God who Answers Prayers
Written by Grace Mwaura on February 19, 2024
We believe in a God who answers prayers. God always listens to us when we pray. The scriptures show countless examples of prayers God heard and answered. He continues to answer prayers today. Through the power of prayer, we get answers to our questions and receive the blessing God has in store for us. Answering prayers is one of the many ways God shows his love for us. God is interested in the life of his children. By knowing who we are and what God is, we gain a deeper understanding of the power of prayer and why it works. Looking through scripture, we read of different ways God answered his people’s prayers. God met their needs and is still doing so today. The same God who answered prayers then is the same God who can answer our prayers today.
The question is, how do we discern if we will get answers to our prayers? How do we interpret God’s response? We do not fully understand the mysteries of God’s mind, for his thoughts are not like man’s thoughts or his ways like ours. The best way to recognize how God answers prayers is by looking at scripture.
And this is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15
The first thing we understand about prayer is that it is a conversation between you and God. We tend to think we should do all the talking as God listens. It should not always be that way. We need to give God room to also speak to us. Prayer is a way of maintaining a relationship with our Lord, not a means of asking for this or that. When we talk of answers to prayers, it is not always like a yes/no maybe type of situation. When we stay close to God, keeping in contact with him and following his commands, we can trust that he knows our needs and will look after us.
God has a way of answering our prayers in extraordinary ways, providing for us better than we could even have thought to ask for in the first place. As a loving father, he takes delight in caring for us, blessing us beyond our biggest dreams. He constantly says yes to our prayers. In Judges 6:36-40, God answers Gideon’s prayer as a sign of God’s faithfulness. God did not hesitate to answer him and show him who he was. The most definite way of getting the answer yes to our prayers is aligning ourselves with the will of God for us. To know the will of God in your life is through his Word.
Sometimes, the things we prayed for don’t happen right away. God leads us to wait. We don’t know the future like God. His timing is always perfect. When God says wait, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. It shows he has seen ahead and knows waiting is the best option. Waiting on God is hard. It is why the bible says that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
What happens when God’s plan differs from ours? What do we do when the answer to our prayers is no? When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion, he prayed desperately to the Father. “ My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” Matthew 26:39. When our prayers are answered with what looks like a no, when it seems our deepest desires are denied or put aside and when things we have asked for again and again still haven’t happened, we still trust God’s will for us. Having God answer no to our prayer may be hard to experience. We acknowledge and trust that God’s plans for us are perfect and his timings are always proper.
Sometimes, the Lord gives us tremendous blessings. Other times, he answers our prayers before we even ask. God is with us and will perfect all that concerns us. We can’t guess God’s will for us or try to predict how he will answer our prayers. We can rely on his love and his care for us. By bringing our prayers to God, we come as children asking for help and trusting that God as our Father will provide because we know he will.
