Are there any conditions to
answered prayer?
Question:
"Are there any conditions to answered prayer?"
Answer: Some people would like prayer with no conditions. They wish God to be a
celestial genie who, when summoned by prayer, must grant any request they make.
They find a measure of encouragement in the fable of Aladdin and his lamp,
aspiring to that level of control over God’s power in their prayer life. But
the biblical fact is that prayer has conditions. It’s true that Jesus said, “If
you believe, you will
receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:22). But, even in
that statement, we have one condition to prayer: faith. As we examine the
Bible, we find that there are other conditions to prayer, as well.
Here are 10 biblical instructions concerning prayer that imply conditions to
prayer:
1) Pray to the Heavenly Father (see Matthew 6:9).
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After this manner therefore pray ye: Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
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This condition
to prayer might seem obvious, but it’s important. We don’t pray to false gods,
to ourselves, to angels, to Buddha, or to the Virgin Mary. We pray to the God
of the Bible, who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ and whose Spirit indwells
us. Matthew 6:9-13
Living Day by Day
These two Scripture verses
prompted someone to write,
“One secret of a happy Christian
life is living by the day. It’s the long stretches that tire us. But really,
there are no long stretches. Life does not come to us all at once. Tomorrow is
not ours; but when it does come, God will supply both daily bread and daily
strength.”
Source unknown
Living Moment to Moment
As Pastor Philip Doddridge was
walking along the street one day, he was feeling depressed and desolate, for
something had happened to burden his heart. Passing a small cottage, he heard
through the open door the voice of a child reading the words found in Deuteronomy 33:25,
“.as your days, so shall your strength be.” The Holy Spirit used that truth to
bolster his sinking morale. He was encouraged not to look too far ahead, but
just to go on living for the Lord from moment to moment in the consciousness
that God would care for him.
Apparently D. L. Moody also
learned that secret, for he said,
“A man can no more take a supply
of grace for the future than he can eat enough today to last him for the next 6
months, nor can he inhale sufficient air into his lungs with one breath to
sustain life for a week to come. We are permitted to draw upon God’s store of
grace from day to day as we need it!”
God never gives His strength in
advance, so let’s stop crossing bridges before we come to them. The Heavenly
Father will graciously supply our every need—one day at a time!
Don’t try to bear tomorrow’s
burdens with today’s grace.
Our Daily Bread, December 30,
1985
I Cannot Say . . .
- I cannot say Our, if my religion has no room for
others and their needs.
- I cannot say Father, if I do not demonstrate this
relationship in my daily living.
- I cannot say Who art in heaven, if all my
interests and pursuits are on earthly things.
- I cannot say Hallowed be thy name, if I, who is
called by His name, am not holy.
- I cannot say Amen unless I honestly say, “Cost
what it may, this is my prayer.”
Author Unknown, The Evangel,
3/27/85
Three Parts
1. Praise,
2. Priorities,
3. Provision.
Peter Dieson, The Priority of
Knowing God, p.43
The Disciple’s Prayer
In the Lord’s Prayer (or the
Disciples’ Prayer) we have three essentials for effective praying.
1. First there is
relationship: “Our Father, who art in heaven” (v. 9).
2. Then there is
responsibility: “Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done” (vv.
9,10).
Something Happens When
Churches Pray, W. Wiersbe, p.118
Coming to Him as our “Father” implies that we are first His children—made
so by faith in Christ (see John 1:12). --
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“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name.”
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Full Pardon Refused
In the early 1800’s, President
Andrew Jackson issued a full pardon to George Wilson, a man sentenced to be
hanged. Wilson refused it. But could he legally refuse the President’s pardon?
Supreme Court Justice John Marshall declared, “The value of the pardon depends
upon its acceptance. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must
hang.”
And Wilson was hanged.
To pardon everyone’s sin,
Christ shed His blood on the cross. The price was paid. But each individual
must first receive this forgiveness.
Evangelism, A Biblical Approach,
M. Cocoris, Moody, 1984, pp. 83ff
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Therefore
I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
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I am become a fool in
glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you:
for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.
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Truly the signs of an apostle
were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty
deeds.
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2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Resource
The Upside of Down, Joe Stowell, Moody, 1991, pp. 144ff
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Resource
·
The Upside of Down, Joe Stowell, Moody, 1991, pp. 144ff
From <https://bible.org/illustration/2-corinthians-127-10>
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Resource
• “Glory in Infirmities,” Charles
Swindoll, Growing Strong, pp. 42-3
From <https://bible.org/illustration/2-corinthians-129-10>
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Thank God for Thorns
An unknown poet has written:
Once I heard a song of sweetness as it cleft
the morning air,
Sounding in its blest completeness like a
tender, pleading prayer;
And I sought to find the singer whence the
wondrous song was born;
Till I found a bird, sore wounded, pinioned
by an ugly thorn.
