PRAYERS THAT GOD ANSWERS John 16:24

A sermon preached at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana on Sunday, September 13, 2009 by Pastor Joe Alain.

Series: Foundations: Lessons On Assurance

Week #2: Assurance of Answered

Focal Verse: John 16:24, NIV
“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

One of the great blessings of knowing Christ as our Lord and Savior is to know that we have access to God the Father. We have an audience with the King of Kings! Paul described this privilege of prayer. “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18). And “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Eph. 3:12). God wants you to have the assurance that He does care about you, that He does hear you, and that He will answer your prayers. The truth of our Scripture today is that God does answer prayer.

How can we know that God is hearing our prayers and that He will answer them? What kind of prayers does God answer? Today, I want to talk about the kinds of prayers that God answers.

God answers prayers that are . . .
1. Prayed – “Ask you will receive”
This sounds pretty simple and it is, but for God to answer prayer, the prayer must be prayed (see Jas. 4:2). God knows all about you and He knows what you need, but He wants to hear from you. There is something about voicing our concerns to God personally. God does things in response to our prayers that He would not do otherwise. God answers prayer, are we praying? Our Scripture lays down this timeless principle of prayer, God wants us to “ask” (Jn. 16:24). Why is prayer important? Through prayer, God accomplishes His purposes in us and completes our joy. Prayer is vitally connected to our fullness of joy. Apart from prayer, our joy will be incomplete.

Notice the phrase, “Until now you have not asked.” Jesus is not chastising the disciples for not asking in His name. Jesus was saying that up to that time, the disciples’ had not prayed in His name. Because Jesus was with the disciples in the flesh, there was no need to ask in His name. But now they were about to enter into a new age when they could do that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus was saying “No longer will I physically be here to answer your questions and care for you. From now on, you will be able to pray to the Father in My name, and receive your resources from Him.”

He said something similar in John 14:13-14. “And I will do [fut.] whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do [fut.] it.” Notice here the added element that our prayers are answered for the glory of the Father. More about this in a moment.

So what needs do you have? Bring them to God. Do you need help in a struggling relationship? A problem area of your life? A need for God’s counsel? God wants you to bring your needs to Him and trust Him to meet those needs. His promise is to you is that He will supply all your need according to His riches in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19). What could you talk to your heavenly Father about today? God answers prayers that are prayed.

God answers prayers that are . . .
2. Prayed in Faith
Without faith it is impossible to please God, says the writer of Hebrews 11:6. He goes on to describe what faith means which is instructive to us in the area of prayer. If our prayers are to be effective, (1) first, we must believe that God exists (that is, that He is real) and second, (2) that He rewards those who seek Him (that is, He will answer our prayers).

James has much to tell us about praying in faith. He tells us to not doubt, or waver as one who does not know God (Jas. 1:5-8). To doubt God is to be “double-minded” or literally, “two-souled.” Praying in faith is praying with single-minded confidence because you know the Lord is your heavenly Father. The more that we come to know God intimately, the more focused and unwavering faith we will have in our prayers.

Faith is trusting God’s character and it is taking God at His Word. Maybe we have such a hard time trusting God because we have such a hard time trusting people. We’ve been burned by people who had no integrity, who did not keep their word, who proved to be untrustworthy. As a result of our fractured human relationships which we can see, we have a hard time trusting in a God that we cannot see. But if we are to experience joy that is complete, full, we must learn to trust God and take everything to Him in prayer.

Praying in faith is praying with simple child-like confidence. A pastor prayed for rain one Sunday morning during the service. On the way back to church that afternoon, his daughter said, “Daddy, don’t forget to take your umbrella.” The pastor said, “What for?” His daughter said, “Didn’t you pray for rain today?” Praying in faith is praying with simple child-like faith and expectancy that God is going to answer our prayer.

Melanie Oudin, the 17 year old from Marietta, Georgia has become this year’s US Open sensation defeating opponent after opponent, including three top Russian players: Elena Dementieva (4), Maria Sharapova (29), and Nadia Petrova (13), before falling in the quarter finals. What’s extraordinary is that one year ago she was unknown and ranked 221! Her boyfriend suggested that she put the words “believe” on her tennis shoes. Her simple philosophy of hard work, having fun, and belief has given her great confidence to do the unimaginable. When you and I “do” the work of prayer and simply “believe” God, we see God do the incredible, the unthinkable in our lives.

