How to get Answers to Prayer (#1)

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Angela53510

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2011
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#61
There are two instances in the Bible where Jesus was amazed by great faith. They were the faith of the Canaanite woman and the faith of the Centurion. They both have something in common. They both humble themselves.



Matthew 15:21-28

Matthew 8:5-13
They were both Gentiles! Not Jews, or followers of Christ! What does that mean in terms of prayer?
 

Tinkerbell725

Senior Member
Jul 19, 2014
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Philippines Age 40
#62
They were both Gentiles! Not Jews, or followers of Christ! What does that mean in terms of prayer?


The fact that they were gentiles but have great faith is what makes them amazing. I was just answering a question from a poster about how to receive faith bigger than a mustard seed. And the answer is be humble.
 
Dec 30, 2019
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#63
The only effective prayer is one that is aligned with God's will and desire.
We are told to delight our-self in the Lord and then He will give us the desire of our Heart. So when the desire of our heart lines up with "God's will and desire" then we have a winning combination. Because He delights to give us the desire of our Heart. Of course there is always the consideration of timing. Things do not always happen in an instant.
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
#65
It is never God's will for people to be sick. A house divided against itself can not stand.
It was never gods will for people to be sick, but then sin came into the world, and sickness and death amen with it.

God does not heal all sickness. Their is ample evidence of that
 
Dec 30, 2019
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#66
God does not heal all sickness.
That does not make it His will for them to be sick. Jesus died to redeem us. God is still a God of Justice. He can not change who He is. "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." (1cor15:42,43,44)

We can not blame God for the mess that man and the devil has made out of His Creation. ""Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it." (Ezekiel9:4) God redeems those who "grieve and lament" over the condition this world is in.
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
#67
That does not make it His will for them to be sick. Jesus died to redeem us. God is still a God of Justice. He can not change who He is. "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." (1cor15:42,43,44)

We can not blame God for the mess that man and the devil has made out of His Creation.
Nope

it is just not his will to heal them

which is why even though many pray, their prayer is not answered.

we can’t ask why,we just have to trust him and his reasoning,

your talking about the future body after death, I am talking about my current body, which is perishing as we speak.
 
Dec 30, 2019
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#68
your talking about the future body after death, I am talking about my current body, which is perishing as we speak.
I can not even count how many times I have died and he raised me back up. I ask Him why does He do that. Can't He give me health and keep me from dying? I think the problem is that I am the one that is hard headed. The wages of sin is death and if we do not want to die then we need to quit sinning. There are something like five or 6 scriptures that we need to follow IF we want to ADD years to our life.
 
Dec 30, 2019
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#69
it is just not his will to heal them
Everyone is going to be healed and no one is going to be disappointed. It is a question of when. God himself is outside of time, yet we are subject to time. People are given time to repent and turn away from sin but eventually there are people that will perish in their sin. That refuse to repent so they can be redeemed and saved.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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Tennessee
#70
We are told to delight our-self in the Lord and then He will give us the desire of our Heart. So when the desire of our heart lines up with "God's will and desire" then we have a winning combination. Because He delights to give us the desire of our Heart. Of course there is always the consideration of timing. Things do not always happen in an instant.
All things happen in God's time and not ours. I concur with your estimation on prayer.
 

KelbyofGod

Senior Member
Oct 8, 2017
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#72
Hi CherieR,
It seems odd to say we should (or even are allowed to) hold God's promises up to him as if there is a chance he won't do them...but consider how Moses negotiated with God in Exodus 32.

Exodus 32:9-14 KJV
And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: [10] Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. [11] And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? [12] Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. [13] Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. [14] And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

That fits my definition effective praying. Think of how many lives were spared that day. God didn't get angry for him praying like that. He responded to it.

Love in Jesus,
Kelby
What Moses did in those verses amazes me! Think about it. God COMMANDED Moses to "let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them". As far as I see it, Moses blatantly disregarded the commandment of God in order to present his supplication to ask mercy for the people...and it WORKED!

That is effectual prayer! And I think we can learn a lot by considering what he did and how he did it.

It would have been easy to say "Well, It's just God's will to destroy them." AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN TRUE! But Moses went after God's heart, to CHANGE his will concerning them. (How's that for impressive praying!)

More to come on the topic of "God's will".

Love in Jesus,
Kelby
 

Tinkerbell725

Senior Member
Jul 19, 2014
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Philippines Age 40
#73
Pray earnestly. I sometimes pray about the weather, like Elijah. Sometimes it is effective. :)

Elijah 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.

And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
 

KelbyofGod

Senior Member
Oct 8, 2017
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#75
Just want to brag on God a bit. Someone called me the other evening frantic and incoherent in their explanation that they had lost $800 (the majority of their ability to pay bills) at a store or parking lot.

One piece of information you may need to know...this person is loved by me and has called several times before with things that can only reasonably be solved by prayer...not by getting upset and freaking out.

Well, they were freaking out so I got rather bold with them and told them they have nothing better to do than to stay right there in that parking lot and pray until God either shows them what to do, or gives them peace about the situation. They kind of got rebellious saying that they felt their alcohol was going to give them peace right now. I took some time out in prayer for them as well (any advice you give someone else, you should be willing to take right along side of them) and went to bed.

A few days later the person told me "Just thought you should know they found my money"...and.. "they told me they couldn't find it on cameras and then they called me 2 hours later and it had magically reappeared after I left but I didn't find out until the next morning"


Thank-you Jesus for being faithful!

Love in Jesus,
Kelby
 

SoulWeaver

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2014
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#76
Every prayer produces results because God always listens. It's just not always the result we want. We might be prompted to wait, or told no, or given something else that works better. Beyond taking the advice of Jesus about prayer and fasting and persistence like a poor widow, teaching so called "effective" prayer may easily turn into taking God lightly and produce lack of peace, and more distress by wanting to control outcomes and is actually a sign of less faith. Not accusing the OP of such, just saying.
 

SoulWeaver

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2014
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#77
It is never God's will for people to be sick. A house divided against itself can not stand.
What about sickness of the child of David and Bethsheba, or the wounds of Job. It's not like God maliciously wants people to be ill, but He is often allowing it or letting it be, sometimes with a purpose, and sometimes simply bad things happen without specific cause, it's suffering the ricochet of evil in this sinful world. God's intent is to bring about the unity of Spirit and be all in all, presence of God in itself often produces physical healing when the power of God moves through a person, but at times physical deficiencies remain because it isn't God's priority, He is concerned with soul. Healings performed by apostles had purpose to herald spiritual healing and spread the Gospel and are still present but in lesser measure today. I wish it were different. It's still okay to knock. As long as sick people aren't blamed and distressed on top of their illness.
 

KelbyofGod

Senior Member
Oct 8, 2017
1,881
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#78
OK, it's time to get back to this thread...

Have you ever wanted to know what was meant by a particular scripture, or had a question about something that you couldn't find the answer to? Would you like to know how to ask God and get the answers to your questions? (I hope so. :) ) Well, here's some of what I've learned.

1. Take a little bit to consider what it is you're really asking. For example: Are you asking God to do something... or... asking why he didn't/doesn't do something... because those aren't the same thing. And perhaps most important in this area... decide whether or not you really want him to answer. Some people claim to, but really don't want him to because it would mess up their belief system.

2. Take a little bit to consider how you should present your request before God (if you want to be answered positively). Think about who you are going to be talking to. What kind of attitude should you present? etc. and I suggest you decide this for yourself, not necessarily listen to what your elders/teachers have told you is important...because it won't be them that is standing before God to get this answer. (It's going to be you. So give it YOUR best shot). I suggest using the name of Jesus, but if you're not sure about that perhaps you should ask him about that too.

3. Once you've made your request, LEAVE THE REQUEST ON THE TABLE, in the hands of God! DO NOT take it back before he answers. If you feel the need to edit your request, that's fine, but do NOT retract the request (unless you no longer want it). When you've given your request to God, it's now HIS, not yours. I'm not sure if I can stress enough how important this step is. If you were planning to do it yourself, you should have already done that. Now that you've given it to God, your role has changed. You are no longer the person who has responsibility for performing the request. Your new job is one of faith, trust, hope. Do not try to micro-manage God. Give him credit for being able to perform.

4. Do not think that God needs your "help". For example, if you've been pondering what a particular scripture means, but couldn't decipher it, place your request before God and then STOP trying to figure it out. If you've handed your request to God, it's effectively "on order"... you're only awaiting its arrival. However, you CAN ask him how it's going, if you'd like. If you've done your part of "Ask, and ye shall receive" it's not wrong to expect him to do his part. And you can remind him that you haven't forgotten about the request you've given him...and you that still expect him to answer. (as a matter of faith, not imperiousness). BTW, you should continue to read, pray, etc. but not fixated on that first topic. Start learning other stuff until he brings your answer.

5. It's not up to you as to WHEN he answers. You control when you place the request. God controls when he answers. (this step is basically just a reminder of the previous 2 points)

6. Thank Him. If you did a good job of considering how you should come before God, you probably already realized that appreciation is in order. Don't forget it now. :) And this doesn't have to wait until the answer is manifest. If you truly believe that God is faithful to answer, then there's nothing wrong with thanking him before you see the results.

That seems a bit wordy, but hopefully is still helpful.

One last thing, EXPECT to be answered. If you don't EXPECT to be answered, why would you pray in the first place?? :)

Love in Jesus,
Kelby
 
Jan 17, 2020
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#79
It is never God's will for people to be sick. A house divided against itself can not stand.
“I will send a time of hunger and wild animals against you, and they will kill your children. Disease and death will sweep through your people, and I will bring the sword against you to kill you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”” Ezekiel 5:17 (NCV)
 
Jan 17, 2020
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#80
I think the best way to pray is to ask God how we can better serve him and not ask anything for ourselves unless it aligns with that. Look how Solomon prayed for wisdom and all that God gave to him along with it.