Many times we think that God has not heard our prayers. But the Scriptures say something very different. When we seek Him with a pure heart he hears:
1.Daniel’s seeking prayers
When Daniel begins to seek God about the future of God’s people after the 70 years of exile, the angel Gabriel appears to him and gives this answer to begin with:
Dan 9:33 “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given”
So an answer was already given as soon as Daniel prayed. He just had to wait for the answered prayer.
See also EXTRAORDINARY PRAYER AND DIVINE OUTPOURING: 4 KEYS
2.Daniel’s incredible persistence
Daniel prays for 21 days and only gets an answer after this. The angel who comes in response gives this reply:
Dan 10:12 “Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in response to them”
The angel goes on to tell him that the reason it took 21 days to reply was because he was resisted for 21 days. Spiritual battle. So it’s important to persist in our prayers until we receive an answer.
See my daily devotional to get a breakthrough in 21 days: 21 DAYS REVIVAL DEVOTIONAL
3.Jesus’ amazing example: answered prayer already
Before the raising of Lazarus, Jesus already was confident of the result. Are we?
Jn 11:41 Jesus looked up and said, “Father I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me”.
This is the only prayer in the Bible that Jesus prays before he heals. He says it is not for his benefit but ours, so that we might know that He is one with the Father, and that the Father always listens to him. It was already a done deal that Lazarus would come back from the dead.
So God has already heard our prayers. We must work out of this position of answered prayer, i.e. “Thank you Father for hearing my prayer and I now wait in faith and with persistence.”
Jn 11:41 shows that everything is ready for God’s answer. So now glorify your Name Father. Jesus doesn’t try to persuade His Father to act (like us). He walks in who the Father is and who he is.
See also PRAYING OUT OF “IT IS DONE!”: CHANGING YOUR PRAYER LIFE.
4.God’s preparation before creation
Actually it’s a done deal before we were even born. We just need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way. There is this creative tension between God’s sovereignty and free will:
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10)
What Next?
We can be sure God has already prepared an answer to our prayers. We just need to walk out of this position of answered prayer and get ready for the reply.
And my book which is designed to stir up hunger in your prayers: 21 DAYS REVIVAL DEVOTIONAL