Why are some prayers answered and not others? What is prayer's purpose? Since God commands His people to pray, it must have a reasonable, spiritual purpose.

God expects us to intercede in behalf of others, but we must do this with wisdom, sincerity, and humility, with the help of God's Spirit, according to God's will.

Persistence in prayer does not mean an incessant pestering God into action. God always looks at our petitions from the vantage-point of His purpose.

Prayer to a tool we must learn to use. Because we take on the characteristics of those we are around, we should keep company with God continually though prayer.

Living faith has its roots in fervently, diligently seeking God and His righteousness with intense desire (like a passionate lover) through habitual prayer.

Constant, earnest prayer keeps faith alive and makes certain the receiving of the qualities that make us in the image of God. God's purpose comes first.

When we are searching for a solution to a problem, we should actively expend effort to resolve the difficulty. Jesus gives three different forms of seeking.

The Bible shows several positions used in prayer, but gives special attention to the posture of raised hands, symbolic of giving up or being vulnerable.

Though the widow speaks only five words in this encouraging parable, she provides Christians in these last days with an example of persistence in prayer.

Unlike the sleeping friend, God is not reluctant to answer our prayers, but He does want us to be diligent and patient in our requests.

Christ expects us to ask for His help, and when He gives it, He does it to glorify His Father. When He thus responds, we should glorify God by praising Him.

God does not delay because of indifference, but wants to provide maximum opportunity for repenting, overcoming, and building character.

People used to look to God more than they do now. It was common for people to take all their needs to God, confident that He would listen to and provide them.

At the end of the Parable of the Persistent Widow, Jesus asks, "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith...?" The answer is surprising to many.

There are two seemingly-contradictory types of fear, the good fears and the bad ones. We must begin and remain in the proper fear of God to cast off other fears.

God's sovereignty seems to imply that prayer is pointless. Yet the function of prayer is not to change God's mind, but ours!

God reveals a grand secret through David: namely, that spiritual growth will come to people who set the Lord before oneself continuously.

We must not fear but stand firm and be still, watching the salvation of the Lord, actively exercising faith, while God makes short work out of our enemies.

Prayer is not a dictating to a reluctant God, but a demonstration of our attitude of dependence and need. It is a means to get into harmony with God's will.

Do we prefer to take matters into our own hands, make our own plans, and look to God for a blessing only after we have decided what needs to be done?

Commentators think very little of Manoah, Samson's father, but a closer look at Judges 13 shows he is an example of true masculinity.

We may find God's means of correction discouraging, but when we place His actions in context with His overall plan, we can find peace in God's sovereignty.

When the Seventh Seal opens, all activity in heaven appears to stop as the heavenly realm turns its attention to what comes next, pausing in silent anticipation.

Deuteronomy 16:13 and other scriptures admonish us to rejoice at the Feast of Tabernacles. How does this apply if things go wrong?

When it looks like things are out of control, God is busily at work behind the scenes. If we replace anxiety with faith, God will grant us divine peace.

Praying without gratitude is like clipping the wings of prayer. Thankfulness is not natural to carnal human nature which loves to grovel as a timid worrywart.

We are asked to believe in a Being nobody has directly seen or heard, whose written word has been vilified and scorned. Without faith, we can't please God.

If Christianity is lived the way Christ intended, rather than as represented by media caricatures, it is one of the most exhilarating and abundant lifestyles.

Both the 'eternal security' and 'no works' doctrines are destroyed by the remarkable example of Noah, who performed extraordinary works based upon faith.