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“[God] hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him” (1 John 5:15).
Do you ever wonder if prayer really works?
Maybe you’ve been praying about a breakthrough … and sensed Satan whispering to you, “This is a waste of time. Forget it! Who do you think you are? What do you think you’re doing? God isn’t listening. Don’t waste your time.”
You’re not alone. Every [Christian] has moments of doubt.
But here’s the truth: Prayer works because God is in control. The basis of all miracles is God’s sovereignty. He is in control. You can trust his wisdom and his goodness.
Ephesians 3:20 says, “God ... is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Prayer can do whatever God can do. His resources are available to you. Twenty times, the New Testament tells followers of God to “ask.” You may not be able to change a situation, but you can pray—you can ask—and God can change it. The things out of your control are not out of God’s.
You may be wondering, “If I can pray and ask God to change things, and if God is really in control of everything, why don’t I get everything I pray for?” Good question. Here are three reasons:
God is not a genie. You don’t just put in a prayer and get whatever you want. If every prayer were answered, we’d be spoiled brats. Parents don’t give their children everything they ask for. It wouldn’t be healthy for them. Neither would it be good for you if God gave you everything you asked for.
Sometimes Christians pray in conflict. If two Christians are praying at the Super Bowl for different teams, who’s God going to answer? Obviously, God can’t answer every prayer at the same time.
But I think the real reason is this:
God knows what’s best, and you don’t. If you think you know what’s best, that is very presumptuous. The Bible tells us, “We are sure that [God] hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will” (1 John 5:14). Look again at the phrase “according to his will.”
The attitude of your prayer needs to be this: “Lord, this is my prayer request, but your will be done.” That’s what Jesus prayed in Luke 22:42: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Pray for God’s will to be done in your life today—and then trust that he’ll answer you with his power, sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness.—Rick Warren1
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Do my prayers really make a difference?
Intercession (a fancy word for praying for others) is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that I think the enemy tries to get us to not use the power of prayer in our daily lives by convincing us that our prayers aren’t really making a difference. When we can’t see the power of our prayers, it can be tempting to believe this lie. But your prayers make a difference! So don’t stop praying!
Your prayers have power because of what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross. In James 5:16 we read, “The prayer of a godly person is powerful. Things happen because of it.” In other translations, it will say the prayer of a “righteous” person is powerful. As a believer, your belief and commitment to following Jesus is what makes you a righteous person. This can give you confidence that your prayers have a big impact. Your prayers are powerful because Jesus died and rose again, so those prayers have the power of Jesus’ resurrection behind them.
Prayer requires perseverance and is a tool for spiritual warfare. “At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18).
In this letter to the church, we read that “prayer is essential.” Not only is it a key tool to be used in the spiritual battle we are still in, but it’s also shown in this instruction that we are meant to pray for others. We’re told to pray continually, to pray for others, and to keep our eyes open, or to stay attentive to what is going on in the world. Our prayer life should be a direct response to what we see and sense happening around us, and it requires persistence and attention.
Your prayers witness to others and demonstrate the power of God to those who might not know Him yet. “King Jeroboam spoke to the man of God. He said, ‘Pray to the Lord your God for me. Pray that my hand will be as good as new again.’ So the man of God prayed to the Lord for the king. And the king’s hand became as good as new. It was just as healthy as it had been before” (1 Kings 13:6).
I love how this passage includes the dialogue where we hear the king say pray to your God. He didn’t believe in this God, but the king was willing to ask to experience healing and the power of this God. … I think our prayers should be ones that create an impact for the kingdom of God when they’re answered. Prayer gives us the opportunity to witness to others. Praying for people who don’t yet know God gives God the opportunity to reveal Himself to them and demonstrate His power. Your prayers make such a big difference that living a lifestyle of prayer could cause someone else to meet God for the first time.
Praying corporately moves heaven and brings spiritual solutions to physical problems. “So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed hard to God for him. It was the night before Herod was going to bring him to trial. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Two chains held him there. Lookouts stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared. A light shone in the prison cell. The angel struck Peter on his side. Peter woke up. ‘Quick!’ the angel said. ‘Get up!’ The chains fell off Peter’s wrists” (Acts 12:5–7).
Prayer moves heaven. When the church prayed together for Peter while he was in prison, heaven moved. An angel came down to Peter and drastically changed the circumstance he was in. When you pray, you are inviting spiritual solutions to come and change the circumstances of physical and natural problems in the world. … What are you praying for in your community or in the world today?—Molly Wilcox2
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Some years ago, a young girl was very sick and not expected to recover. Because of her love for Jesus, she was troubled that she had not been able to do more for Him in her short life. Her pastor suggested that she make a list of people in their little town who needed Christ and pray that they might put their faith in Him. She took his advice, made a list, and prayed often for each person.
Some time later God began to stir a revival in the village. The girl heard of the people who were coming to Christ and prayed even more. As she heard reports, she checked off the names of those who had been led to the Lord.
After the girl died, a prayer list with the names of 56 people was found under her pillow. All had put their faith in Christ—the last one on the night before her death.
Such is the power of definite, specific, fervent prayer. Do you have a prayer list?—Henry G. Bosch3
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In one region of Africa, the first converts to Christianity were very diligent about praying. In fact, the believers each had their own special place outside the village where they went to pray in solitude. The villagers reached these “prayer rooms” by using their own private footpaths through the brush. When grass began to grow over one of these trails, it was evident that the person to whom it belonged was not praying very much.
Because these new Christians were concerned for each other’s spiritual welfare, a unique custom sprang up. Whenever anyone noticed an overgrown “prayer path,” he or she would go to the person and lovingly warn, “Friend, there’s grass on your path!”—Henry G. Bosch
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When we bring our focused and fervent prayers before God, we know that He has gone to work on our behalf and it has caused or will yet cause change and progress. The fruits and results of the prayers that we have prayed in the past and the prayers that we will pray will become apparent in the months and years to come. We can know that our prayers will yield results.
Our prayers can accomplish things that we are incapable of, things that only the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, the great I Am, has the power to accomplish, according to His will. Let’s not ever take the power of prayer for granted. When we fail to appreciate it, we fail to use it; and then we fail to see the results that we seek and need. The only time prayer fails is when we fail to pray. Let’s not let that happen. Let’s value and use our treasure of His promises of the power of effective and fervent prayer.—Peter Amsterdam
Published on Anchor October 2025. Read by Debra Lee. Music by Michael Dooley.
1 Rick Warren, “Your Prayers Have an Impact,” PastorRick.com, November 7, 2020, https://pastorrick.com/your-prayers-have-an-impact-2
2 Molly Wilcox, “Do my prayers really make a difference?” MrsMollyWilcox, https://www.mrsmollywilcox.com/post/do-my-prayers-really-make-a-difference
3 Henry G. Bosch, “Our Daily Bread, March–May, 1996, p. for April 3,” in Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002), https://www.logos.com/grow/sermon-illustrations-on-prayer
