The Six Major Requirements for Answered Prayers

When it comes to receiving answers to prayer God has a list of requirements, but you cannot turn to one passage of Scripture and find the list. The requirements are instead, scattered throughout the entire Bible in both the Old and New Testament. If you are not receiving answers to prayers, it could be because God wants you to wait or God cannot answer you because you do not meet the requirements.

One major requirement for answered prayer is righteousness. God will not hear us if we harbor sins in our heart.

16Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. 17I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. 18If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; 19but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. 20Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (Psalms 66:16-20)

What are some of these sins that block our prayer?

1.     Any type of immorality, impurity, or wickedness carried out in thought, word or action.

591 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. 9So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. 10Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead. 11We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. (Isaiah 59:1-3, 9-11)

2.     Failure to treat others with respect.

7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7

God promises to hear the prayer of the righteous

The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29).

16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask… (1 John 3:21-22).

Come before God in righteousness and He will hear you!

Pastor Earl