Conditions that result in answered prayers

God hears the prayers of the righteous. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry,” (Ps 34:15). “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. 19. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer,” (Ps 66:18,19).

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth,” (Ps 145:18). “Near to all who call upon him.” All who call upon God in truth (that is, with a sincere and upright heart) may be assured that He is near.

He will hear their prayer, fulfill their desire for help and work for their deliverance (v.19). “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us,” (1John 5:14). “Ask anything according to His will.” Our prayers (like our lives) are presented to God in submission and confidence according to His will as revealed in Scripture or otherwise by the Holy Spirit. We know God’s will in many instances because it is revealed in the Scripture. At other times, it becomes clear only as we earnestly seek His will. Once we know His will about any given issue, then we can ask in confidence and faith. When we do this, we know that He hears us and that His purposes for us will be accomplished.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore, I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him,” (Ps 91:14,15). “Because he has set his love upon Me.

Here, the Lord Himself addresses His faithful followers. Because they truly love Him, He, Himself, promises to come to their aid in times of trouble. The secret for receiving God’s protective care is a heart that is intimately attached to the Lord in gratitude and affection. He knows who such believers are, and He will be with them in trouble, hear their prayers, and give them lives full of His divine presence and provision (see John 14:12-21;15:1-10). “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight,” (1Jn 3:22). “Because we keep his commandments.”

Why are some prayers answered and others are not? John declares that an effective prayer life is related to our devotion to God. Obeying, loving and pleasing God (John 8:29; 2Cor 5:9; Eph 5:10; Heb 13:21) are indispensable conditions to receiving what we ask for in prayers (cf.Ps 50:14-15; Prov 15:29; Is 59:1-2; Mat 6:15; Mark 11:25; Jas 5:16).

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