Conditions of Prayer
To have our prayers answered, we must ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, believe God is able and willing to give us what we ask, and continue in prayer until the blessing is granted.
George Mueller emphasizes the importance of approaching God with both our personal and the needs of others, encouraging believers to persist in prayer with patience and faith. He shares his own experiences of waiting years for answers, underscoring that requests should align with God's glory and be made in the name of Jesus. Mueller stresses that true prayer requires unwavering belief in God's willingness and ability to respond, and that we must continue seeking until the blessing is received. He reassures that if our requests are for our spiritual good and God's honor, we will ultimately see answers to our prayers. The essence of his message is to maintain a steadfast spirit in prayer, trusting in God's timing and faithfulness.
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Go for yourself, with all your temporal and spiritual wants, to the Lord. Bring also the necessities of your friends and relatives to the Lord. Only make the trial, and you will perceive how able and willing He is to help you. Should you, however, not at once obtain answers to your prayers, be not discouraged: but continue patiently, believingly to wait upon God: and as assuredly as that which you ask would be for your real good, and therefore for the honor of the Lord; and as assuredly as you ask it solely on the ground of the worthiness of our Lord Jesus, so assuredly you will at last obtain the blessing. I myself have had to wait upon God concerning certain matters for years, before I obtained answers to my prayers; but at last they came.
At this very time, I have still to renew my requests daily before God, respecting a certain blessing for which I have besought Him for eleven years and a half, and which I have as yet obtained only in part, but concerning which I have no doubt that the full blessing will be granted in the end.... The great point is, that we ask only for that which it would be for the glory of God to give to us; for that, and that alone, can be for our real good. But it is not enough that the thing for which we ask God to be for His honor and glory, but we must secondly ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus, viz., expect it only on the ground of His merits and worthiness. Thirdly, we should believe that God is able and willing to give us what we ask Him for.
Fourthly, we should continue in prayer till the blessing is granted; without fixing to God a time when, or the circumstances under which, He should give the answer. Patience should be in exercise, in connection with our prayer. Fifthly, we should, at the same time, look out for and expect an answer till it comes. If we pray in this way, we shall not only have answers, thousands of answers to our prayers; but our own souls will be greatly refreshed and invigorated in connection with these matters.
If the obtaining of your requests were not for your real good, or were not tending to the honor of God, you might pray for a long time, without obtaining what you desire.
The glory of God should be always before the children of God, in what they desire at His hands; and their own spiritual profit, being so intimately connected with the honor of God, should never be lost sight of, in their petitions. But now, suppose we are believers in the Lord Jesus, and make our requests unto God, depending alone on the Lord Jesus as the ground of having them granted; suppose, also, that, so far as we are able honestly and uprightly to judge, the obtaining of our requests would be for our real spiritual good and for the honor of God; we yet need, lastly, to continue in prayer, until the blessing is granted unto us.
It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must patiently, believingly continue in prayer, until we obtain an answer; and further, we have not only to continue in prayer unto the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us, and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained and in not expecting the blessing. - George Muller
Sermon Outline
- I. Conditions of Prayer
- A. Ask for what would be for God's glory and our real good
- B. Ask in the name of the Lord Jesus
- C. Believe God is able and willing to give us what we ask
- D. Continue in prayer until the blessing is granted
- E. Look out for and expect an answer
Key Quotes
“The great point is, that we ask only for that which it would be for the glory of God to give to us; for that, and that alone, can be for our real good.” — George Mueller
“If we pray in this way, we shall not only have answers, thousands of answers to our prayers; but our own souls will be greatly refreshed and invigorated in connection with these matters.” — George Mueller
“Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained and in not expecting the blessing.” — George Mueller
Application Points
- We must ask God for things that would be for His glory and our real good.
- We must continue in prayer until the blessing is granted, without fixing a time when or the circumstances under which God should give the answer.
- We must believe that God hears us and will answer our prayers.