What is Prayer, Biblically? (Part 2)

As promised here is the highly anticipated part two of what is prayer, biblically. We’re going to dive right into the first question which is:

Does God hear and answer all prayers?

Yes, God hears and answers all prayers. In 1 John 5, we read that if we ask for anything according to His will God will hear us and answer us.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that he have what we asked of him.”
1 John 5:14-15

God listens to all our prayers, even those we feel are a waste of time.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7

God will always answer we might not like what He responds with. We don’t like being told no or that we have to wait but the point of prayer isn’t to receive what we want it’s about aligning our plans with His knowing that His way is the best. We must trust that God with all His wisdom has answered us in the best possible way.

Can prayer change God’s will?

Can you imagine one of your prayers changing God’s mind? Probably not, and that’s as it should be because God doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). He is the same eternally (Hebrews 13:8). God is perfect and if He changed His mind that would make Him imperfect which He isn’t.

“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him”
2 Samuel 22:31

But just because doesn’t change His mind doesn’t mean our prayers aren’t taken into account. God exists outside of time so even if we think it’s too late for God it isn’t.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Revelation 12:13

Everything God has promised, He will fulfil. All the plans He has made will come to be (Isaiah 46:11). His actions are all part of a bigger plan and so are our prayers.

Everything God does is His will. When He allows what we have prayed for to be, it is because it has aligned with His will. God can change our circumstances in response to our prayers, He may give us one thing instead of another out of love but only when it doesn’t affect His bigger plan and if it aligns with His timing.

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4

Our prayers may not change God’s mind but sometimes they are the catalyst that leads to His action. And if our prayer aligns with His will and timing, He will make it happen. In Luke 18 Jesus tells the disciples to always pray and not give up so take these words to heart and apply them in your life. Just because you don’t feel like your prayers are being answered doesn’t mean they aren’t.

The more that we pray the more our hearts will be aligned to God’s will.

Can prayer heal physical and emotional pain?

God has the power to heal physically, emotionally and spiritually. Most commonly God heals spiritually because it is the most important. But He has healed people of their sicknesses and injuries in the past. There are stories of depression vanishing and stage 4 cancer healed but all these healings are rare.

Just because God can doesn’t mean He will. If it is part of His plan to heal He will but sometimes He uses the suffering or illness for a greater purpose. So not everyone will be blessed with healing but they will in other ways. Take Paul for example we read in 2 Corinthians that he prayed for an ailment to be taken away but it wasn’t. Paul had to live with it for the rest of his days, yet that never stopped him from doing what God called him to do. We should be like him in this way, that even when we suffer we should never stop being grateful to God for what we do have and praise Him in all circumstances.

Can I pray for forgiveness of my sin?

Absolutely! Prayer is the method by which we communicate with God, with Jesus. And forgiveness can only be received by faith through the mercy and grace of God. Trusting in Jesus is what provides forgiveness.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
Ephesians 1:7

Praying for forgiveness is one of the most important things we can do and believers repent and pray for forgiveness daily knowing that not a day passes where we do not sin.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:2

Can I pray even if I’m not religious?

The Bible has a few examples of times when an unbeliever or non-religious person has prayed and He has responded. In Mark 7:24-30, we read of a gentile woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon and she prayed for her daughter to be delivered and Jesus did remove the demon.

In the book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh were threatened by the wrath of God for their wicked ways and unbelief, they prayed to be spared and this prayer was answered.

So yes you can pray even if you’re not religious but God will not always respond. The exception is with the prayer for salvation which God will always respond to.

Can we pray for miracles?

If you have faith in God you can pray for miracles.

“Truly I tell you, if you have as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20

God still performs miracles today but He won’t perform a miracle just for the sake of it. There is always a greater purpose behind any miracle He performs.

If you haven’t read part 1 of What is Prayer, Biblically? I suggest you do. And if you have any more questions about prayer send me a message. I hope some of your questions have been answered, even if they were questions you hadn’t even thought to ask. Look out for the next post which will be on How to Pray. Until next time, may God give you many blessings.