The Key to Answered Prayer
John 9:30-33
"The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing."
When Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man in Jerusalem, many people heard about it and were amazed. To keep them from following Jesus, the Pharisees attacked the man, questioning whether he had really been blind, and asking him again and again what had happened. In his response, the healed man declared that the miracle Jesus had done was the result of His relationship with God. He knew of the obedience of the Son to the Father, even though he had no advanced theological training, because He saw the results.
Prayer is not a ritual or an empty exercise. Prayer taps into the very power of Heaven and brings it to bear on the things of Earth. Yet if we are honest, all of us recognize there have been times when we have prayed without seeing any of that power on display. There are different reasons why our prayers may not be answered, and indeed sometimes that is a blessing from God that He does not give us what we seek. Yet the most common reason why believers do not see their prayers answered is that they are harboring sin in their lives. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).
This is the reason why Jesus included a plea for forgiveness in His model, which we call “the Lord’s prayer.” Answered prayers come when we are obedient to God.
Growth Principle:
f there are problems in our prayer lives, we should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal hidden sin and be ready to repent.