I have seen a soul of sadness while its wings
with pain were furled,
Giving hope and cheer and gladness that
should bless the weeping world;
Soon I learned a life of sweetness was of
pain and sorrow born,
For that stricken soul was singing with its
heart against a thorn!’
You are told of One who loves you, of a
Savior crucified,
You are told of nails that pinioned, and a
spear that pierced His side;
You are told of cruel scourging, of a Savior
bearing scorn,
And He died for your salvation with His brow
against the thorn.
You are not above the Master! Will you
breathe a sweet refrain?
Then His grace will be sufficient when your
heart is pierced with pain;
Will you live to bless His loved ones though
your life be bruised and torn,
Like a bird that sang so sweetly with its
heart against a thorn'
If you have thorns in your life, thank God
for the roses of grace that inevitably go with them.
H.G.B., Our Daily Bread, Friday, February 6
Resources
·
Ask Him Anything, L.J. Ogilvie, Word, 1981, pp. 73ff
·
Taking The Guesswork Out of Applying The Bible, Jack Kuhatschek, IVP,
1991, pp. 34ff
From <https://bible.org/illustration/2-corinthians-121-10>
3) Pray for needful things (see Philippians
4:19). – “But my God shall
supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
First Things First
In the late 19th century John
Wanamaker opened a department store in Philadelphia. Within a few years that
enterprise had become one of the most successful businesses in the country. But
operating his store wasn’t Wanamaker’s only responsibility. He was also named
Postmaster General of the United States, and he served as superintendent for
what was then the largest Sunday school in the world at Bethany Presbyterian
Church. When someone asked him how he could hold all those positions at once,
he explained. “Early in life I read, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’ The Sunday school
is my business, all the rest are the things.”
One evidence of Wanamaker’s
desire to keep the Lord’s work first in his life was a specially constructed
soundproof room in his store. Every day he spent 30 minutes there praying and
meditating upon God’s Word. He had his priorities straight!
Our Daily BreadMatthew
6:33
Planned Neglect
A noted young concert violinist was asked the secret of her
success. “Planned neglect,” she replied. Then she explained, “Years ago I
discovered that there were many things demanding my time. After washing
breakfast dishes, I made my bed, straightened my room, dusted the furniture,
and did a host of other chores. I then turned my attention to violin practice.
That system, however, failed to accomplish the desired results. So I realized I
had to reverse things. I deliberately set aside everything else until my
practice period ended. That program of planned neglect accounts for my
success!”
Our Daily Bread
See God’s Kingdom First
Henry Drummond, a scientist at the turn of the century,
speaking to a group of college students:
“Gentlemen, I beseech you to seek the kingdom of God first, or
not at all. I promise you a miserable time if you seek it second.”
Source unknown
Wealth and Generosity
Among those in the court of Alexander the Great was a
philosopher of outstanding ability but little money. He asked Alexander for
financial help and was told to draw whatever he needed from the imperial
treasury. But when the man requested an amount equal to $50,000, he was
refused—the treasurer needing to verify that such a large sum was authorized.
When he asked Alexander, the ruler replied, “Pay the money at once. The
philosopher has done me a singular honor. By the largeness of his request he
shows that he has understood both my wealth and generosity.”
Today in the Word, MBI, August, 1991, p. 19
The Bible
speaks of having a clean conscience as a condition to answered prayer (Hebrews 10:22). It is important that we keep our
sins confessed to the Lord. “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will
not hear” (Psalm 66:18,
NAS).
5) Pray from a grateful heart (see Philippians 4:6).
Part of prayer is an attitude of thanksgiving. "Be careful for nothing; but in
every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God."
6) Pray according to the will” of God (see 1 John 5:14).
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if
we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us”
God’s Will Better Than Ours
Here you ask: Do you mean to
say that this promise is always true even though God often does not give what
we have asked for? As His Word shows, it is certainly His will to deliver you
from all evil, not to leave you in temptation, and to give you your daily
bread. Otherwise He would not have commanded you to pray for these things. If
you pray in this way—that all may go according to His will—then your prayer is
certainly heard. Therefore when in trouble and danger, you should certainly
pray for deliverance and help, but in the way the Lord’s Prayer teaches you—if
it tends to hallow His name and please His will; if not, that He will act as He
sees best. If it is not heard according to our will, then it is heard according
to the will of God, which is better than ours.
Martin Luther
An important condition to prayer is
that it is prayed within the
will of God. Jesus prayed this way all the time, even in
Gethsemane: “Not my will, but yours be done”
(Luke 22:42). We can pray all we want, with great
sincerity and faith, for XYZ, but, if God’s will is ABC, we pray amiss.
