Does God answer all prayers?
No
One verse says whatever ask in my name i will grant but another verse says if we ask according to Godâs will it will be granted
Yes if we pray according to Godâs will
Does God Answer All Your Prayers?
I love cricket. At least, I love watching it; I was never any good at playing it. But I know many people donât like cricket and donât even understand the rules of it (especially if they come from a country where it isnât a popular sport). So I hope you will forgive me for using a cricketing analogy.
When two batsmen are running between the wickets on a cricket pitch, they need to co-ordinate the decision about whether to run or not. One will shout to the other âYesâ (that is, âLetâs runâ), or âNoâ (that is, âStay where you areâ), or âWaitâ (that is, âLetâs see what happens before we decide whether to runâ).
God hears all your prayers and, in one sense, he answers all your prayers. But we do not always receive what we ask for. When we ask God for something, the response will be âYesâ or âNoâ or âWaitâ.
John Stott writes that God will answer âNoâ if the things we ask for âare either not good in themselves, or not good for us or for others, directly or indirectly, immediately or ultimatelyâ.
We donât always get to know the reason why the answer is âNoâ. We need to remember that God sees things from an eternal perspective and that there are some things we may never understand in this life.
In the passages for today we see examples of all three types of response from God.
- God says âyesâ
Psalm 17:13-15
What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? David sets us a great example: âAs for me⌠I shall be fully satisfied when I awake to find myself beholding your form and having sweet communion with youâ (v.15, AMP). Start each day seeking Godâs presence and finding satisfaction in him.
This is the heart of what prayer is all about. It is not just about asking for things; it is about seeking Godâs face and enjoying âsweet communion with himâ.
This is the context of Davidâs request. He cried out to God for help in the face of his enemies (vv.13â14). God heard and answered his prayers with a positive response, âYesâ.
Lord, each day, when I awake, may I enjoy sweet communion with you and âbe satisfied with seeing your likenessâ (v.15b).
- God says ânoâ to one request, âyesâ to another
Matthew 20:20-34
Bill Hybels writes, âIf the request is wrong God says âNoâ. If the timing is wrong God says âSlowâ. If you are wrong God says âGrowâ. But if the request is right and the timing is right and you are right, God says âGoâ.â
In this passage we see two requests. The first receives the answer âNoâ (vv.20â28) and the second the answer âYesâ (vv.29â34).
Two requests
In both cases Jesus asked, âWhat do you want?â He said to the mother of Zebedeeâs sons, âWhat is it you want?â (v.21). He said to the two blind men, âWhat do you want me to do for you?â (v.32).
In a way it must have been obvious what they wanted (in the second instance they were blind, so they must have wanted to see), but God wants us to be actively involved. The apostle James says, âYou do not have, because you do not ask Godâ (James 4:2). Jesus says, âAsk and it will be given to you⌠For everyone who asks receivesâ (Matthew 7:7â8). It may seem an obvious point, but the starting point of answered prayer is actually asking.
Two responses
In the case of the request of the blind men, Jesusâ response was âYesâ. âJesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed himâ (v.34).
On the other hand, Jesus, in effect, said âNoâ to the mother of Zebedeeâs sons. This response also stemmed from compassion. Her request was for glory, power and promotion for her boys. He points out that she does not seem to understand all the implications of her request.
He said, âCan you drink the cup I am going to drink?â (v.22). The Old Testament prophets spoke in several passages of the âcup of his (Godâs) wrathâ (for example, Isaiah 51:17â22; Jeremiah 25:15â29).
Shockingly, Jesus speaks of drinking this cup himself. He is going to âgive his life as a ransom for manyâ (Matthew 20:28). The Greek word for âforâ (âantiâ), means âinstead ofâ. This is the clearest example in the whole New Testament of Jesus explaining his death in terms of substitution.
