Topical Bible: Prayer: Answered

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Definition and Nature
Prayer, in the Christian tradition, is a means of communication with God, encompassing adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Answered prayer refers to the instances where God responds to the petitions of His people, aligning His divine will with the requests made by believers.

Biblical Foundations
The Bible provides numerous examples and teachings on the nature of answered prayer. In the Old Testament, the prayers of the faithful are often met with direct responses from God. For instance, in 1 Samuel 1:27, Hannah prays for a child, and God grants her request: "I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him."

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches about prayer and its efficacy. In Matthew 7:7-8 , He encourages believers to pray with faith: "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."

Conditions for Answered Prayer
Scripture outlines certain conditions under which prayers are answered. Faith is a critical component, as seen in James 1:6-7 : "But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."

Righteousness and obedience to God's commandments also play a role. 1 John 3:22 states, "And we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight."

Prayers must align with God's will. 1 John 5:14-15 emphasizes this: "And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him."

Examples of Answered Prayer
Throughout the Bible, there are numerous accounts of answered prayers. Elijah's prayer for rain in 1 Kings 18:42-45 is a powerful example. After a prolonged drought, Elijah prays, and God sends rain, demonstrating His power and faithfulness.

In the New Testament, the early church experiences answered prayer in Acts 12:5-17. Peter is imprisoned, and the church prays earnestly for him. In response, an angel of the Lord frees Peter, illustrating God's intervention in response to collective prayer.

The Role of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in the believer's prayer life, interceding and guiding prayers according to God's will. Romans 8:26-27 explains, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

Practical Implications
Believers are encouraged to approach God with confidence, knowing that He hears and answers prayers. Philippians 4:6-7 advises, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Answered prayer is a testament to God's faithfulness and His intimate involvement in the lives of His people. It serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining a vibrant and faith-filled prayer life, trusting in God's perfect timing and wisdom.

Nave's Topical Index

Job 34:28
So that they cause the cry of the poor to come to him, and he hears the cry of the afflicted.
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Psalm 3:4
I cried to the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
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Psalm 4:1
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: you have enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
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Psalm 6:8,9
Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.
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Psalm 18:6
In my distress I called on the LORD, and cried to my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
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Psalm 21:2,4
You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
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Psalm 22:4,5,24
Our fathers trusted in you: they trusted, and you did deliver them.
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Psalm 28:6
Blessed be the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplications.
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Psalm 30:2,3
O LORD my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me.
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Psalm 31:22
For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before your eyes: nevertheless you heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to you.
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Psalm 34:4-6
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
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Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry.
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Psalm 66:19,20
But truly God has heard me; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
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Psalm 77:1,2
I cried to God with my voice, even to God with my voice; and he gave ear to me.
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Psalm 81:7
You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder: I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
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Psalm 99:6-8
Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call on his name; they called on the LORD, and he answered them.
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Psalm 106:44
Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
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Psalm 107:6,7,13-20
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
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Psalm 116:1,2
I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
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Psalm 118:5,21
I called on the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
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Psalm 119:26
I have declared my ways, and you heard me: teach me your statutes.
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Psalm 120:1
In my distress I cried to the LORD, and he heard me.
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Psalm 138:3
In the day when I cried you answered me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul.
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Lamentations 3:57,58
You drew near in the day that I called on you: you said, Fear not.
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Hosea 12:4
Yes, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us;
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Jonah 2:1,2,7
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
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Luke 23:42,43
And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
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Acts 4:31
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
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2 Corinthians 12:8,9
For this thing I sought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
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James 5:17,18
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
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Strong's Hebrew

6279. athar -- to pray, supplicate
... root Definition to pray, supplicate NASB Word Usage answered (1), answered their
prayers ... supplication (4), moved by his entreaty (1), moved by prayer (2), pray ...
/hebrew/6279.htm - 6k

Library

A Child's Prayer Answered
... A CHILD'S PRAYER ANSWERED. The following touching incident which drew tears
from my eyes, was related to me a short time since, by ...
/.../a childs prayer answered.htm

Prayer Answered by Crosses.
... III. CONFLICT. Hymn 36 Prayer answered by crosses. John Newton 8,8,8,8. Prayer
answered by crosses. I asked the LORD that I might grow. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/olney hymns/hymn 36 prayer answered by.htm

Prayer Answered, Love Nourished
... Prayer Answered, Love Nourished. A Sermon (No.240). ... His prayer was answered at
the right time. Five minutes afterwards he would have been dead. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/prayer answered love nourished.htm

Christ's Prayer Answered.
... CHAPTER IV. CHRIST'S PRAYER ANSWERED. GOD LISTENS. When Christ opens His
mouth, God bows down His ear. "I know that thou hearest ...
/.../rees/the heart-cry of jesus/chapter iv christs prayer answered.htm

A Child's Prayer Answered.
... A Child's Prayer Answered. I remember a child that lived with her parents
in a small village. One day the news came that her father ...
/.../moody/moodys anecdotes and illustrations/a childs prayer answered.htm

Answered Prayer.
... XXXIII. ANSWERED PRAYER. "And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah.""1 Kings 17:22.
Yes, and He will hear your voice if you are as much in earnest as he was! ...
//christianbookshelf.org/champness/broken bread/xxxiii answered prayer.htm

How God Answered Donald's Prayer
... HOW GOD ANSWERED DONALD'S PRAYER. God often uses children to win grown folks
for Christ. Little children not only have a deep faith ...
/.../how god answered donalds prayer.htm

Prayer for Deliverance Answered, Isa. 26 12-Aug 20 21
... Hymns. Book 1. Hymn 1:30. Prayer for deliverance answered, Isa. 26.
8-12 20 21. 1 In thine own ways, O God of love, We wait the ...
/.../watts/hymns and spiritual songs/hymn 1 30 prayer for deliverance.htm

Prayer for Deliverance Answered. Isa. 26:12,20,21.
... HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS IN THREE BOOKS. HYMN 30 Prayer for deliverance answered.
Isa. 26:12,20,21. LM Prayer for deliverance answered. Isa.26:12,20,21. ...
/.../watts/the psalms and hymns of isaac watts/hymn 30 prayer for deliverance.htm

The Answer to Prayer
... me, my Father, the instrument of thy will; and so praying he rises with absolute
composure and kingly authority, and goes out with his prayer answered to do ...
/.../peabody/mornings in the college chapel/lxiii the answer to prayer.htm