Answers to prayer

God answers the prayers of individuals

God answers the psalmists’ prayers

Psalm 145:18–19 NIV

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

See also Ps 3:4; Ps 6:8–9; Ps 30:2–3; Ps 66:19–20; Ps 116:1–2; Ps 118:5; Ps 138:3

God answers Moses’ prayers

Ex 15:23–25; Ex 17:4–7; Nu 11:10–17

God answers Hannah’s prayer for a son

1 Samuel 1:27 NIV

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.

See also 1 Sa 1:10–20

God answers the prayers of the prophets

Psalm 99:6 NIV

Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them.

See also 1 Sa 7:9; La 3:55–57; Jon 2:1–2; Jas 5:17–18

God answers the prayers of the kings of Israel

1 Ki 9:3; 2 Ch 18:31

God answers corporate petition

Answered prayer for deliverance from hardship

Deuteronomy 26:7–8 NIV

Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.

See also Ex 2:23–25; Ex 3:7–9; Nu 20:16; 1 Sa 12:8; Ps 81:7

Answered prayer for deliverance from enemies

1 Samuel 12:10–11 NIV

They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety.

See also Jdg 3:9; Jdg 3:15; 2 Ki 19:19–20; 1 Ch 5:20

God answers the prayer of the oppressed

James 5:4 NIV

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

See also Ex 22:22–23; Job 34:28

God answers prayer for healing

James 5:14–16 NIV

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

See also Nu 12:10–15; 1 Ki 17:21–22; 2 Ki 4:32–35; 2 Ki 20:1–6; Mt 8:2–3; Ac 9:40

God answers prayer for others

Deuteronomy 9:18–19 NIV

Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.

See also 1 Sa 7:8–9; Ac 12:5–8