January 16, 2025
Jesus tells us in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) said, “Jesus is apparently saying that when we ask for something, the kind of faith that will bring results is a settled assurance that when we prayed for something, God agreed to grant our specific prayer.”
Anything we do that displeases God will be a hindrance to our prayers. Peter warns, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).
Fortunately we know from the Bible that God saves by His grace all who are repentant and put their trust in Christ. Some preachers claim that a Christian can actually lose his salvation. This is not true. Nothing at all can ever threaten the salvation of any believer, any true Christian. However, every Christian, like everyone alive, still sins. And sin always grieves God. Sin also hurts a believer’s fellowship with his Father in heaven. But, praise God, He is always willing to forgive. He tells us in 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.” This is a very wonderful promise.
Sometimes our prayers are answered immediately. But often they seem to us delayed. In Psalm 27:14, David advises, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.” I have heard of mothers’ praying for 30 and 35 years for the salvation of their sons. This took a lot of waiting, but it worked eventually. God hears all prayers of His children (Christians), but He has His own timeline, and His timing does not always correspond to ours. And He never owes us any explanation for anything He does.
We are to pray to God to express our trust in Him. He already knows exactly what we have need of and what we will ask of Him. But He still wants to hear from His children. God desires a close relationship with all Christians. Communication is a big part of all close relationships, and prayer is personal communication with God.
So, if we want our prayers to be answered, we must learn obedience. Jesus tells us, “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). To be a friend of Jesus is to be a friend of God Almighty, because Jesus is the Christ; He is God. A close relationship with God is not only a great satisfaction to us on earth, it is also a tremendous blessing that results in many answered prayers for us.
We Christians are so very fortunate to be believers, and we should be eternally grateful for the fact that Christ died that we might live forever in a home He has prepared for us in heaven. Amen.
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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
