Why does God answer some prayers with a yes and some prayers with a no? Here are 3 signs God is going to answer a certain prayer request you have with a “Yes.”
And if you are a Christian single person who wants to glorify God in marriage one day, I wanted to remind you that the enrollment deadline for AGW University is just 3 days away on Sunday, November 24th at 11:59pm (EST). I’m currently offering 3 courses, which is a total of 28 individual video lessons that you will have life-time access to, specifically designed for Christian singles who want to glorify God in marriage one day. And if you enroll before the deadline, I’m also giving you 3 months of one-on-one email coaching with me so you can share your story with me and ask me any questions you think I might be able to help you with. There’s a ton more information but for the sake of not taking up too much time here, I would encourage you to click here to learn more. (PS: You can check out all the course topics before enrolling.)
1. God Is Going to Answer Your Prayer If Your Request Is in Alignment with His Will
Perhaps one of the most insightful parts of Scripture when it comes to answered prayer request is found in 1 John 5:14-15. It states:
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
This passage clears up so much confusion when it comes to wondering why God answers some prayers and not others. It states, “if we ask anything according to his will” we will receive what we ask for. We often imagine prayer being a process where God submits to our will for him. But in reality, the Bible teaches us that prayer is more about us being conformed into God’s will for us. When you come into the presence of God, your desires will be conformed to God’s desires. And then when you ask for what God wants, God will always grant that prayer request.
Some of you may be wondering why God wants us to pray at all if God is only going to answer the prayer requests that he wants to answer. Well, notice that 1 John 5:14-15 did not say God will answer a prayer that was not prayed. Just because God wants to give you something does not mean he always will. Sometimes he specifically waits for us to ask him. In Matthew 6:8 Jesus teaches us that the Father already knows what we need to before we ask him. So why does he make us ask at all?
God doesn’t just want to give us stuff. God wants us to know the good in our lives comes from him. In Matthew 7:7 we are told by Jesus to ask God and then God will answer. God will often wait for you to ask for what he already knows he is going to give you so that you know it is him that has given you this blessing.
Lastly for point 1, what is God’s will? If God only answers prayers that are in alignment with his will, it would be wise to pray his will. If you want to know the will of God, it always starts with knowing the word of God. In short, when you pray biblical prayers, you are praying prayers that God will answer.
2. God Will Answer Your Prayer If He Has Granted You the Faith to Believe He Will Answer This Prayer
I’m not going to lie, it makes me nervous to share this point with you because so many people have misused what the Bible says about faith and prayer. I purposefully started with point 1 because not all unanswered prayer is a sign of a lack of faith. Sometimes a prayer request is just not God’s will for you. And when a prayer is not God’s will, he will not answer it.
So faith is not to be seen as a battering ram meant to be used to forcefully get you whatever you want. If God tells you, “no,” don’t keep asking him over and over again, pretending this is an expression of faith. Sometimes we just need to accept God’s no and move on in life with the Lord.
With that said, I don’t ever want to deny what the Bible clearly says just because some people misuse these parts of Scripture to twist them to mean what they want. While I don’t believe God will always do whatever you want even if you are asking in faith, I do believe God will refuse to give you what you want if you are not asking him in faith. Notice what Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24. It states:
And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have receive it, and it will be yours.”
James 1:6-8 also state:
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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
There are many, many other Scripture passages that teach us the same thing – that without faith God will not answer our prayers. So one sign that God will grant your prayer request is if you have the faith in your heart to believe God will do it. I know for some of you who are more theologically conservative like me that sounds theologically dangerous, but I don’t believe we can deny the obviously link in the Bible between faith and prayer.
3. If God Is Giving You the Supernatural Energy to Contribute Towards This Prayer Request Being Accomplished, This Is a Sign God Is Going to Grant Your Prayer Request
Another common misconception that many Christians have about prayer and faith is that if you really have faith you will just sit still so God can do everything on his own to answer your prayer request. It’s as though a lack of action is somehow a sign of faith. If God truly tells you to do nothing but sit still as an expression of faith, I’m not here to argue that. What I am here to say is that normally that is not how faith is expressed in the Bible. When God gives you faith to ask for something from him, God will also give you the power to express that faith in action as well.
The person who is most responsible for the things that happen in your life, besides God himself, is you. It is not right for us to place the burden of responsibility for our desire being met onto other people. Waiting for someone to randomly appear in your life to give you what you asked God for is not wise. Why is that person responsible for what you want? When you ask for something in faith, you should not be surprised if God answers your prayer by empowering you to take the necessary steps in life to receive what you are asking him for.
For example, if you are asking God to allow you to be a doctor one day, if God was to answer that prayer, he would answer that prayer by giving you the necessary drive and determination to make your dream a reality by going to med school. If you are asking God to help you become an author, if God does grant that request, he will do so by giving you an abundance of energy to write a book and then to be rejected over and over again by publishers. If you are asking God to give you a Christian spouse, God may answer that prayer by giving you the energy to push through failed relationship after failed relationship before you actually meet the one he has for you.
As James 2:18 states, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
If you are a Christian single person and you want to dive even deeper into what the Bible actually says about relationships, then AGW University was created for you. These courses are a step up from the level of information I am able to provide on YouTube. By enrolling in AGW University, this also gives me the opportunity to invest in you personally through email coaching. Here’s what one of my students said:
I just wanted to let you know that I have been growing a lot the past few months through your AGW program and email coaching and am excited about how God will continue to grow me in relationships/preparing for marriage! I just wanted to say thank you for your support and investment in your AGW students!” – Yolanda
The opportunity to enroll is going to pass by in just a few days on Sunday, November 24th at 11:59pm (Est.). If you are interested and you want to check out all the course topics before enrolling, you can click here to learn more.
You may also like:
- 3 Signs God Is Saying, “I Want You Single for…
- Does Porn Use Disqualify You from Christian Dating?
- 4 Reasons God Will Let You Doubt His Blessing Before…
- 5 Undeniable Signs God Wants You to Pursue a Relationship
- 3 Things God Wants You to Do to Receive His…
- 4 Biblical Ways to Be Emotionally Healthy Without Looking Weak