How Your Prayers Can Be Answered One Hundred Percent

We are to that point in John’s gospel where Jesus makes what is to us one of the most outstanding of Bible promises: a vehicle by which prayer is answered one-hundred-percent of the time. If you haven’t experienced answers to prayer on this level, then this podcast is for you. Andrew Murray, the famous Scottish born, South African preacher, a prolific author of 240 books wrote the following on the subject of answered prayer. He said: A beautiful little book, Expectation Corners, tells us of a King who prepared a city for some of his poor subjects. Not far from them were large storehouses, where everything they could need was supplied if they but sent in their requests. But on one condition—they should be on the outlook for the answer, so that when the kings’ messengers came with the answers to their petitions, they should always be found waiting and ready to receive them. The sad story is told of one despondent, one who never expected to get what he asked, because he was too unworthy. One day he was taken to the king’s storehouses, and there, to his amazement, he saw, with his address on them, all the packages that had been made up for him and sent. There was the garment of praise, and the oil of joy, and the eye-salve, and so much more; they had been to his door, but found it closed; he was not on the outlook. From that time on he learned the lesson Micah would teach us: “I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (Mic. 7:7).¹ Our God will hear us, that’s a Bible fact and the reality that He will answer is also a Bible fact that Jesus referenced in John fifteen. And, that’s the reason we are focusing today on the subject ‘How Your Prayers Can Be Answered One Hundred Percent’ all on this week’s Light on Life.

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Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 45 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years, emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Well again, welcome.
Let’s talk to God.

Father God, thank you for your goodness and your mercy. You are a prayer answering God. As we jump into your word this day, help us to be encouraged along these lines so that our hearts maybe filled with confident expectation concerning prayer. We give you all the praise, glory, and honor for these things in the matchless Name of Jesus, Amen.

Answered Prayer Has Requirements

We are in John fifteen this morning.

John 15:7–8 (ESV) — 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Now, did Jesus really mean ‘ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you’ or was He just waxing eloquent?
You know just saying pretty words, because they sound, you know, pretty?
No, Jesus was not just a flower mouth preacher.
His words, as all the words of God were precise.
Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said: if you abide in me and my words abide in you ask what you will and it will be done for you.
Now that phrase bothers people: answered prayer 100 percent of the time.
Well, what are you going to shoot for, 70%?
No, shoot for the whole promise of God – aim at what Jesus said.
You see we start out not really believing in answer.
We just shoot a shotgun of prayer requests at God and hope He answers them.
We start out not believing.
But, realize that there are conditions to answered prayer — and that’s where the failure is — note the two of them that are listed here.
Condition one: Abide in me.
Condition two: my words abide in you.
Let’s start to drill down into this promise from Jesus.

Answered Prayer Requires Asking

Now Jesus said, ‘Ask whatever you wish, whatever you ask and it will be done for you.’
Now, as we look at this marvelous passage of scripture — marvelous because of the tremendous word of promise that it contains, you know, we have to define terms.
We need to look at the word ‘ask’ and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Greek word ‘ask’ is the one we are wanting to home in on today.
The word means to ask for with urgency, even to the point of demanding—‘to ask for, to demand, to plead for.’²
Let’s repeat this — it will help these definition to sink in: ‘ask for with urgency, even to the point of demanding.’
A second thing that will help us here is knowing that the phrase ‘to ask for’ is a verb and also an imperative or commandment. We are not merely permitted to ask for ourselves, we must ask. ³
It’s vital that we ask — we must do it!
It’s a commandment.

Answered Prayer Requires Belief

Did you by chance gloss over these words ‘it will be given you’ when you read them?
Do you believe these words?
Again, we referenced the vital news of starting out believing not shooting words at God in the dark.
It will be given you — ‘Will be’ is the strongest assertion in the English language.
You can add a bunch of adjectives or adverbs to this like ‘it will absolutely positively be given to you’ but that doesn’t change the core meaning.
Adverbs and adjectives adds prettiness to the message being declared but it doesn’t change the meaning, ‘it will be given to you.’
Could it be that this promise was too marvelous for us to understand?
Or could it be that it’s too good to be true?
Could it also be that you experience such few answers to prayer in your life that these words don’t seem real?
And so you think in the back of your mind that Jesus really didn’t mean what He said because I’m not experiencing those results?
But, He did mean what He said.
Well, Jesus told us many things in the Word.

