30 Meaningful Scriptures for Answered Prayer
God loves us immensely. But He also knows what’s best for us.
Which means He’s going to answer our prayers in His perfect way. And His perfect timing.
While we may not always understand, we can choose to trust God’s plan.
We can come to Him in our time of need. With a grateful heart. Knowing the importance of prayer. But also knowing it’s more about connecting with the One who loves us . . . than getting what we want.
These Scriptures for answered prayers encourage us to keep praying. Because they remind us that God hears us when we cry out to Him. And He wants to answer our prayers.
But He also knows the best way to answer them.
What if God doesn’t answer your prayers?
What should we do about unanswered prayers? If you’ve prayed and prayed and yet God doesn’t seem to be answering, then you may need to look at 3 things.
- God may not be answering because you’re living in sin. You need to confess and repent.
- God may not be answering because you’re asking for something out of His will for you. Or asking for it out of wrong motives (our own selfish desires rather than God’s will). Ask the Holy Spirit to help you surrender to His plan.
- God may not be answering in the way you want Him to. Ask Him for clarity and insight into what His answer really is.
What are the 4 ways God answers prayers?
There are 4 ways God answers our prayers. He can answer “Yes”. Which is the answer we all love to hear.
But He can also answer with a “no”, “maybe”, or a “wait.”
- If He says “no” we can trust that what we’re praying for is not God’s best for us.
- If he says, “maybe” we can trust He will help us work through what we need to work through. Maybe we just need to grow in our faith. Maybe we have some sins we need to confess. Or maybe we have some things we need to let go of. Things that are getting between us and Him.
- And if He says, “wait” we can trust that He knows so much more than we do. And so, He knows now is not the right time.
We may not always like God’s answer . . . but we can choose to accept that because God is good. And He has proven His love for us through what Jesus did on the cross . . . then His answer is good.
Even if it doesn’t feel good.
What does the Bible say about answered prayers?
The Bible has a lot to say about answered prayers because prayer is one of the most powerful things.
It is how we move the great power of Heaven to act on our behalf. And it’s how we connect with the God who loves us more than we can imagine.
Psalms for Answered Prayers
These Psalms for answered prayers are beautiful reminders that God hears our cries, and He will answer in His perfect time.
1) “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.”
-Psalm 40:1 NLT
2) “I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.”
-Psalm 116:1 NLT
3) “I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!”
-Psalm 118:21 NLT
What Scriptures say God answers prayers?
These Bible verses remind us that God really does answer our prayers if we pray according to God’s perfect will. And as we grow in our relationship with Him, the Holy Spirit will help us to do this.
4) “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!”
-John 15:7 NLT
5) “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”
-Mark 11:24 NLT
6) “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
-Matthew 7:7 NIV
7) “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
-1 John 5:14-15 ESV
8) “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”
-John 15:6 ESV
9) “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
-James 1:5 ESV
10) “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
-John 16:4 ESV
11) “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
-Matthew 21:22 ESV
12) “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
-John 14:13-15 ESV
13) “Then Jesus told them, ‘I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.’”
-Matthew 21:21-22 NLT
14) “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.”
-1 Peter 3:12 ESV
15) “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
-Matthew 7:11 NIV
Scripture on Waiting for Answered Prayer
These Scriptures on waiting for answered prayer remind us to have faith in the waiting.
To trust that God knows what He is doing. And in the delay, He is working to help us grow and change.
So, we will be fully prepared to handle His answer to our prayers.
16) “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
-Hebrews 11:6 NIV
17) “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”
-James 1:6-7 ESV
18) “Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.”
-James 5:15-16 NLT
19) “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
-Ephesians 6:18 NLT
20) “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT
21) “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”
-Colossians 4:2 ESV
22) “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”
-Luke 6:12 ESV
23) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
-Philippians 4:6 NIV
24) “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”
-1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV
25) “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.”
-Colossians 4:12 ESV
Scriptures on Obstacles to Answered Prayers
Sometimes God delays in answering our prayers because of obstacles in our lives.
There may be secret sins hiding in our hearts that He wants to deal with. Or our prayer requests may only be to please our own selfish desires, rather than living for the will of God.
If we feel like God isn’t hearing our prayers, then maybe we need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what is in our hearts. And what we need to change.
These verses from the Word of God reveal some obstacles to having our prayers answered.
26) “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
-James 5:16 NIV
27) “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
-James 4:2-3 NLT
28) “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
-Psalm 66:18 NIV
29) “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”
-Isaiah 59:2 ESV
30) “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
-Romans 12:2 NIV
What does answered prayer mean?
Answered prayer doesn’t mean we always get what we want. Or what we expect.
Answered prayer means that God hears us and gives us what is best for us.
He loves us and wants to give good things to us. But He also knows way more than we ever could.
We have a very limited perspective of our lives. While God can see everything from the past to the present. And all the way through the rest of eternity.
We can trust Him to answer our prayers in His perfect way. And His perfect timing.
Bring the desires of your heart to God. Approach the throne of grace and pray in Jesus’ name.
Then let the peace of God settle over your heart as you wait for His answer.
He is a good Father.
So, trust God’s promise that He hears you. He passionately loves you. (1 John 4:9) He knows what’s best for you. (Isaiah 55:9)
And He has good plans for you. (Jeremiah 29:11)
If this encouraged you, then please share it so it can encourage more people!
And be sure to check out these other Bible Verse Lists:
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