True prayer is a form of worship. It’s the time that we take to come before God our Creator in thanksgiving…with supplications and requests…seeking guidance or wisdom. It’s a time when we recognize God for who He is – the Creator of all living and the Savior of mankind. Is it, therefore, unreasonable for God to ask something in return for blessing us with our petitions?
Remember, God knows the condition of your heart. He knows your motives and intentions. He also knows what’s best for each of us. Good parents always try to do what is best for their child. But even with the best of intentions, we make mistakes. We might tell our children, “No, you may not go,” only to learn later that it would have been a great learning experience for them.
God, on the other hand, makes no mistakes. He always does what’s in our best interest.
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
I John 5:14-15 KJV
Condition: You must ask according to His will. If your son asks you for something that you want him to have, you will definitely give it to him.
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
Psalm 66:18 KJV
Condition: You mustn’t have any unconfessed sin in your life. We all sin, but the instant you realize that you’ve sinned, you must confess it and turn away from it.
Psalm 66:18 goes hand in hand with I John 3:22.
“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
I John 3:22 KJV
Condition: Obedience to God – we “do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” It’s impossible to please God if you are hiding iniquity in your heart. In which case, the Lord will not even hear your prayer.
If your daughter has been difficult all day – disobedient, disrespectful, fighting with her sister, and around dinner time she asks if she can go to the movies with a friend, are you inclined to consider her request? She hasn’t done anything you’ve asked of her today. And so it is with God.
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
John 15:7 KJV
Condition: Jesus said, “If ye abide in me…” First, you must be saved. Next, you must be building a relationship with Jesus. Without those two, you are not abiding in Christ.
Condition: “and my words abide in you.” Jesus is God (John 1:1-3) and He’s referring to the Word of God – studying it, memorizing it, meditating on it, and allowing its message and meaning to permeate every area of your life. If you do those two things, then God will give you anything you ask