John 3:16–17 (ESV) — 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

You can read this ‘For this is how God loved the world.’
This is how God did it — He gave — He gave his best.
Do you believe John 3:16?
Did you put your total trust into the words ‘God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus’ because you believed those words are true?
If these words are true, and you know they are — forget about the ‘if’, then how is this promise of answered prayer any different than what Jesus said here in John fifteen?
Jesus is Jesus.
He is the way the truth and the life.
Jesus said, ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.’
Those words are truth and life and makes answered prayed a one-hundred-percent of the time possibility.
Now, that thought throws people: one hundred-percent of the time?
Well, Jesus didn’t say, ‘If you abide in my and my words abide in you, ask what you will and it will given you sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes wait a while.
Hold to what Jesus said — don’t use your unbelieving experience as the norm.
Your faith should be out there for one-hundred percent.
Did you know that there are 667 prayers recorded in the Bible, and the answers to 454 are recorded as well? ⁴
That’s 68% right there.
Understand that the answers to the remaining 32% were not recorded — that doesn’t mean they weren’t answered.
It’s just like Jesus miracles.
There are seven miracle signs performed by Jesus that are recorded in John’s gospel.
After John shared them comes these words.

John 20:30–31 (ESV) — 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Here’s another passage saying the same thing.

Matthew 4:23–24 (ESV) — 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.

Jesus healed every disease, and every affliction.
There’s a life and a story behind every one of them.
We don’t have all these stories.
So you see, all of Jesus miracles were not recorded and neither are all the answers to the prayers people prayed in the Bible.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t more answers.

Answered Prayer Requires Expectation

What we are endeavoring to do is to get you to a point of expectation.
We must raise our standards to what we find in the Word of God not lower our standards to that we may be experiencing in our spiritual walk.
God is a God of increase.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV) — 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Now, with belief comes expectation.
It is clear from the Word of God that men and women of God expected their prayers to be answered.
Expectation is faith in different clothes.
And with that thought here is the Quote of the Day.
This quote, like our opening illustration, is again from Andrew Murray.

Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, “above all that we ask or think.” Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things! ⁵

Expect great things — expect answers to prayer.
You can expect them one-hundred-percent of the time if you have done what Jesus told you to do one-hundred-percent of the time.
I am endeavoring in this podcast to get that phrase 100% so that it doesn’t sound foreign to you.
It shouldn’t.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Abide in me — that’s your job.
My words abide in you — that’s your job as well.
Get your expectations as high as Jesus promise.
Here’s another quote on expectation.

It is clear that the central figures of the Bible expected their prayers to be answered. How different that is from today when many people pray, but often without any real expectation that anything will change. But if we don’t expect answers, then what is the point of praying? We are engaging in a meaningless spiritual exercise. This is certainly not the attitude we find in the Bible, where there was tremendous confidence that God would answer prayer and that things would therefore change.⁶

Paul’s Answered Prayer Expectation

Let’s look at Paul’s expectation for God to answer His prayers.

2 Corinthians 1:9–11 (ESV) — 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Here’s Paul’s expectation.
God delivered us and He will deliver us.
Glory!
To the Philippians, Paul wrote.

Philippians 1:19 (ESV) — 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,

“I know it” Paul said — do you know it also?
Do you know that God will hear you when you pray?
In the same manner, do you know that He will answer you when you pray?
And, not with this silly stuff that I’ve heard people say: ‘Sometimes God says yes, sometimes He says no, and sometimes He says wait a while.’
Where is that written in the Bible?
It’s not written there — Paul said ‘I know.’
He didn’t say “I’m going to pray to God for deliverance, but God may say no, and so just get things ready for my funeral.’
Paul said ‘I know.’
You can say, ‘I know.’
Now you must do your part: the two things Jesus said you should do — abide in me and my Words abide in you.
Then you are home free to the finish line.
Here’s Paul again in another situation.

