Praying Effective Prayers: How to Get Answered Prayers Every Time

Without a doubt, there are effective prayers and ineffective prayers.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes to the churches and includes instructions on prayer. He tells us in James 5:16 that it is the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person that avails much.

Thank God that I grew up in a home where prayer was something we did as a family every morning and every night. Kneeling, my siblings and I knew to remain quiet as our dad or mother prayed. Then, at the end of their prayers, we recited the Lord’s Prayer together. I knew God heard the prayers of my parents and my grandparents, but I was not convinced He would hear mine, much less answer. Never would I have dreamed that I was righteous or that I could ever pray an effective, fervent prayer. In fact, believe me when I tell you that I have prayed many ineffective prayers. Yet, when we desire truth, God will meet us where we are and show us His salvation.

The Beginning of Effective, Fervent Prayer

Effectual prayer begins with a personal relationship with God, and fellowship with God is fellowship with His Word. I wanted to know Him and understand who He is, and therefore, I had to realize that “the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 NLT). He talks to you through the pages of the Bible, and prayer is talking to Him. This is sweet communication—your vital, personal contact with God, who is more than enough. Effectual prayer is uttered in words, and your words have the power of life or death—positive or negative. You have His Word that God hears the prayers you pray according to His will. But keep in mind that negative prayers also have the power to set circumstances into motion. That is not to scare you but to inspire you to learn to pray effectual prayers to the glory of the Father.

If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil (1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT).

Prayer is not a religious obligation without power. Personal prayer time is that special time when you can talk with the Father one on one. You come just as you are without pretense. You come because He is your Father and you are His child. To know Jesus is to know the Father, and He instructs us to go directly to the Father and ask Him for anything.

For here is eternal truth: When that time comes you won’t need to ask me for anything, but instead you will go directly to the Father and ask him for anything you desire and he will give it to you, because of your relationship with me. Until now you’ve not been bold enough to ask the Father for a single thing in my name, but now you can ask, and keep on asking him! And you can be sure that you’ll receive what you ask for, and your joy will have no limits! (John 16:23-24 TPT)

Effectual prayer changes you, and prayer becomes a way of life. Your prayers become more accurate as you learn God’s will and His ways as revealed in His Word. God is the Word, and He watches over His Word to perform it (see Jer. 1:12). The effectual prayer is the prayer that God answers. You can be confident that He hears every request you pray according to His will. And if you know that He hears you in whatever you ask, you also know that you have obtained the requests you ask of Him (see John 5:14-15).

Effectual prayer is the “living” Word in your mouth. When you pray scriptural prayers, you are releasing your faith in His mighty power to answer your requests.

For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy [all effective], and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12 TPT).

When prayers are not effectual, ask the Holy Spirit to help you to know how to pray. Be ready for God’s “living” Word to reveal if you are in conflict and fighting to have your own way and fulfill your own desires. When you do not receive what you ask for, go back to the Scriptures. God is faithful, and He desires to answer the prayers of His children.

A Study on Answered Prayer

What is the cause of your conflicts and quarrels with each other? Doesn’t the battle begin inside of you as you fight to have your own way and fulfill your own desires? You jealously want what others have so you begin to see yourself as better than others. You scheme with envy and harm others to selfishly obtain what you crave—that’s why you quarrel and fight. And all the time you don’t obtain what you want because you won’t ask God for it! And if you ask, you won’t receive it for you’re asking with corrupt motives, seeking only to fulfill your own selfish desires (James 4:1-3 TPT).

Effectual prayer changes you. As your mind is renewed to God’s Word, your motives and desires are transformed. God’s Word is our contact with Him. Your perceptions of God change, and you make Him the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and He will provide for you what you desire the most (see Ps. 37:4 TPT).

We put Him in remembrance of His Word (see Isa. 43:26), asking Him for what we need in the name of Jesus, who is the Word. The woman in Mark 5:25-34 placed a demand on the Word of God (Jesus) when she touched the hem of His garment. We do not know how long this woman had been waiting to see Jesus. She had obviously heard about His power to heal and to perform miracles—about blind eyes opened and the lame walking. And she believed. She defied tradition and ventured out not only to see Him but to touch Him! When she saw Jesus, she released her faith in this prayer. “If I can but touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.” She acted on her faith with her words and her actions. She placed a demand on His power to heal.

Effectual prayer brings prodigals home. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. The book you are reading today began the day I chose to believe God that our prodigal son would come home. I had read Jesus’ story of the prodigal son; I heard testimonies of prodigals. By faith I began to place a demand on the power of God to deliver our prodigal out of the strange land of addictions and bring him home. Again, we learn from the book of James to fix our minds on God’s Word and become single-minded. Our faith will remain strong while surrounded by circumstances that contradict our prayer, and we “will continue to experience the untold blessings of God!” (James 1:12 TPT).

The prayers in this book are composed of God’s Word that does not return to Him void—without producing any effect, useless—but it shall accomplish that which He pleases and purposes, and it shall prosper in the thing for which He sent it (see Isa. 55:11). He did not leave us without His thoughts and His ways, for we have His Word—His bond. God tells us, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jer. 33:3 ESV). Prayer is an exciting adventure—not drudgery.

God is looking for an intercessor in each generation—someone who will come before Him and pray! God’s power is released from heaven when the believer prays in faith—believing! The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him (see 2 Chron. 16:9 NLT). So, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (see Heb. 4:16 NLT).

Effectual prayer is developed when you become a doer of the Word. Practice, practice, practice praying the Word that the Father may be glorified.

Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: ‘Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation’” (Luke 11:2-4 NLT).

Prayer is an exciting journey with the great Three-in-One. Prayer is not a boring task you hope will win you brownie points with God. Prayer is a meeting with God who has raised you from the dead along with Christ and seated you with Him in the heavenly realms because you are united with Christ Jesus! (See Eph. 2:6 NLT.) Here is where you learn the strategies of prayer, the different forms of prayer, with the help of the Holy Spirit. The more you pray, the more you will desire to pray because you have His divine help.

There are different types of prayer and all are effective when uttered from the believer’s heart of hope, faith, and love. The greatest of these is love.

Effectual prayer begins with adoration from a believing heart in awe of the majesty of God. Prayer does not cause faith to work, but faith causes prayer to work. Always remember, faith works by love—and therefore, prayers must be prayed from a place of love.

Your Prayers Will Avail Much

You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and you have the mind of Christ. Your prayers will bring salvation to the sinner, deliverance to the oppressed, healing to the sick, and hope to the poor. God desires that all may be healed and prosper even as their souls prosper.

United in prayer, we will usher in the next move of God on planet Earth! It is harvest time! In the process of praying, our lives will be changed as we move from faith to faith and from glory to glory.

God, glorify your name! Yes, your name alone be glorified, not ours. For you are the one who loves us passionately, and you are faithful and true (Psalm 115:1 TPT).