4. Six Conditions for Answered Prayers
1. Faith
2. Name
3. Motives
4. Forgiveness 2x
5. Will
6. Persistence 4
5. Faith
And whatever you ask in prayer,
you will receive, if you have faith.
Matthew 21:22 5
6. Name
In that day you will ask
nothing of me. Truly, truly, I
say to you, whatever you
ask of the Father in my
name, he will give it to you.
Until now you have asked
nothing in my name. Ask,
and you will receive, that
your joy may be full.
John 16:23–24 6
7. Motives
You ask and do not
receive, because
you ask wrongly,
to spend it on
your passions.
James 4:3 7
10. Will
And this is the confidence that we have
toward him, that if we ask anything
according to his will he hears us.
1 John 5:14 10
11. Persistence
…praying at all times in the Spirit,
with all prayer and supplication. To
that end, keep alert with all
perseverance, making supplication
for all the saints,
Ephesians 6:18 11
12. I wish I could
believe
God show me you exist
12
B
13. Does God exist?
Teleological- order and design
Ontological- God must exist
Causality- Everything has a cause
Morality- law and lawgiver
13
15. Ask Him!
Then you will call upon me and come
and pray to me, and I will hear you.
You will seek me and find me, when
you seek me with all your heart. I will
be found by you, declares the LORD…
Jeremiah 29:12–14a 15
16. In the case of faith, it’s easy to overlook the most
fundamental point of all, namely, that God is not
an argument; he is not a syllogism; he is not even
a concept. God is a living being. He has the ability
to know things, to desire things, to create things,
and to love things. He is fully aware and involved.
He is alive.
16
Faith
17. You see, communication is really the key to understanding the whole mystery of
faith. In fact, the history of the world is really the history of God trying to
communicate with mankind.2 By creating the universe and the planets in the
first place, God was essentially “breaking the silence.” By creating animals and
human beings, he was making conversation possible.3 By formulating covenants
with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, he was taking the step of
actually speaking to us.4 By sending great prophets like Elijah and Isaiah to his
chosen people, he was deepening his bond with us and “revealing” himself to
us even more clearly.5 God’s most direct act of communication was to become a
man in the person of Jesus Christ. By actually walking among us in bodily form
and speaking to us plainly in our own language, God was doing everything he
could to “talk to us.” And by sending his Holy Spirit, first to the Apostles on
Pentecost Sunday and then to the rest of the world, God continues to
communicate with us to this very day.6
17
Communication
20. Instruments
Do not present your members to
sin as instruments for
unrighteousness, but present
yourselves to God as those who
have been brought from death to
life, and your members to God as
instruments for righteousness.
Romans 6:13 20
21. Command
For the whole law is fulfilled in
one word: “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14 21
22. Serve
For God is not unjust so
as to overlook your work
and the love that you
have shown for his
name in serving the
saints, as you still do. Hebrews 6:10 22
23. I can’t take it
anymore
God get me through this suffering
23
D
24. Pause
God allows bad things to happen
Death and suffering are part of the human
condition.
It rains on the just and the unjust.
Many people let the existence of bad things
torpedo their faith or belief in God
24
26. Escape
No temptation has overtaken you that is
not common to man. God is faithful, and
he will not let you be tempted beyond
your ability, but with the temptation he
will also provide the way of escape, that
you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 26
27. Walk
For you have delivered my
soul from death, my eyes
from tears, my feet from
stumbling; I will walk
before the LORD in the
land of the living.
Psalm 116:8–9 27
28. Footprints
The steps of a man are established by the
LORD, when he delights in his way; though he
fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the
LORD upholds his hand.
Psalm 37:23–24 28
32. Proverbial
if you call out for insight and raise your voice for
understanding, if you seek it like silver and search
for it as for hidden treasures, then you will
understand the fear of the LORD and find the
knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from
his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
Proverbs 2:3–6 32
33. Ask
If any of you lacks
wisdom, let him
ask God, who
gives generously
to all without
reproach, and it
will be given him.
James 1:5 33
36. Reason
Come now, let us reason together,
says the LORD: though your sins
are like scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they are
red like crimson, they shall
become like wool.
Isaiah 1:18 36
37. Acknowledge
I acknowledged my sin to
you, and I did not cover my
iniquity; I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the
LORD,” and you forgave the
iniquity of my sin.
Psalm 32:5 37
38. Confess
If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 38
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Prayers that God always answers yes. Five prayers that God answers with an affirmative
Faith- towards God
Name- Authority
Motives- Internal
Forgiveness 2x inward and outward
Will- not mine
Persistence – Don’t give up
Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Object of faith
John 16:23–24 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Matthew 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
God show me you exist
Proofs
Teleological- order and design
Ontological- God must exist
Causality- Everything has a cause
Morality- law and lawgiver
Ask
Faith
Communication
Jeremiah 29:12–14 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD…
God wants to reward a leap of faith even small faith Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
In the case of faith, it’s easy to overlook the most fundamental point of all, namely, that God is not an argument; he is not a syllogism; he is not even a concept. God is a living being. He has the ability to know things, to desire things, to create things, and to love things. He is fully aware and involved. He is alive.
Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV)
3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
You see, communication is really the key to understanding the whole mystery of faith. In fact, the history of the world is really the history of God trying to communicate with mankind.2 By creating the universe and the planets in the first place, God was essentially “breaking the silence.” By creating animals and human beings, he was making conversation possible.3 By formulating covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, he was taking the step of actually speaking to us.4 By sending great prophets like Elijah and Isaiah to his chosen people, he was deepening his bond with us and “revealing” himself to us even more clearly.5 God’s most direct act of communication was to become a man in the person of Jesus Christ. By actually walking among us in bodily form and speaking to us plainly in our own language, God was doing everything he could to “talk to us.” And by sending his Holy Spirit, first to the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday and then to the rest of the world, God continues to communicate with us to this very day.6
“Please, Lord, make me an instrument to carry out some important mission of mercy for you.” In other words, “Please use me to help someone in need.”
DeStefano, Anthony. Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To (p. 26). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Instruments
Command
Serve
Romans 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. The word for instrument in this scripture means weapon, tool or implement. Root word to be busy about
Instruments are tools. What are the purposes of tools?
Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
How did Jesus show love? How are we to show love? Love requires action
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
God get me through this suffering. God says yes to all who come to him for help and comfort when they are in the midst of such trials. Notice I did not say that he promises to stop the suffering, or prevent it from happening in the first place, or alleviate it in any way. This may be one of the biggest stumbling blocks to faith, but we have to face it, head-on: God allows a lot of terrible things to happen.
God allows bad things to happen
Death and suffering are part of the human condition.
It rains on the just and the unjust.
Many people let the existence of bad things torpedo their faith or belief in God
Escape
Footprints
Release
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Psalm 116:8–9 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 37:23–24 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
God give me wisdom
Proverbial
Ask
Proverbs 2:3–6 if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
James 1:5–6 (ESV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
God, forgive me
Reason
Acknowledge
Confess
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.