God answers prayers that are prayed, prayers that are prayed in faith, and prayers that are . . .
3. Prayed in Agreement with God’s Will
What should guide our asking? Our asking should be in agreement with God’s stated will. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us that we can have confidence when we pray according to God’s will. Why is that? When you pray according to God’s will, you are asking for things that God has already said is His will to happen.
What has He said that He wants to see happen in His world? God wants . . .
(1) People to be saved (Rom. 10:13; 2 Pe. 3:9)
(2) To extend forgiveness (1 Jn. 1:9)
(3) To make you holy, like Him (1 Th. 4:3-5; Rom. 8)
(4) You to manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)
(5) You to be a witness for Him (Acts 1:8)
(6) To use you to teach others
(7) To use you to build up His kingdom (Matt. 6:10)
(8) To have a godly family where there is peace.
(9) To bring the Gospel to our community, to show the love of Christ.
If it is God’s will, then pray and claim God’s assurance that He is going to answer that prayer. Evaluate your prayers. What do your prayers look like? Are you praying in agreement with God’s will? This is the key to having assurance of answered prayer.

Imagine, you’re going on a job interview at Raising Canes. Why? Maybe you love their chicken fingers. That’s your “One Love!” Before you go, you would need some knowledge of the company, its product, its founding, philosophy, etc. You would not know what to ask if you had no basic knowledge of the company. It probably would not be a good thing to ask what their top selling hamburger is. They don’t serve hamburgers! No, you do your homework before the interview. You go online and learn about how the company was founded by Todd Graves. You learn their concept, what their slogan is, why they have a yellow Labrador for a mascot, that they are on Facebook, you learn about their involvement in the community. You read their mission statement and their business philosophy. You know Raising Canes inside and out so that you ask questions that will get you the answers that you need.

That’s kind of how prayer works. If you do not know what questions to ask, you’re not going to receive the right answers. The Bible reveals God’s character – who He is, how to know Him, what He desires, his mission statement, His take on what’s important and why, what to pray about. You won’t find out why Raising Canes has a yellow Labrador for a mascot, but you will find out the what, the why, and the wherefore of God’s will and how He wants to work in your life. The more you are intimately acquainted with the Lord and His word, the more mature your prayer life will be. And the more effective and powerful your prayers will be.

The preacher Archbishop Trent is quoted as saying, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, it is laying hold of His highest willingness.” God desires to work in your life – therefore, pray!

John clearly tells us that prayer that gets answered and brings fullness of joy is prayer offered in “Jesus’ name” (Jn. 16:24). What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? Does it mean that we are to simply tack on “in Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayers? Can you make a request to God and then say, “In Jesus’ name. Amen.” Will that guarantee you’ll get what you requested? To ask in Jesus’ name means to ask for something in behalf of Christ. You are saying, “Father, I want this because Christ wants it.”

Praying in Jesus’ name also means that we are praying in His authority. On my own, I have no merit before God, no standing, no right, no authority. I have no account in heaven that I can withdraw from. But when I pray in Jesus’ name, I pray in His authority, I pray on His account and as a result, my prayers are answered.

Here’s a check I wrote out to the bank for cash. There’s no problem with the check. It’s a valid check, all my account information is correct and it is has my signature. There’s just one problem with the check. It’s written for $10,000 and my signature at Regions Bank will not authorize them to release $10,000. I do not have that much money in my account. But if I had a check for $10,000 from Donald Trump, I could take it to my bank with full confidence because Donald Trump’s signature and account has sufficient funds to pay the check. You and I are able to pray and receive from God because we are praying in “Jesus’ name,” not ours. This is why I can pray about anything that is in agreement with God’s will and have the assurance that God is going to answer my prayer. Christ has signed the check!

God answers prayers that are prayed, prayers that are prayed in faith, prayers that are in agreement with God’s will, and prayers that are . . .
4. Prayed with Persistence
“Ask” is a verb (present, active, imperative). The same word is used by Jesus in Matthew 7:7. We are to “ask” and keep on asking! James uses a snapshot from the Old Testament to show us the power of praying with persistence. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years” (Jas. 5:16b-17).

Jesus told the story of the widow who would not give up (Lk. 18:1-8). What was the lesson? Persistence will be rewarded. Keep on praying. “Always pray and not give up” (v.1). What are your praying about? Are your remaining persistent? Don’t give up! Help is on the way!

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe