Week 2 — Friday: Does God Promise To Answer?
2 Chronicles 7:14
I can’t tell you how many times someone has said to me something like this: “Pastor Rick, I’ve tried prayer and it didn’t work. I mean, I had a need and so I prayed about it over and over again, but nothing happened. So, I’m really having a hard time believing that God answers prayer or that God even cares about me.” We’ve all probably had a thought like that at some moment in our walk with the Lord, right?
Is prayer something we conned ourselves into thinking is real, but isn’t?
Beloved, I think there’s a deeper question that needs to be asked: “Does God promise to answer everyone’s prayers?” And the answer is “No!” God doesn’t answer the prayers of everybody. In fact the Bible tells us that God completely ignores the prayers of some people (Psalm 66:18; John 9:31).
Why?
Well the Bible says that God has laid out some conditions that have to be met if He is going to answer your prayers. And we see a good illustration of this in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
God says, “If we humble ourselves.” If we seek Him. If we turn from living in sin and live a God-honoring life. If we do these things—then He will answer our prayers! In other words, there are conditions that God is looking for before He even hears our prayers, let alone answers them!
—CONTRIBUTED BY RICK COUNTRYMAN, PASTOR OF REACH—
Cathy Tripp
September 15, 2023 at 6:07 amGod opened the blind man’s physical eyes. But more importantly He opened his spiritual eyes!
Angelina Marquez
September 15, 2023 at 6:22 amThis leaves me with a question… is it safe to assume that satan is hearing and giving to those that “pray” for things , whom which aren’t saved? I know it’s partly irrelevant to us in faith who our Lord blesses, however, some have argued that they can continue living how they wish due to being heard and answered..?
Christine Pence
September 15, 2023 at 11:36 pmSorry I’m late just getting caught up on this had a very busy day I recently read this entire chapter in the Bible and it makes me think of the awesome power of the Lord and how important it is for us to stay in obedience and how God’s ways and statutes are perfect and how we should all do our best to follow them even if we fall short of the glory of God
Brandon Peterson
September 19, 2023 at 9:14 amI stopped and thought a lot about Rick’s question… “Is prayer something we conned ourselves into thinking is real, but isn’t?”
That reminds of the same tactic the enemy has been using for generations to question God; Did Got really say? Is He really listening? Does prayer even work? Aren’t you just wasting your time? What difference does that make? Is there a God anyway?
The great Accuser will always try to plant seeds of doubt. He will try to water them; spread them. But our faith is not built on doubt, but on hope, on confidence, and upon faith. The Truth we rest upon and the God behind them is Great, His fingerprints are everywhere, and He has revealed Himself in many ways, two of the greatest being through His Word to us through Scripture and sending His Son Jesus Christ.