The Secret to Answered Prayer
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
1 John 5:14
What is the secret to answered prayer? Many people long to experience the power of God in their prayer life, yet they often find themselves frustrated when they don’t see immediate results. Some may wonder if God is even listening. But Scripture gives us a clear answer on how to see answered prayer…and it may not be what you expect.
What do you think is the secret?
Here is what John says:
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
—1 John 5:14-15
According to John, the secret to answered prayer is asking according to God’s will.
Of course, there are other important aspects to prayer: faith, consistency, praying in Jesus’ name, etc. But John gives us a key to unlock a powerful prayer life: asking according to God’s will.
How do you pray according to God’s will?
You pray His word! (You can also pray God’s will by praying in tongues, or being led by the Spirit)
God’s word reveals God’s will!
When Jesus was teaching, He said “...For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) You know what is in someone’s heart by what they speak. The same goes for God: He revealed His heart through His words.
If you ever want to know what God thinks about a subject, check out what the Scriptures say.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
When you don’t know what to pray, you can pray God’s word.
And here’s the deeper truth about praying Scripture—it’s not just about seeing answers; it’s about transformation.
When you pray the Word of God, you start to catch the heart of God.
You begin to feel what He feels, think like He thinks, rejoice at what He rejoices over, weep at what He weeps over. When you pray the Scriptures, you move from a head knowledge of Scripture to experiencing it in your heart. The truth comes alive in you!
God wants all men to be saved!
God wants you to know Him more!
God wants to show you things to come!
God wants to pour out His Spirit on your family!
All of that is in the Bible. The more you pray the Scripture, the more God’s heart will become a part of you.
Which leads us to something greater than an answered prayer: Getting to know the heart of God.
When you pray the Word, you’re praying God’s will. When you pray God’s will, you know that He hears you, and if you know that He hears you, you know that you have what you have asked of Him.
In light of that, here are 3 practical ways to pray the Scriptures:
1. The Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)
Jesus gave us this prayer as instruction on how to pray. I believe, since this prayer was given by Jesus, that this prayer covers the main things we need to include in our prayer lives. I believe that it is also a daily prayer because of what He said in verse 11 (see below).
You don’t have to copy the words exactly; use it as a template. Take the topic of each line and pray along those lines. Personalize it.
Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
“9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.”
Start with praise and worship
Declare who God is
When you do this, not only to do enter God’s Presence with thanks and praise (Psalm 100:4), you also get perspective of the magnitude of the One you’re praying to.
“10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.”
The kingdom is the reigning and ruling of Christ. Pray that He reigns in every area of your life, your family, your church, and all that concerns you.
What is going on in heaven? There’s worship, there’s peace, health, joy, freedom. Pray that comes to earth.
“11 Give us this day our daily bread.”
Pray for your daily needs.
Pray for your spiritual food. (Jesus is the Bread of Life, feed on the scriptures, time with Him, etc.)
“12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.”
Repent, or turn away from any known sin
Receive God’s forgiveness
Forgive any who have sinned against you
“13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Pray for God’s guidance
Pray for God’s protection
End with praise and worship
2. The Apostolic Prayers
Pray the prayers that the apostles prayed. Take their words and personalize them for you and others that you are praying for. (i.e. put them in the first person)
Here are a few examples:
Ephesians 1:15-23 - a prayer asking God to reveal Himself to you and all that He has provided through Christ
Ephesians 3:14-21 - a prayer asking God for strength and to reveal His love to you.
Colossians 1:9-12 - a prayer asking God for His wisdom and strength
Acts 4:24-31 - a prayer asking God for boldness in the midst of persecution
All of these are found in Scripture, which means they carry the will of God for your life. You may not understand what they are saying at first, but the more you pray and meditate on them, God will bring revelation and understanding to you.
3. Any Passage of Scripture
The Psalms are a great place to start. A few examples would be Psalm 23, Psalm 84, and Psalm 145.
Here’s the one caveat with praying any passage of Scripture:
You need to have a New Covenant understanding of the Word.
In other words, pray like the Cross made a difference.
Some Old Testament passages reflect a different covenant, but through Jesus, we have a clearer revelation of God's heart and how we are called to live today. The more you read the New Testament, the more you’ll see the way of Jesus. You’ll see Him say multiple times, “You have heard that it was said…but I tell you...” He brings clarity to the heart of God and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
A good filter would be, does it line up with the Greatest Commandments?
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
—Matthew 22:37-39 NIV
A few practicals on this would be:
Don’t pray that your enemies will die! Love your enemies and bless those who curse you.
Don’t pray like you have to depend on your sacrifices to draw near to God. Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross made the way for you to be forgiven of your sins and you can draw near to God!
Rather than asking for things God has already promised, shift your prayers to thanksgiving and declaration of His truth in your life.
CONCLUSION
By now, I’m sure you see that the secret to answered prayer is much deeper than getting a request fulfilled. Praying the will of God is an invitation to get to know God on a deeper level.
I encourage you to take the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostolic Prayers, and other passages of Scripture and incorporate them into your daily prayer life.
Watch as you not only begin to see prayers answered, but you begin to be transformed into the image and likeness of God.
Application: Take a moment right now and choose a passage to pray. Will you start with the Lord’s Prayer, an Apostolic prayer, or another Scripture? Share in the comments which one you're incorporating this week!