Answered prayer can be one of the greatest demonstrations to a non-believing world that God exists. In fact, it has been the catalyst for bringing many to faith in Christ. However, “unanswered prayer” has caused some believers to doubt God and given an opportunity for non-believers to mock Christianity.
So why are some prayers answered and others are not? In Matthew 21:21–22, Jesus sheds light on this matter by giving us a very powerful key to answered prayer. He also provides a clue to why our prayers may not be answered. The key: asking in faith! The clue: doubt.
If faith plays such a critical role in answered prayer, then one must ask, “What is faith and why is it a prerequisite to answered prayer?” Faith is being fully persuaded of the truth. Doubt on the other hand is produced when we begin to believe anything other than the truth. Doubt brings double-mindedness giving way to unbelief, while faith is single-mindedness yielding confidence and trust.
Faith in the life of a believer is cultivated by spending time in the Word of God. Paul speaks of this in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” In order to pray in faith, one must be fully persuaded that what they are praying for will indeed come to pass. But how can we pray with such confidence?
I John 5:14–15 answers this question: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” The key to asking in faith is asking according to God’s will!
But how do we know what the will of God is? God’s will is revealed through His Word. God’s Word is truth and if we pray according to His Word then we can have complete faith and confidence that He will indeed answer our prayers! In John 15:7, Jesus puts it this way, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
God’s Word abiding in the life of a believer produces faith because the Word of God is truth. Truth exposes deception and dispels unbelief which makes our prayers ineffective. It is as we abide in the truth that God is able to replace our thoughts with His, aligning our desires with His desires. When this is accomplished we can ask anything and He will give it to us. This is what the Psalmist was referring to when he stated, “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).
However, if we fail to abide in God’s Word, we will become susceptible to believing the lies of Satan and our prayers will gravitate towards our fleshly, sinful desires that produce doubt and unbelief. It is for this reason that we must be daily abiding in the truth of God’s Word. When we do, faith will be produced and when we pray making our requests known to God, He will answer!