Philemon 22 (ESV) — 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

Can you see faith in action here?
Paul is asking that a guest room be prepared for him in answer to prayer.
That is corresponding action.
Paul is speaking His faith.
He believes he is going to need a guest room because he is going to be released.
He had a one-hundred-percent expectation of an answer to prayer.

Answered Prayer First Requires That We Abide in Him

According to Jesus, answered prayer requires two actions or we could say it this way, answered prayer has two conditions: abide in me and my words abide in you.
Now, in a previous podcast, ‘Why It’s Amazing for You to Abide in Jesus the Vine’ we talked about what it means to abide.
The word ‘abide’ means to settle down and remain or to dwell.
Remain in me.
Settle down in me.
Dwell in me.
What is your desire here?
I don’t know about you but I have no desire to be anywhere else except in Him.
My identity is in Him.
He is my Lord — It’s personal — it’s serious — it’s life or death even to me.
I love my family, my wife, my children, my mother, my sister and my brother but God is number one.
If any of them or all of them walk away from God, I’m not going that way.
I am determined to remain connected to Him.
You must be resolute about settling down in Him.
[Be] Determined to dwell in Him.
This first condition is not for the wish-washy.
It’s not for the in and out — the up and down.
Serve Him — find His will and do it with all your heart.
In that podcast, ‘Why It’s Amazing for You to Abide in Jesus the Vine,’ we said that to abide in Jesus, we need the Word.
His word must take root in us.
God’s Word must govern our attitudes and our actions.⁷
God’s Word must govern us to point that we are willing to make adjustments when we hear the Word.
We must act on the Word and act like it’s true.
We’ve taken the time to put that Word in us.
We read the Word — we studied the Word to make sure we understood it as best we could — we thought about the Word, that’s part of what the Bible calls meditating on the Word.
Then came the questions — you know, we asked God about the Word.
We prayed about these questions — we sought God about it.
“Lord, what does this verse mean? — How do I act on it?”
But, above all else, we chose to believe what the Word of God said even if we didn’t understand all of it.
We then spoke it out of our mouths.
We quoted the Word — it is being propelled out of our mouths.
We are speaking it boldly, freely, and even loudly.
Now, the angels of God hear us and they have their mission.

Psalm 103:20 (ESV) — 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!

The angels of God take the God’s Word coming out of your mouth and act on it.
This whole encounter proclaiming of the Word is our lifestyle.
Now comes the second condition or the second part of what Jesus said.
If you abide in me and my words abide in you.

Answered Prayer Second Requires That His Words Abide in Us

Answered prayer requires that His Words remain in us.
Look at how the Amplified Translation has John fifteen and verse seven.

**John 15:7 (AMP) — If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

Live vitally united to me — does that speak to you?
What about ‘my words remain and continue to live in your hearts.’
And with that thought, here is the Question of the Day.

How do Jesus’ words remain in a person?

That’s a hugely important question.
What it shows us that it is possible to do step one — to abide in Jesus by abiding in His Word.
By working with the Word, meditating on the Word and doing all that is mentioned above and then because of other factors we become less aggressive with God’s Word.
Busyness creeps in.
Lack of focus.
What you are doing are good things but not the best things.
You’ve gotten things out of order.
What the Bible calls the ‘cares of this world’ take center stage.

Mark 4:18–19 (ESV) — 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

— the deceitfulness of riches enter in and choke the Word.

We must commit to continually remember the Words of God — the Words of Jesus, and continue by habit to meditate on them.
We must continually look towards keeping our hearts doing what Jesus said and obeying what Jesus said.
We must do and keep on doing.
Read and keep on reading.
Study and keep on studying.
Ask questions and keep on asking.
Quote the Word and keep on quoting.
Act on the Word and keep on acting.
Consistent is a good word here.
Everyday is a good word here.
It’s not just because you read a Bible verse one time.
It’s this constant working with the Word — meditating on the Word — reading the Word — asking questions of the Word — believe it the Word that you read — believing you receive the Word — acting on that Word — exercising patience with the Word.
And, doing it all the time.
All of these things have to do with His Word remaining in you.
These are the components of answered prayer

What Answered Prayer Is Not Fear Based Praying

Answered prayer is not prayer prayed out of fear.
Can we say it this way: it’s not fear based praying.

