Do My Prayers Live On?

Are prayers eternal?

Do prayers live on after you have released them to God?  Some prayers are answered and you see the answer first hand. 

Hannah prayed for a baby and God allowed her to conceive.  She gave her baby back to God to be a priest and Samuel grew up to be a prophet of God. Side note: Because she was true to her oath, Hannah later had 3 sons and two daughters.  (1 Samuel 1 & 2)

But what about the unanswered prayer?  I’m not talking about prayers like, “Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”

I’m talking about those prayers for peace and comfort.  For salvation of a loved one. For healing. What happens to those prayers?

Revelation 5:8 When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

All our prayers are placed in golden bowls for safekeeping.

Each type of prayer is important.  It’s like a healthy diet for your spiritual growth. Our body needs many different nutrients to make up a healthy body.  Your spiritual life needs different prayers to have a growing relationship with Christ. 

Prayer is basically talking to God:

Worship- recognizing who He is in your life.

Thanksgiving- recognizing what He did for you.

Petition/Intercession- prayer on behalf of someone else.

Supplication- prayer for yourself/ asking for something

Confession- praying for repentance

A friend of mine asked me to pray for her daughter.  The pediatrician heard something that sounded like a murmur, and she was referred to a specialist.  When I heard there may be something wrong, I started praying. Praying for her healing and her overall well-being.  It turns out she was fine.  Either God healed her or the doctor made an innocent mistake.  Either way, this was answered by prayer.  We give God the glory and take the miracle.

But once we got the “all clear” I started to wonder. The prayers I prayed- will they still apply to her?  Beyond this moment? 

I prayed not only for healing, but for her to grow up in the love of Jesus.  I used scriptures to shape my prayers.  I reminded God of the promises he gave us.

Isaiah 43:26 Remind me. Let’s argue the case together. Recount the facts, so that you may be vindicated.

I reminded God that all of her days are written in His book and are planned before a single one began Psalm 39:16. Protection from all harm- her coming and going- both now and forever Psalm 121:8.  She would be covered with God’s feathers and takes refuge under his wings Psalm 91:4. God is a shelter right by her side Psalm 121:5. Correct any misalignment in her body and she will be physically fit, strong, smart with a gentle heart and blessed by God.  She would know Him and trust Him.  I prayed for her protection.  She would be rescued from any trials and God’s hand would be rested on her. Because God’s heart is set on her, He will deliver her Psalm 91:14. You will protect her because You know her by name.  You will rescue her and give her honor.  You will satisfy her with a long life and show her your salvation Psalm 91:16. She is a masterpiece that you created and she is just the way she should be.  We rest in the knowledge of your safety and focus on Your goodness and mercy.  She is blameless and you watch over her all the days of her life. And her inheritance will last forever Psalm 37:19. She will not be disgraced in time of adversity, and she will be satisfied in days of hunger Psalm 37:19.

This was my prayers over several weeks until we waited for results.  Which brings me to the question, Will this prayer apply to her all the days of her life?  My hope would be that it does.  I don’t know if I can definitively answer this question but I’m going to explore this idea and see where it takes me.

We are most definitely called to pray.  That is very clear in the scriptures.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone.

Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

It is also clear we should pray always and not give up.

Ephesians 6:18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

Luke 18:1-8 Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. ² “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. ³ And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’” ⁶ Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them? ⁸ I tell you that he will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

 That last line “will he find faith on earth?  I love that line. He is talking about you and me- will we continue to pray, continue to call out to Him with faith knowing he will reward those who seek him?

Hebrews 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him (that’s you and me) must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

We must examine our hearts before we pray-

James 4:3 You do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Proverbs 28:9 Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law—
even his prayer is detestable.

1John 5:14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.

 After examination, if we have a clear conscience...

Romans 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit—

2 Corinthians 1:12 Indeed, this is our boast: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with godly sincerity and purity, not by human wisdom but by God’s grace.

2 Timothy 1:3  I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.

Acts 24:16 I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and men.

Then we can rest assured that our prayers will be answered now or place in the golden bowl.

But what happens to the prayers collected?

Revelation 8:2-4 Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them. ³ Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

All our prayers, if aligned with God’s Word, will be answered in this time or in the time of Revelation.

I think we all get caught up in our own timeline.  But when you confess Jesus as your Lord, your timeline extends far past date of Death. 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

The average life span of women around the world is 76 years.  When you think about eternity, 76 years is really a very short time.

Our prayers, the fruit of our labor in the kingdom lasts far beyond our last day here on earth.  We are strangers in this world and only passing through. 

1 Peter 2:11 My friends, remember that you are really strangers in this world. You do not belong here. So I am telling you not to do the bad things that your bodies may want to do. Those bad things fight against what is good for your soul (EASY)

Let’s make the most of the time we have here with our prayers.

Psalm 141:2 May my prayer be set before you as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering.

Let’s spend our time on earth working for His kingdom and storying treasures in heaven.

Matthew 6:20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.