7) Pray in the authority of Jesus Christ (see John
16:24). “Hitherto
have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may
be full.”
Alexander the Great
Among those who served in the
court of Alexander the Great was a famous philosopher who had outstanding
ability but little money. He asked Alexander for financial help and was told he
could draw whatever cash he needed from the imperial treasury. When he
submitted to the treasurer a request for an amount equal to $50,000, he was
promptly refused. The treasurer had to verify that such a large sum was indeed
authorized. But when he asked Alexander, the ruler replied, “Pay the money at
once. The philosopher has done me a singular honor. By the largeness of his
request he shows that he has understood both my wealth and generosity.”
Our Daily Bread
Pray as God Would Have Us
Pray
British writer Samuel Chadwick
had this to say: “To pray as God would have us pray is the greatest achievement
on earth. Such a prayer life costs. It takes time. All praying saints have
spent hours every day in prayer. In these days, there is no time to pray; but
without time, and a lot of it, we shall never learn to pray.” - H.G.B.
Our Daily Bread, November 17
Man Doesn’t Want What’s
Best
Man finds it hard to get what
he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give because
He would give the best, and man will not take it.
George MacDonald in George
MacDonald, An Anthology, p. 130
Our motives are important.
Joshua’s prayer for the sun to stand still, as audacious as that request was,
met all these conditions of prayer (
Joshua
10:12–14)***************.
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Then
spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites
before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand
thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
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And
the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So
the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a
whole day.
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And
there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened
unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
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Cf. 1
Sam. 12:
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Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will
call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive
and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the
LORD, in asking you a king.
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So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the
LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the
LORD and Samuel.
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Elijah’s prayer
for rain to be withheld—and his later prayer that rain would fall—met all of
these conditions (James
5:17–18).
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Elias was a man subject to
like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and
it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
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And he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
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Patient Health
Research at San Francisco
General Hospital has revealed that victims of heart attack, heart failure and
other cardiac problems who were remembered in prayers fared better than those
who were not. Cardiologist Randy Byrd assigned 192 patients to the “prayed-for”
group and 201 patients to the “not-prayed-for” group. All patients were in the
coronary intensive care unit. Patients, doctors and nurses did not know which
group patients were in. Prayer group members were scattered around the nation
and given only the first names, diagnoses and prognoses of patients. The
researcher said that the results were dramatic.
The prayed-for group had
significantly fewer complications than the unremembered group. And fewer
members of the former died. The latter group was five times more likely to
develop infections requiring antibiotics, and three times more likely to
develop a lung condition, leading to heart failure. These findings were
published in the American Heart Association.
Adopted From Chicago
Sun-Times
Jesus’ prayer as He stood before the tomb of Lazarus met all of these
conditions (John 11:41--
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Then they took away the stone from the
place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
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). They all prayed to God, according to His will, for good and necessary
things, in faith.
The examples of Joshua, Elijah, and Jesus teach us that, when our prayers line
up with God’s sovereign will, wonderful things will happen. There’s no need to
be abashed by mountains, for they can move (Mark 11:23).
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For verily I say unto you, That whosoever
shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which
he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
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The struggle we face is in getting our prayers lined up with God’s will,
having our desires match His. Congruency between God’s will and our own is the
goal. We want exactly what He wants; nothing more, nothing less. And we don’t
want anything that He doesn’t want.
Godly, effective prayer
has conditions, and God invites us to pray. When can we pray big? When we
believe God wants something big. When can we pray audaciously? When we believe
God wants something audacious. When should we pray? All the time.
Beth-Horon,
Battle of, Israelite-Canaanite (בֵּית חוֹרֹן, beith choron). Overviews the battle between the Israelites and the
Canaanite coalition described in Josh 10 and different interpretations of God’s
supernatural involvement in it.
Location
Upper
Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon were cities in the territory of Ephraim, on the
border of Benjamin (Josh 16:5; 18:13–14). They were separated by 2 miles.
Between the two cities was the ascent and descent of Beth-Horon.
Battle in Joshua 10
Joshua 9–11
details several conflicts between the Israelites and coalitions of Canaanite
kings. In Joshua 10, the Israelites fought a coalition of five Canaanite kings
on behalf of the Gibeonites, whom they were compelled to defend due to a treaty
(see Josh 9). Joshua and the Israelite army marched through the night to catch
the armies of the Canaanite coalition off guard and then “chased them by the
way of the ascent of Beth-horon” (Josh 10:10 ESV). Joshua 10:11 records that
while the Canaanite armies were descending from Upper Beth-Horon, God hurled
large hailstones from heaven on them, which inflicted more damage than the
Israelite army itself. Joshua 10:12–13 then records that after Joshua prayed to
Yahweh, “the sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for
about a whole day” (Josh 10:13 ESV).
