Prayer that gets stuff done

What kind of prayers get stuff done? What kind of prayers does God answer? Or, maybe the question should be, "What kind of person does God hear"? I have been reflecting a lot on this lately, in my desire to be more effective when I pray. This is what I have found, according to God's Word.


The truth about prayer is, as long as we are living in Christ (see John 15) , we will know what to ask for and God will gladly answer.  God answers the prayers of those who seek God’s way above their own, have confessed all their sins and received forgiveness, have forgiven those who have offended them, and as a result, create unity through their relationships with their brothers and sisters in Christ (and all other relationships). Obviously, this is far from an exhaustive list, but I have found several passages about prayer that reiterate these truths. It is also evident He doesn't always answer the way we want Him to, or even at the time we expect Him to, but sees above our realities and into our despair and joy.  One of my favorite passages about prayer is this one, from Psalm 66:16-20-

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

Wow. That is powerful stuff. I meditated the longest on verse 18. The author is so honest. He admits that sin can be so much fun (temporarily) that we can be tempted to cherish it. I have met so many people who have so much fun bragging about their sins that I know they are far from really wanting to change their lifestyle. They are cherishing what has deceived them and unfortunately won't receive answers to their prayers until their hearts become contrite and humbled. Until then, their prayers will only reflect their selfishness. This reminds me of James 5:4, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. 


One other attitude resulting in God hearing and answering our prayers really stands out to me. It wasn't until I was recently reading a book on prayer that I realized that most passages about prayer are connected to how we treat other people (Romans 12:12-13;James 5:13-20; Ephesians 3:14-21; Philippians 4:5-9). Even when we pray in solitude, it  inevitably affects others. The more we pray, the more concerned we become about others. Hospitality is born as a result of abiding in Christ.

Jesus must have been frustrated with the disciple's question: "How many times should I forgive", because the question in and of itself demonstrated they were still focused on themselves and not the other person. As a result, Jesus taught them using a parable about an unforgiving servant who so easily forgot how his enormous debt had just been forgiven and yet demanded what was owed him. 

As I was writing this, I felt the Holy Spirit compelling me to pray: O God, forgive me and hear my prayers. I want what You  want-prayers that get stuff done and glorify you as a result!