Prayer That Gets Answered: How Prayer Actually Works
Prayer that works.
In short: The New Testament describes several distinct kinds of prayer, each with its own rules — and most believers use one kind for every situation. Effective prayer is agreement with what God has already said (1 John 5:14–15), not persuasion of a reluctant God. Scripture also names specific, nameable hindrances to answered prayer, which means an unanswered prayer is often a diagnosable problem rather than a mystery.
This teaching covers the different kinds of prayer and when each applies, the prayer of faith, praying in the Spirit, fasting, the hindrances Scripture actually lists, and how to build a prayer life that survives past the first fortnight.
Why do so many prayers seem to change nothing?
Usually because the wrong kind of prayer is being used for the situation. The New Testament does not treat prayer as one undifferentiated activity — Ephesians 6:18 speaks of "all prayer and supplication," and 1 Timothy 2:1 lists supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks as distinct things.
The rules genuinely differ. The prayer of faith is prayed once and then held. Intercession may continue for years. A prayer of consecration properly ends in "not my will but Thine" — but praying that over a promise God has already given turns faith into uncertainty. Mixing them produces the frustration most believers describe.
| Kind | What it is | Repeat it? | Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prayer of faith | Asking for something God has already promised | No — pray once, then thank | Mark 11:24; 1 John 5:14–15 |
| Intercession | Standing in the gap for another person | Yes — continue | Ezekiel 22:30; 1 Timothy 2:1 |
| Prayer of agreement | Two or more agreeing on one matter | No — agreement is settled | Matthew 18:19 |
| Prayer of consecration | Submitting a decision where God's will is unknown | Ends in surrender | Luke 22:42 |
| Praying in the Spirit | Praying in tongues, past the understanding | Continuously | 1 Corinthians 14:14–15; Jude 20 |
| Thanksgiving and praise | Response to who God is and what He has done | Continuously | Philippians 4:6 |
The first practical question in any prayer is therefore not "how hard should I pray" but "which of these am I doing".
What is the prayer of faith?
It is prayer offered about something God has already spoken on, and it settles at the moment of asking rather than at the moment of seeing.
1 John 5:14–15 gives the structure plainly: this is the confidence we have, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us — and if we know He hears us, we know we have the petitions we desired. Knowledge of God's will comes first; confidence follows from it; the sense of already having follows from that.
Mark 11:24 says the same from the other direction: believe that you receive when you pray, and you shall have. Receiving is located at the point of prayer, not at the point of manifestation.
Which is why this kind of prayer is not repeated. Asking a second time is a quiet admission that the first did not take. After the prayer of faith, the appropriate posture is thanksgiving — the same thing Jesus did at Lazarus's tomb before anything visible had happened (John 11:41).
What does the Bible list as hindrances to answered prayer?
Scripture names several specific obstacles rather than leaving unanswered prayer unexplained. These are worth working through honestly before concluding that God has said no.
| Hindrance | Passage |
|---|---|
| Asking to spend it on your own pleasures | James 4:3 |
| Wavering between two positions | James 1:6–7 |
| Holding unforgiveness against someone | Mark 11:25–26 |
| Regarding iniquity in the heart | Psalm 66:18 |
| How a husband treats his wife | 1 Peter 3:7 |
| Ignoring the cry of the poor | Proverbs 21:13 |
| Not knowing what God has said on the matter | 1 John 5:14; Romans 10:17 |
Two cautions about that list. It is not a checklist to run over someone else's unanswered prayer — that is what Job's friends did. And it is not exhaustive in the other direction either: Scripture also records the righteous waiting a long time without any fault of theirs. Use it on yourself, gently, and not on anyone else.
What is praying in the Spirit and what does it do?
Praying in the Spirit is praying in tongues, and Paul treats it as a normal daily practice alongside praying with the understanding. "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also" (1 Corinthians 14:15) — both, not one or the other.
Scripture attributes three things to it. It builds you up: "he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself" (1 Corinthians 14:4), and Jude 20 says building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. It speaks mysteries to God (1 Corinthians 14:2) — content your understanding does not supply. And it covers the gap Romans 8:26 describes, where we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, and the Spirit makes intercession.
That last point is the practical value. There are situations where you genuinely do not know what the right outcome is — a family member's crisis, a decision with no clear good option. Praying with the understanding runs out; praying in the Spirit does not.
This flows out of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which is where the prayer language is received.
