ICS Daily Devotions
God Will Answer Prayers
Have you ever not received an answer to your prayers, bearing in mind that God’s answer could be a “yes”, “no” or “wait”? Any one of these is still an answer. But what if you don’t get any of these?
John 15:7 (NKJV) IF you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (emphasis added)
The word “IF” means that there is an option that you will or will not abide in Christ. The pre-requisite for asking “what you desire, and it shall be done for you” is that you abide in Christ and His words in us. Therefore, the key to having an answered prayer is walking with the Lord and consecrating ourselves to Him. The word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It will teach us to walk in God’s way and to discern what is right or wrong. Those who choose not to abide in Christ, will do things themselves without consulting God. They will ask for things to fulfill their own desires and pleasures which have nothing to do with God’s plans for their lives, resulting in unanswered prayers.
Those who abide in Christ are mature believers who have sorted out the absolute Lordship of Christ in their lives. They are living for a purpose bigger than themselves. They will ensure that they seek the face of God in regards with His will for their lives before they make any major decisions. These believers consider themselves dead to self but alive to God to glory Him. They have the attitude that all that they have financially and materially belong to God, who is the source of their provisions. They are willing to share, sow into the Kingdom of God and serve Him.
Oftentimes, there are those who flirt with the world even though they are believers, and they carry out their own agendas in life, yet they expect God to bless their lives and bail them out as needed! God is not obliged to bless our plans when He was not even consulted! We are in no position to dictate that God should do things for us or even bless our plans. We should not expect God to answer our prayers if they were asked out of selfish ambitions and pleasures!
1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
The most important thing is to set aside time to seek the face of God to know whether something is His will for us. We can pray in faith and confidence when the will of God is known. It is our responsibility to seek out what is His will and plan for our lives. Once we have taken time to do so and He speaks to us through a Book, Chapter and Verse (BCV) in the Bible, then our faith will be anchored on the promise. The BCV gives substance to our faith and the assurance of an answered prayer even when we have not seen it with the naked eyes. Choose, therefore to abide in Christ and His Word in us, consecrate your life and your plans to Him and you will have your answered prayer.
Sermon Series: Help! My Prayers Are Not Answered!
