Do Fervent Prayers Guarantee Answers From God?
Everybody wants answered prayers, and many even want their prayers answered right away. When God chooses to stay silent, some believers are tempted to just stop praying altogether.
But Victoria Osteen, wife of popular Christian speaker and pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church, wrote on her blog that believers should never stop turning to God.
"If you quit talking to God, you might start looking to man, and man can never do what God can!" she said. "Scripture says the fervent prayer of the righteous avails much. Fervent prayers are powerful and effective, but do you know who prays fervent prayers? Someone who is passionate, and you know what makes a person pray passionately? When they believe what they are praying!"
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When it comes to fervent prayers, Christians can look up to a widow woman who is alone in Luke 18. Osteen said the widow does not have anyone fighting for her, so she went to a judge who did not really like people and did not fear God. When she presented her petition, he denied it without a second thought.
But the woman refused to give up. Day after day, she kept showing up until the judge decided he needed to get her off his back. He granted her request — not because of who she knew or what she had — but because she was persistent.
"Notice this woman didn't put any limits on her request. She didn't say, 'I'm going to try three times and if it doesn't work, I'll stop asking.' No, she was a passionate woman, and she was going to ask until she got what she needed," said Osteen.
She said God is pleased with the passionate prayers of the righteous, so believers should never give up on their conversations with God. It does not matter how short or lengthy the prayers might be, Osteen said, because it all depends on the strength of one's faith.
Meanwhile, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church said the secret to answered prayers is for Christians to truly believe God will answer them.
"Pray like you know God will answer you: 'I'm expecting you to answer this prayer because of who you are. You are a faithful God. You are a great God. You are a loving God. You are a wonderful God. You can handle this problem, God!'" he shared on his website.
At the same time, Warren said people need to be very specific about their requests. If they want to be successful, they have to define what success means in their lives. "If you want specific answers to prayer, then make specific requests. If your prayers consist of general requests, how will you know if they're answered?" he said.
