[Cheese]

Originally Posted by kirant

A quick skim, but it doesn't say that God MUST answer. It might be a definition thing, but it seems there's a difference between hearing your request and answering them. It doesn't have the complete connection that if God hears, he will answer. There are lots of limitation on whether or not God would even hear a prayer though.

If (and that's an if) that's a comprehensive analysis on the Bible's listed statements on God answering prayer, I think there's reasonable doubt in thinking that we could accurately determine existence of God purely by a prayer's answered type of measurement. Now of course, that's something that may be lost with time too. Maybe in the original language and in the original context, these two concepts were more connected. I'm not well read enough to find or understand an original version of the Bible though. If someone like that is around, that'd be an interesting topic to talk about.

Our prayers must be asked in faith. Concerning our prayers James 1:6-7 says, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord." We must have faith in God and if we are faithful and obedient to Him then He will hear and answer our prayers, otherwise we will receive nothing. Jesus says in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." So we must have faith if we expect God to answer our prayers.