God Loves to Hear Us Pray!

God delights in answering the prayers of his children!
As our heavenly Father, God loves to talk with his children and respond to our requests. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11)

God loves it when we pray for others!
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:18)

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.” (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

Nothing is too big or too small to bring to God in prayer!
“’Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’” (Mark 11:22-24)

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Prayer is aligning our desires with God’s desires
Jesus taught us to pray, “May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 NLT) In prayer, we’re not trying to convince God to do something he doesn’t want to do. Instead, we want to know his will and pray accordingly. “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” (1 John 5:14-15 NLT)

Jesus modeled this attitude in prayer when he prayed on the night he was betrayed, “‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.’ Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, ‘My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.’” (Matthew 26:39 & 42 NLT)

God encourages us to pray for healing
Both Jesus’ ministry and that of the apostles and early church were marked by physical healing (see Luke 7:22; 9:2; 10:8-9; Acts 3:1-11). God often heals and performs miracles to authenticate the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 14:3; Hebrews 2:3-4). And in 1 Corinthians 12 we find that God has given some to the church family who have the gift of healing (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

Also, the preaching of the Kingdom of God attends to the whole person and every aspect of a person’s life: spiritual, intellectual, social and physical. This does not mean that God always chooses to heal, but he often does. Therefore, we should pray for healing with the expectation that God wants to heal and will heal.

James writes, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:14-16)

God also challenges us to endure hardship patiently
Our heavenly Father loves us profoundly and always seeks what’s best for us, whether this means healing us from a sickness, disease or injury or giving us the grace to trust him and make much of him through suffering. In either case, we must trust him, be firmly rooted and grow in our relationship with him.

Right before the passage above on healing, James urges us, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming…as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:7, 10-11)

Know that patiently enduring suffering, trial and persecution often requires greater faith than that to be healed. (See Romans 5:3; 12:12; Philippians 4:6-7; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Hebrews 11:35-40; 12:7-13 and James 1:2-4.)

© 2009 Rob Fischer