And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Matt 21:22 NKJV

The pastor said, from the pulpit, “I don’t know why God did not answer that prayer.” I thought to myself, ‘You are a prince of the Church, and you do not understand that?’ Why do we not understand great, deep, complex biblical studies like faith and salvation? Is it because we have reduced everything to clichés like ‘God is in control’ (a phrase that does not appear in any Bible I read) or ‘all things work together for good’? Such clichés without real understanding are a false comfort that lead to hopelessness.

Answered prayer for most people it seems is like a hunter who fires his shotgun into a wooded area, hoping a dead rabbit will appear before his eyes. But that is not the will of God! Jesus said, I know You always hear Me. There was no ‘wild aim’ in His prayers!

Let’s take the time to examine four factors in answered prayer: God, His Word, you and others.

First, God…

I am the Lord, I do not change; Mal 3:6 NKJV

Does God have ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’? Is it that sometimes He is healing people, and sometimes He isn’t? Is it that He favors some people, quite randomly, over others? I heard a pastor say one time, “If God doesn’t heal you, He has a reason!” Really? Like, you must have some secret sin in your life, because God wants you to suffer in your illness, or your injury, or your hurt. Is that how God operates? Dear ones, if I treated my dog the way God is accused of treating His children, my neighbor Brian the sheriff would come and arrest me! And, rightfully so!

Dear ones, God does not change. He does not favor one person over another. He is not arbitrary. He doesn’t sleep. He takes no vacations. He hears everything you speak, and everything you think. Literally, everything. He loves you unconditionally. He is ever ready to heal, to help, to teach, to counsel, and to guide you. Years ago, I was out praying one night, and I had just had a lifechanging revelation of Him. I spoke out to Him in love what I had just learned about Him. He spoke in my spirit and said, “I never heard you say that before!” He dissolved me into a puddle of tears right there…

God is not arbitrary; God is mathematical. This is the only way, the only basis, along with His righteousness by which He can be a just Judge to all men.

We will develop this in a moment, but first we must understand the second great factor, His Word.

I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Ps 138:2 NKJV

The Word is the communication of God, the logos. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Covenant are not the writings of men, per se. Holy men of God spoke, and wrote, as they were moved by God. The original writings were perfect. God guarantees His Word. The Bible is scientifically accurate. Genesis and Exodus are accurate portrayals of real events. The evidence mounts daily for the integrity of God’s Word. We are living in a day and time when man is finally starting to catch up to truth God revealed thousands of years ago.

When it comes to answered prayer, the Word clearly declares God’s will, what God wants to do today, right now, immediately. God’s Word is immutable, meaning it cannot be changed, altered, canceled, or made irrelevant. God cannot change, and His word is immutable, which leads to the third factor, you and I, the ones in prayer.

“According to your faith let it be to you.” Matt 9:29 NKJV

God requires faith in prayer, and faith is mathematical. Matthew 9:29 is a mathematical statement. How would you write it as an equation? Go ahead, read it again. Try to figure it out before you read the next paragraph.

Give up? Or, did you get it? Here is the equation: x = y. Your faith equals your results. Look around you. Everything that has to do with you is the demonstration of your level of faith in that area. Your faith can vary according to the circumstances. Everyone has areas of sufficient faith, or even great faith, and areas of weak faith, or no faith.

For example, my friend Bob can rewire his house because of his training and building faith to be an electrician. He has great faith in that area. If I attempted to rewire my house at my present level of faith, we would call the fire department because I would burn it down, if I didn’t get killed in the process. Never begrudge anyone their true accomplishments because those are things that they worked for and applied faith to, even if they didn’t realize it.

Looking at answered prayer from our mathematical approach, we would say, God is a ‘constant.’ His Word is a ‘constant.’ Our faith is a ‘variable.’ Being the constant, God is ever ready and able to fulfil His Word. With being the variable, then, all the responsibility falls on us. People don’t like this answer. They want to blame God, saying, He is having a bad day, or, He really doesn’t like you because you have a secret sin. Dear ones, truth vindicates God all of the time. We are responsible for our faith, and our faith is the variable in answered prayer.

It is sobering to realize that we are responsible for the results in our lives, for answered prayers. But…it is also liberating! Its frees us because we realize that the Lord will help us grow our faith so that we can receive and prosper. The three great, simple, effective ways to grow your faith are to read the Word, pray much in tongues, and apply love to all that you do!

Now, let’s consider the fourth factor, others.

…that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Rom 1:12 NKJV

Mutual faith! Have you ever been in a place where God is doing extraordinary miracles? I was ministering in a little bush church, and we saw extraordinary miracles. Blind eyes healed, a lady in a coma for two years who gets healed by my handkerchief getting laid on her, a paralyzed woman who instantly walks. I didn’t understand it until I went with the pastor to early morning prayer, and I saw the whole church on the dirt floor in tears crying out to God. It wasn’t just some little white preacher being cool; there was great faith in that community of believers, faith for healing.

Others can add to your faith, if they have great faith themselves. A man came to see John G. Lake one time. He said, “I need healing, but I have no faith.” Lake said, “I have faith enough for both of us!” The man got healed. Now, here is the caveat: others with little faith or no faith can rob you of the faith you have. Your companions, the ones you share your vision with, the ones you walk with, need to be people of great faith, so that you can mutually supplement each others faith, and we all win.

Make sure that the people that you walk with have two great qualities: great personal integrity, and great personal faith. You have the same for them!

There are factors in answered prayer. Each one needs to be considered with wisdom and quiet meditation. What is my opinion of God? What is my opinion of His Word? What is my right relationship to both? When it comes to my faith, there are two questions: what is my level of faith in every specific area, and where do I want to go in that area? Finally, am I surrounding myself with people who will complement my faith, or tear it down? And, do I complement their faith, or tear it down? Honest answers will result in answered prayer. Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…