Question
I have problems when I pray for something, discerning when God is really answering me. How can we know we are hearing from God and not following our desires or being deceived by Satan when we pray for direction in our lives?
Answer
This is an important but difficult question that involves several related questions having to do with prayer. By the time, I finish with these related questions, hopefully I will be able to shed some light on this most misunderstood subject. As always, I will depend totally on the Bible, where all the truth resides on this subject.
Before I get to your question, let us start with the most basic aspect of prayer and that is, are we in an acceptable relationship with God so that our prayers can even be heard? It sounds like almost a ridiculous question, but it is one that I am afraid there is much false teaching.
In order to have our prayers heard on any level, we must be “in Christ”, an acceptable relationship with Christ. All spiritual blessings, including God hearing and answering our prayers reside in this relationship. Eph. 1:3. Simply put, we must be Christians in order to have our prayers heard and answered. Being a Christian places us in Christ where these blessings reside. We become Christians when we having heard the gospel, believe in Jesus as the Son of God, turn from our sins, confess His name before men and are baptized (fully immersed) in water for the forgiveness of our sins. At this point, we become Christians. Read carefully, Mark 16:15-16, Acts Ch. 2, Ch. 8, 22:16, Rom. 6:1-7, Gal. 3:26-29. Contrary to what is popularly taught today, we do not become Christians when we pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” or any other type of prayer, but we become Christians when we obediently respond to the gospel as in the passages cited above. If we have not done this, then we can be assured, contrary to all the “evidence” that we may present, that God does not answer our prayers. I hope and pray that not only you, but all that read this might obey the gospel so that you may be in Christ and have not only the blessing of forgiveness of sins, but also the blessing of God hearing and answering your prayers.
If we just look at circumstances in our life only, we can be deceived about whether God is answering our prayers. Therefore, we must be guided by the Word of God in this and in all things so that we may know what the truth is. Even so, after we finish this answer fully, it still may not be possible for us to determine whether in specific situations in our life how God is answering our prayers. Some things are easier to determine than others.
Before we begin, let me note that there is a false teaching that has deceived many into thinking that God will always answer their prayers in the way that they want if they have enough faith “confidence” in Him. They misapply Mark 11:23-24. Whatever this passage teaches, it is not teaching that we can demand of God anything and as long as we believe it, it is bound to happen. There are other passages in the Bible which relate conditions of prayer to us that we must note. Prayer is a matter of faith, but it is faith in God and not faith in our ability to ask Him for whatever we want. To help us more, let us note some conditions on which prayer is governed. If we do not meet these conditions, God will not answer our prayers.
1. We must obey His commandments. 1 John 3:20-24. If we disregard the commandments of God, we can know that He will not answer our prayers.
2. We must not ask selfishly. James 4:1-6, Matt. 7:7-12, Matt. 6:14-15. God is not selfish and He expects that we should be generous to others and treat them in the proper way. Also, He expects us to ask with unselfish motives so that we can use whatever we are asking for not only our benefit but the benefit of others and most importantly to His glory and honor.
3. We must ask according to His will. 1 John 5:14-15. That is, if something is plainly revealed in His will, we must be in harmony with this as we pray. For example, Christians are told to repent and pray to God for forgiveness of sins. 1 John 1. If we do this, then this is according to His will. Also, we can know if something is written plainly, we can be assured that He answers us according to His will.
Where we have the problem is when we ask for things where God has not plainly revealed anything concerning what He might do or not do in that given situation. For instance, we pray that we may recover from sickness or that others may recover from sickness. What has God said He will do in these cases? The answer, He has not said. Therefore, point 4 is of the utmost importance to us.
4. We should freely ask God for what we desire, trust in Him to do for us what He knows is best and accept graciously whatever we believe His answer to us is. Phil. 4:6, 2 Cor. 1:8-11, 12:7-12, Dan. 3:16-19.
This is what it finally comes down to. We are not directly told in many cases how God is going to answer our prayers. Sometimes from the circumstances that come, we can assume that He has answered in a certain way. For example, we are praying for the sick, but they do not recover. However, in other circumstances it is less clear. Even so, we must continue to trust in our loving heavenly Father who knows what is best for us better than we know how to ask Him for things. Matt. 6:8. God may answer “yes”, “no”, “wait” or may give us something completely different than what we ask for. Witness the case of Paul noted in 2 Cor. 12:7-12. But, whatever He gives us, it is best and we should continue to trust in Him. Although we may not know for sure about how God answers many of our prayers, we can know that if we are His children, He hears us and does what is best for us. And, on the most important prayer regarding Christians praying for forgiveness of sins, He has plainly told us what His answer is. 1 John 1.
By Gary Hunt