Two reasons
The apostle James writes, âWhen you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motivesâ (James 4:3). Behind the requests here lay different motives. Both requests were to do with lordship. The request of the blind men came from the recognition that Jesus is Lord, and a desire for something good (Matthew 20:30â33). On the other hand, Jesus points out that the motherâs request came from a desire to âlord it overâ others (v.25).
True greatness does not come from lording it over others or from what the world regards as success (wealth, position, fame or having a âsuccessfulâ ministry). Rather, Jesus says that true greatness comes from becoming âa servantâ â following his example in choosing âto serve, not be servedâ (vv.26â28). This is an example of where the disciples were wrong and God said âGrowâ.
I think I have learnt more in my own life from the times when my prayers have not seemed to be answered than from the times when they have been answered with a âYesâ. Certainly the disciples must have learnt a huge amount from this âunansweredâ prayer.
Lord, thank you for the lessons that we learn from âunansweredâ prayer. Thank you that you showed us true greatness. Help me to devote my life to your service and to the service of others.
- God says âwaitâ
Job 15:1-18:21
Do you realise that, whatever difficulties you are facing, right now Jesus is praying for you?
Poor Job had to put up with increasingly irritating speeches from his friends in which they condemned him more and more, wrongly accusing him. Job described them as âmiserable comfortersâ (16:2), with their âlong-winded speechesâ (v.3a). They were absolutely no help to him at all (v.4).
Some people wrongly believe that our suffering in this life is always caused by our own sin, or even by sin in a former life. So, if people are born in poverty or with some genetic disorder, it must be their fault. This blame must be a terrible additional unnecessary suffering (the idea of reincarnation is totally repudiated in the Bible, see Hebrews 9:27). This is how Jobâs so-called âfriendsâ spoke about him.
When your friends are suffering avoid being a âmiserableâ comforter (Job 16:2). Rather, as Job suggests, âencourageâ, âcomfortâ and âstrengthenâ them and âsoothe their sufferingâ (v.5, NIV and AMP).
One thing you can always do is to intercede (pray on their behalf) for them. Job said:
âMy intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
on behalf of a human being he pleads with God
as one pleads for a friendâ (vv.20â21).
We are not told who the intercessor was, but whoever it was, he was a real friend to Job because he was pleading to God for him.
The prayers of the intercessor may not seem to have been answered immediately, but they were eventually when God restored Jobâs fortunes. His answer to Jobâs intercessor and to Job was âWaitâ. Later it was Jobâs intercession for others that was the immediate cause of his restoration (42:8â10).
Who is Jobâs intercessor? Job says, âEven now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on highâ (16:19). In the New Testament we see that the one âwho represents mortals before Godâ (16:21, MSG) is Jesus. He is your âadvocate with the Fatherâ (1 John 2:1, RSV). He is interceding for you (Hebrews 7:24â25).
Jesus was Jobâs advocate. He was interceding for him. Jesus was pleading with God âas one pleads for a friendâ (Job 16:21). There is a similarity between Jobâs experience and that of Peter. Jesus said to Simon Peter, âSimon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not failâ (Luke 22:31â32).
As John Wimber used to say, âThe good news is that Jesus is praying for you. The bad news is that you are going to need it!â
Lord, thank you so much that you promise to be my advocate. Thank you that in the times when, like Job or Peter, it seems that Satan is sifting me like wheat, you are praying for me. Thank you that I know that, even if it seems like I am having to wait, the answer to my advocate-in-heavenâs prayer will always ultimately be âYesâ.
I believe He listen and heard all prayers, but he may not answer all the prayers or there is Godâs timing. My baby ask me to buy him a toy, I heard what he asked, but I may not buy for him. It will depend on situation.
All our prayers can be heard by God, but which prayer topics can be done by him, and which cannot, I think, it depens on whether what we pray for is true to his will, or whether it is really good for us
i do not think so. if we do not pray for good reason, God will not answer.
Yes, but maybe not in the way that we have expected.
Yes, but God answers in the wisest way, most loving and powerful way.
No, our belief is kind of real relationship with God. God loves us doesnât mean God gives us whatever we want.