What Kind Of Prayer Does God Actually Answer?
TODAY'S TEACHING
The earnest (heartfelt, continual) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].
—James 5:16
A lot of people don’t struggle with prayer because they don’t believe. They struggle because somewhere along the way, they decided God only listens when they’ve behaved well enough. So they try harder, clean up faster, and carry a quiet fear that one wrong step shuts Heaven’s door.
But righteousness isn’t something we earn with effort, and it’s not revoked by imperfection. If we’re born again, we’re already standing in right relationship with God, not because we’ve done everything right, but because Jesus did (hallelujah). That standing doesn’t wobble every time we do.
I once sat across from a man after church who whispered, eyes down, that he hadn’t prayed in weeks because he’d “messed up again.” He thought silence was humility. What he didn’t realize was that God wasn’t waiting for him to behave better, He was waiting for him to come closer.
Righteousness is about position, not performance. It’s who we are in Christ, not how flawless our week looked. Behavior matters, yes, but it flows from love, not fear, and it was never meant to be the entrance fee to God’s attention.
God hears us because He is good and Jesus made a way for us, not because we are perfect. The prayer of a righteous child of God is the prayer God responds to because grace works. And when we finally stop trying to qualify ourselves, and fully receive the righteousness Jesus paid the price for (2 Corinthians 5:21), we discover God has been listening the whole time.
If this resonates with you, here's a short prayer you can say today:
"Dear God, thank You that I don’t have to clean myself up before I come to You. I’m done trying to earn what You already gave by grace. Teach me to pray from confidence in what Jesus did for me, not fear, and to trust that You hear me because You’re faithful. I rest my heart in that truth today. Amen."
God bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Daniel
Daily Effective Prayer™
P.S. - Thank you for allowing me to connect with you through email. If you ever want to UNSUBSCRIBE you can do so at the bottom of any of my emails - no questions asked. God bless you.
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DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS
1. Why do Christians sometimes believe God listens more when we behave better?
Most of us were taught, directly or indirectly, that approval follows performance. So when we mess up, prayer feels awkward, like calling someone we disappointed and hoping they still want to talk. We don’t stop believing in God, but we start believing distance is required, when in reality, grace was designed to pull us closer, not push us away.
2. How does understanding righteousness change the way we pray?
It changes our posture. We stop praying like beggars hoping for mercy and start praying like children who know they’re welcome. When we understand righteousness, prayer stops feeling like a risky move and starts feeling like a natural one, the way breathing happens.
3. What happens when Believers confuse right behavior with right standing?
We hide when we should run toward God. We postpone prayer until we "feel" cleaned up, which usually means we don’t pray at all. Instead of letting God help us change, we try to change first, and that’s exhausting because transformation was never meant to be powered by shame.
4. Why does a Christian still need to care about their behavior if grace covers them?
Because grace doesn’t make us careless, it makes us grateful. When we know we’re loved without conditions, something in us wants to respond with a life that reflects that love. Obedience becomes less about fear of consequences and more about honoring a relationship that matters deeply to us.
5. How can we help each other pray with confidence instead of guilt?
By reminding one another of truth when feelings lie. Sometimes faith looks like gently telling a fellow believer, “You’re still allowed to pray.” We walk together, speak grace out loud, and refuse to let silence win when encouragement could set someone free.
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The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
—Luke 2:20
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Blessings to you