The scriptures say Jesus Christ’s prayer was ‘heard’ (Heb 5:7)“who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear” (Heb 5:7)“vehement cries and tears.”
These descriptive words are unparalleled anywhere in the NT in terms of their intensity. They probably refer to Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane when His prayers were so intense that He sweats drops of blood (cf. Mat 26:31-46; Luke 22:39-44). Jesus Christ’s prayer was “heard” not in the sense that God removed all that was involved in His experience of death, but in the sense that He received God’s grace and help to undergo His appointed suffering.
There will be times when we too face trials and our fervent prayers seem to go unanswered. In such times, we must remember that Jesus was tested in the same way and that God will give us sufficient grace to undergo what He allows for our lives (see Mat 26:39).
Paul asked three times for deliverance from his “thorn in the flesh.” God’s answer to Paul directed him to find comfort in God’s sufficient grace. In addition, God declared that His power is best seen in Paul’s weakness (2 Cor. 12:8-9). God gave him the problem to hinder his pride.
Ironically, Paul claimed that God gave the problem, yet he called it a messenger of Satan. Paul learned that petitions are sometimes denied in light of an eventual greater good: God’s power displayed in Paul’s humility.
Faith is a condition for answered petitions (Mark 11:24). Two extremes must be avoided concerning faith.
• With Jesus’ example in mind we must not think that faith will always cause our wishes to be granted.
• We must not go through the motions of prayer without faith. Believers do not receive what they pray for because they pray from selfish motives (James 4:2-3). Prayers are also hindered by corrupted character (James 4:7) or injured relationships (Mat 5:23-24; 1 Pet 3:7).
Every Prayer Is Answered
If prayer is of such prime importance why do we pray so little?
One reason is lack of discipline. Prayer is not planned. It is fitted in around other things.Build other things around your prayer time rather than building your prayers time around other things.
For some people another reason may be that they doubt if anything happens as a result of prayer.
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