Jesus Christ taught the conditions upon which prayer is answerable and successful. He directed as to how prayer is to be offered. First, prayer must be accompanied by faith.
Matthew 21:21, 22, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to this fig tree, but also if you shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
How can prayer be effective if it is not founded upon faith in God’s power? Secondly, prayer must be offered in His name.
John 16:23 reads, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”
The name of a person represents his character, his merit. The value of a check lies in its signature. The amount specified gives it no value at all, without a trustworthy signature. When we pray in the name above every name, we are assured of an answer. We plead the name, merit and propitiation of Christ for sin. Thirdly, we must pray persistently.
Luke 11:5-10 teaches us the parable of being persistent in asking. Persistence brings out the intensity and earnest of purpose from our heart. It is not that we are trying to coerce God into giving, because he is willing to give to his children. By being persistent , we are in a relationship with Father’s will and our request. Fourthly, we must pray in all humility.
Luke 18:9-14 tells the story of the Pharisee and the Publican. The prayer of the Pharisee was with himself. His prayer was an expression of his pride of heart and religion. But the prayer of the publican was short but filled with humility and penitence. His prayer was answered with graciousness and blessed him with justification.
Lastly, we must pray with consciousness that we are right with others. Matthew 6:14,15 reminds us of a truth, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.”
A wrong relationship with a fellow believer hinders effective prayers. For God to answer our prayers, there must be acts of reconciliation with those with whom we may be at cross purposes. One of the greatest prayer secrets is to pray in the realm of Bible truth and language.