Philippians 4:6 (ESV) — 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Did you become anxious?
Here’s a good word for you.
Deal with anxiety before you approach the Throne.
Anxiety will flee when you get in your Bible and look up verses of scripture that speak to your situation.
Maybe it’s a mountain that you’re facing that has you troubled.

Mark 11:12–14 (ESV) — 12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus spoke to the barren fig tree as an object lesson to teach us how to handle problems.
Look at the result.

Mark 11:20–24 (ESV) — 20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Notice how fig trees have become mountains.
Jesus started with a fig tree but now He is no longer talking about fig trees, He is referencing mountains, problems, obstacles in your way from fulfilling God’s plan for your life.
Notice Jesus starts with faith — in verse twenty two, He says have faith in God.
You start with faith not with anxiety.
How do you get faith?
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God — that’s Romans 10:17
You start with faith.
One minister wrote the following: this is a good word.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Fear comes by hearing the word of the world—the lies of Satan. Faith is developed by meditating on God’s Word. Fear is developed by meditating and acting on Satan’s lies. The name of this is worry. The worst thing you can do is act on fear.⁸

You start with faith — when you have that — you speak to the mountain — not before but after.
There’s more — now — you doubt not in your heart.
He didn’t say ‘doubt not in your head.’
He said doubt not in your heart.
There’s a night and day difference between head and heart.
Faith from the heart works with doubt in your head.
All kinds of thoughts float through the head, the enemy makes sure of it.
Answering those thoughts with the Word is part of the good fight of faith.
There’s yet more.
You must believe that what you say will come to pass.
You put all of this together and you now understand that prayer is not just a bunch of words hurled up at God.
Answered prayer is confidence.
It is faith that comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Answered prayer is having a knowledge of God’s will and God’s mind on a subject.
His Word is His will.
Here’s a good locator question that will help pinpoint where you are.
‘What verse of scripture are you standing on in prayer?’
I mean you’re praying, right.
You’ve come to God — you’ve approached the Throne of Grace.
What did you come with — just your face?
Did you come empty-handed — no Word.
Did you not start with ‘have faith in God?’
If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what you will and it shall be done for you.

Now Father God, thank you for reminding us about these blessed truths. Thank you for the Word of God that you have provided for us. We love abiding in Jesus via your Word. We honor the Word by continually working with it. This is our life and this our way everyday of our life. We praise you in Jesus Name, Amen.

How Your Prayers Can Be Answered One Hundred Percent.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

#S2-038: Why is Faith Important and Who Has It? [Podcast]

__________
References:

Andrew Murray, AMG Bible Illustrations, Bible Illustrations Series (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2000). ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 406. ↩
Ronald L. Trail, An Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, Exegetical Summaries (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2018), 251. ↩
Author unknown Mark Water, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd, 2000), 772. ↩
Andrew Murray, Mark Water, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd, 2000), 773. ↩
Martin Manser and Mike Beaumont, Handbook of Bible Prayers (Manser and Beaumont, 2020), 452. ↩
J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 808. ↩
Kenneth Copeland ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

How Your Prayers Can Be Answered One Hundred Percent

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Thirty-Seven

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the Gospel of John. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Answered Prayer Has Requirements

Answered Prayer Requires Asking

Answered Prayer Requires Belief

Answered Prayer Requires Expectation

Paul’s Answered Prayer Expectation

Answered Prayer First Requires That We Abide in Him

Answered Prayer Second Requires That His Words Abide in Us

What Answered Prayer Is Not Fear Based Praying

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the Gospel of John. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Answered Prayer Has Requirements

Answered Prayer Requires Asking

Answered Prayer Requires Belief

Answered Prayer Requires Expectation

Paul’s Answered Prayer Expectation

Answered Prayer First Requires That We Abide in Him

Answered Prayer Second Requires That His Words Abide in Us

What Answered Prayer Is Not Fear Based Praying

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