Interpretations
Scholarly
discussion of this account focuses on the statements concerning the sun
stopping in Josh 10:13. The various scholarly interpretations can be categorized
into three groups:
1. historical interpretations
2. misinterpreted miracle
interpretations
3. nonliteral interpretations
Historical Interpretation
Those who
interpret Josh 10:12–13 historically maintain that the passage depicts a
historical event best understood from a straightforward reading of the text.
Many of the classic interpreters, including Augustine, Jerome, Martin Luther,
and John Calvin, took this approach. Extrabiblical texts also interpret this
event historically. For example, Sirach 46:4 states, “Was it not through
[Joshua] that the sun stood still and one day became as long as two?” (NRSV).
Josephus claimed that this day was longer than the ordinary day (Josephus, Antiquities 5.1.17).
The writer of Joshua may have attempted to offer evidence of the
historicity of the event with the statement, “Is this not written in the Book
of Jashar?” in Josh 10:13 (ESV). The Book of Jashar—a lost, ancient collection
of Hebrew literary material—may have supported Joshua’s claims.
Another approach that could be categorized as historical is that the sun’s
light lingered rather than actually stood still. For example, Gruenthaner
suggests that a refraction of light may have allowed for the sun to give the
appearance of retaining its position into the night (Gruenthaner, “Two Sun
Miracles of the Old Testament,” 271–90). This view still maintains the
supernatural aspect of the text.
A Misinterpreted Miracle
A second
approach to understanding this passage holds that people have misinterpreted
the miracle in Josh 10:13 by reading the verb דּ֔וֹם (dom) as a command to stop moving rather than to stop shining. Those
who promote this approach claim that Joshua asked God for relief from the sun,
not for the sun to stop moving. For example, Maunders proposes that Joshua
prayed to God around noon because the Israelites were becoming overcome by the
sun’s heat. In his view, Joshua prayed for clouds to obscure the sun, which
would allow the Israelites to rally in the battle (Maunders, “A Misinterpreted
Miracle,” 359–72). Margalit likewise believes Joshua prayed for relief from the
sun but maintains that the answer to his prayer was a solar eclipse rather than
clouds (Margalit, “The Day the Sun Did Not Stand Still,” 466).
Figurative Interpretation
Those who
interpret this passage figuratively argue that the author of Joshua used this
language to demonstrate Yahweh’s divine power. Those who support this view
argue that the poetic nature of the text lends itself to this understanding and
that other biblical texts that use similar language are understood as
figurative in the context of divine-war victory (e.g., Exod 15; Deut 32; Judg
5; Nelson, Joshua, 144).
Bibliography
Josephus. The Works of Josephus: Complete and
Unabridged. Translated by William Whiston. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson,
1987.
Gruenthaner, Michael.
“Two Sun Miracles of the Old Testament.” Catholic
Bible Quarterly 10 (1948): 271–90.
Holladay, J. S. “The
Day(s) the Moon Stood Still.” Journal of
Biblical Literature 88 (1968): 166–78.
Margalit, Baruch.
“The Day the Sun Did Not Stand Still.” Vetus
Testamentum 42, no. 4 (1992): 466–91.
Maunders, E. W. “A
Misinterpreted Miracle.” The Expositor
(1910): 359–72.
Nelson, Richard D. Joshua. Old Testament Library.
Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1997.
[1] Coplen, J. D. (2016). Beth-Horon,
Battle of, Israelite-Canaanite. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R.
Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham,
WA: Lexham Press.
·
The Upside of Down, Joe Stowell, Moody, 1991, pp. 144ff
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Thank God for Thorns
An unknown poet has written:
Once I heard a song of sweetness as it cleft
the morning air,
Sounding in its blest completeness like a
tender, pleading prayer;
And I sought to find the singer whence the
wondrous song was born;
Till I found a bird, sore wounded, pinioned
by an ugly thorn.
I have seen a soul of sadness while its wings
with pain were furled,
Giving hope and cheer and gladness that
should bless the weeping world;
Soon I learned a life of sweetness was of
pain and sorrow born,
For that stricken soul was singing with its
heart against a thorn!’
You are told of One who loves you, of a
Savior crucified,
You are told of nails that pinioned, and a
spear that pierced His side;
You are told of cruel scourging, of a Savior
bearing scorn,
And He died for your salvation with His brow
against the thorn.
You are not above the Master! Will you
breathe a sweet refrain?
Then His grace will be sufficient when your
heart is pierced with pain;
Will you live to bless His loved ones though
your life be bruised and torn,
Like a bird that sang so sweetly with its
heart against a thorn'
If you have thorns in your life, thank God
for the roses of grace that inevitably go with them.
H.G.B., Our Daily Bread, Friday, February 6
