to Prayer:
1) Having within us the mind of Christ, that our prayers may be in accordance with His will and thus be answered.
“If
ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you.”
John 15:7
“And
this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He
hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which
we have asked from Him.”
1 John 5:14-15
“And
He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will
of God”
Romans 8:27 (see v. 26 below)
2) Where God has clearly revealed His will, having faith that what He has promised He will indeed perform.
“But
let Him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is
like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not
that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a
doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:6-8 (on praying for wisdom)
3) Obedience to what God has already revealed of His will through scripture.
“And
whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
I John 3:22
“Take
heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to
you: and unto you that hear shall more be given, for he that hath, to
him shall be given, and he that hath not, from him shall be taken
even that which he hath.”
Mark 4:24-25
4) Praying with others.
“Again
I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching
anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father
which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in
My name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:19-20
5) Fervency in prayer, and unction of the Holy Spirit.
“The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:16b
“Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Romans 8:26
Hindrances to Prayer.
1) Unforgiven sin, lack of salvation.
“Behold,
the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save, neither is His
ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a
separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face
from you, so that He does not hear.”
Isaiah 59:1-2
2) Unconfessed sin, unforsaken sin.
“If
I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”
Psalm 66:18
3) Neglecting or spurning the scriptures.
“He
who turns away His ear from listening to the law of the Lord, even
his prayer is an abomination.”
Proverbs 28:9
“Then
they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me
diligently, but they shall not find Me, because they hated
knowledge.”
Proverbs 1:28-29
4) Insensitivity to the needs of others.
“He
who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry Himself and
not be answered.”
Proverbs 21:13
5) Marital discord, failure to honor wife.
“You
husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as
with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a
fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be
hindered.”
I Peter 3:7