What does fasting add?
Fasting does not make God more willing. It makes you more attentive.
Jesus assumed His followers would fast — "when ye fast," not if (Matthew 6:16–18) — and gave one instruction about it: do it privately. The early church fasted before major decisions (Acts 13:2–3; Acts 14:23). Isaiah 58 sets out what God considers a real fast as opposed to a religious performance, and the answer involves justice and mercy rather than duration.
Nothing in Scripture presents fasting as leverage that forces an answer. What it does is remove noise and appetite from the equation for a period, which tends to clarify what you are actually asking for.
Practical caution: fasting is a spiritual discipline, not a health practice, and Scripture attaches no merit to extremity. If you are pregnant, diabetic, taking medication, underweight, have any history of disordered eating, or are unwell, talk to your doctor first and consider fasting from something other than food. Nothing here is a reason to do yourself harm.
How do you pray for other people?
Intercession is standing in the gap on someone else's behalf, and unlike the prayer of faith it is meant to continue.
Ezekiel 22:30 gives the image: God looking for a man to stand in the gap on behalf of the land. Paul's prayers for the churches are the best models to copy — Ephesians 1:17–19 and 3:14–19, Colossians 1:9–12, Philippians 1:9–11. Read what he actually asks for. It is almost never circumstances. It is knowledge of God, wisdom, strength in the inner man, love abounding, discernment.
That is worth sitting with, because most intercession is entirely circumstantial. Praying Paul's prayers over your family, by name, is one of the more transformative habits available and costs nothing to start.
One limit: prayer does not override another person's will. You can pray for someone's salvation with confidence, because God's disposition toward it is clear (2 Peter 3:9), while their response remains theirs.
How do you build a prayer life that actually lasts?
By making it small enough to survive a bad week.
The pattern that fails is a dramatic commitment — an hour a day, starting Monday — abandoned by the following Thursday and followed by guilt. The pattern that works is a fixed, modest, unmissable slot that grows on its own.
Fix the time before the content. Jesus rose a great while before day and went to a solitary place (Mark 1:35); Daniel prayed three times a day, on a schedule, for decades (Daniel 6:10). A time you keep beats an intention you admire.
Pray Scripture. The blank-mind problem disappears when you pray a psalm or one of Paul's prayers. It also keeps you praying God's will rather than only your own concerns.
Keep a record. Date what you pray and date the answers. Memory is unreliable and tends to forget answered prayer, which quietly erodes faith over years.
Include thanksgiving deliberately. Philippians 4:6 attaches it to every request. A prayer life that is entirely petition becomes heavy.
Common questions about prayer
Does God always answer prayer?
Scripture presents God as hearing His people (1 John 5:14–15; Psalm 34:15), but it does not promise that every request is granted as asked. Paul asked three times about his thorn and received a different answer (2 Corinthians 12:8–9). "No" and "not yet" are answers, and Scripture does not always explain which one is operating.
Is it wrong to ask for the same thing twice?
It depends on which kind of prayer you are praying. Repeating a prayer of faith undercuts it, because the position was already taken. Persisting in intercession is commended — Luke 18:1–8 exists for exactly that. The distinction is whether you are asking again or continuing to stand.
Do you have to pray out loud?
No. Hannah prayed in her heart with only her lips moving, and it was answered (1 Samuel 1:12–17). Nehemiah prayed silently mid-conversation with a king (Nehemiah 2:4). Praying aloud helps many people stay focused, but Scripture attaches no requirement to it.
What does praying "in Jesus' name" mean?
It is not a closing formula. It means praying as His representative, on the basis of His authority and consistent with who He is — which is why John 14:13–14 attaches such a large promise to it. Praying in His name for something contrary to His character is a contradiction in terms.
Should I pray with the understanding or in tongues?
Both. Paul explicitly refuses the either/or in 1 Corinthians 14:15. Praying with the understanding lets you be specific; praying in the Spirit covers what you do not know how to pray. Most believers who report a strong prayer life do both, often in the same session.
Where to go from here
The prayer of faith only works where faith is present, so how biblical faith comes and grows is the natural companion to this teaching. Prayer runs in two directions, which makes learning to recognise God's voice the other half of the conversation. And because intercession and warfare prayer overlap, the teaching on praying protection over your household applies much of this to a specific arena.
If you are new here, the story behind this ministry explains who is teaching and why.
Written by Darius J. · Last updated