If you’re like me, you may have wondered from time to time if God really hears your prayers. After all, you may go days, weeks, or months without getting any kind of definite answer from God. 

At times it feels like it’s not even worth bothering to pray because your prayers are only bouncing off the ceiling. It is at those times it’s toughest to pray, but it is also at those times when we probably need to pray the hardest and with all the faith we can muster.

We can rest assured that God does indeed hear our prayers. There are multiple places in the Scriptures where we’re told that God hears our prayers. In just one of these examples, we read in Psalms 6:9:

The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.

And in Psalms 66:19, King David says:

But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Matthew 21:22 tells us:

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

The list could go on and on of verses that promise us that God hears our prayers.

However, there are some caveats we must adhere to in order to get our prayers answered. We can’t just live our lives the way we want, without any concern for God’s principles, and expect Him to answer our prayers. It simply doesn’t work that way.

Pray Within God’s Will

One of the first things we must do to have our prayers answered in the affirmative is to make sure that our prayers are made within God’s will.

We’re told in 1 John 5:14:

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

Well, your first question might be, How am I supposed to know God’s specific will for my life? Sure, I know I’m supposed to read the Bible, pray, and give to my church, but what about the specific things in my life? How do I know what those are?

The best advice I can give you for finding God’s specific will for your life is simply to ask Him. Lord, do you want me to take this specific job? Yes, it seems like a great opportunity, but is it your desire for me? 

You may have to spend some time on your knees before the Lord, even fasting, before you get a clear answer from Him. And don’t forget to ask your family and friends to join in prayer with you. If it’s a private matter, you don’t necessarily have to tell them what it’s about. God knows about it after all.

You Must Be a Righteous Person

James 5:16b tells us:

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Although our righteousness is found in Christ, for our prayers to take root, we must be a person who strives to do God’s will every day. The context of this verse is one in which we’re encouraged to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other that we may be healed. Then we’re told that a righteous person’s prayer has great power. 

So, does that mean we need to confess our sins in order to expect our prayers to be heard and answered. It would seem so. As much as I don’t like the idea of telling my sins to a friend or accountability partner, I don’t really see any way around it, according to this scripture.

So, when we confess our sins and pray for one another, we can rest assured that our prayers are being heard and effecting change. I like how the New King James Version renders the last part of that same verse:

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 

Treat Your Wife as Christ Treats the Church

I am far from a perfect husband, as my wife would surely tell you. However, the proper marital relationship is modeled in scripture.

1 Peter 3:7 commands us husbands: 

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Furthermore, in Ephesians 5:26-28, we are told:

That he [the husband] might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

However, wives, you’re not off the hook on this one. We’re told the following in Ephesians 5:22-24:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

When husbands and wives are in a mutually beneficial marital bond, not only are they happier, but they’re helping ensure that their prayers are heard and answered by our Heavenly Father.

Pray the Word, Just as Jesus Did

In the gospels, we’re often told that Jesus would head out early in the morning to be by himself and pray. I’ve always wondered what he could devote so much time to in prayer. 

While I still don’t know, I believe that a large portion of his time spent in prayer must have been devoted to praying the Father’s words back to Him.

That’s actually one of the most productive forms of prayer because we’re taking God’s promises and reminding Him of what He told us in His word He would do.

One of the most famous examples of Jesus doing this is found in Luke 22:42 when He is on the Mount of Olives with his disciples:

Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.

If you’re looking for other promises of God that you can pray back to Him, the book of Psalms is a good place to start. Psalm 91 is a wonderful account of all that God does for his believers. 

For the 91st Psalm, you can pray something like this:

Dear Father, in the 91st Psalm, you promise to deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. You promise me that I will not fear the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day. A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. I’m trusting You to come through on your promises because I know You are a God of Your word. I thank You that I can trust you.

Then, of course, the famous 23rd Psalm has been used for thousands of years to bring comfort to weary souls.

For this psalm, you could pray:

Lord, thank You for leading me beside still waters and restoring my soul, just as You promise in Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because You are with me.

It’s quite an uplifting experience to comb through God’s words, finding His promises and reminding Him of them in your time of need. Doing so strengthens your faith, bonds you closer with God, and shows Him that you have hidden His word away in your heart.

These four principles are a good start toward getting your prayers answered. However, I’m sure there are other principles we must adhere to to ensure our prayer life is fruitful; I encourage you to seek these out on your own and strengthen your prayer life.