The answer is a Biblically-proven “no.” Prayer is based on FAITH that what one prays for is GOD’S WILL and that He will answer the prayer in a positive way. The question then becomes, what is His will? The answer can be found only in His Holy Bible. Let us understand that no one prompted nor persuaded the Almighty to formulate the covenant between Himself and man that came to be known as “the Bible.” He did that strictly on His own, with no urging from anyone else, not even the Word (Jn. 1:1-4,16) Who, from the beginning was a co-equal God with Him (Phil. 2:6). The two Gods, not three, constituted the Godhead. See The Trinity. The Word (Spokesman) of the Godhead later came to earth as Jesus of Nazareth and died in order to fulfill the Father’s will and to “… finish His work” (Jn. 4:34). Jesus came to create a human group–His true church–who would reflect His holiness–be His “light”–to the heathen world. Spiritual heathen are Israelites and Gentiles (all non-Israelites) who do not obey God’s Word–the Holy Scriptures. His church is comprised of spiritual Israelites who know, believe and obey those Scriptures without exception. His church is the “Body of Christ,” of which Jesus is the Head (Eph. 1:23; 4:12; 5:30/ Col. 1:18). The Body of Christ is comprised of people from every race who have abandoned their former religions and have embraced the Biblical God, know His Word, believe it and obey it. Sadly, they are few in number (Mat. 7:13,14).

Having established the fact that answered prayer is based on God’s will as stated in His Holy Bible, the second requirement for answered prayer is faith on the part of the supplicant. The question then becomes, what is faith? and from whence does it come? “Faith is the substance (actuality) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). Faith is produced by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:19). The reason the Apostle Paul used the word “hearing” instead of “reading” is because in that day the vast majority of people were illiterate and attended the Temple in Jerusalem or a local synagogue in order to hear the Law (Old Testament) read aloud. This was their only source of God’s Truth at that time. This remained the norm until the invention of the printing press many years later.

Faith is the absolute assurance that what one prays for is God’s will and that He will do what the believer asks Him to do. To know His will we must know His Word, which is His will, which is the source of faith. As I have stated many times, everything comes back to the Word of God.

And herein lies the problem. Never having heart God’s Truth, church people do not know God’s Word and therefore do not know His will. Having faith that Jesus is His Son and that He died for the sins of the world will not endear one to Him. Satan knows God’s Word. He knows that it is true. The devils know this, and tremble. They know God’s Word and know that it is true. This is true faith. The problem lies in the area of execution.

God, speaking through the Apostle James, tells us that faith, no matter how great, without works is dead faith (Jam. 2:14,17,18,20,24,26). The faith of Satan and his demons is dead faith because they do not work their faith–they do not obey what they know. As believers we are told that we must live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God–the entire Bible–(Mat. 4:4). We are also told that we must live by faith (Rom. 1:17). WE MUST LIVE BY KNOWING WHAT GOD SAID, KNOWING THAT IT IS TRUTH, AND OBEYING IT. THIS IS TRUE FAITH. However, knowing God’s Word, believing it, preaching it, etc. accomplishes nothing. Without obedience to it (works) the believer’s faith is dead. And in that we live by our faith, the believer is as dead as his faith.

Satan has deceived the entire world (Rev. 12:9) into “knowing” that believing (having faith) in Jesus, Who He was, what He did, etc. constitutes the faith that God requires. It is not. True faith, which we must have, is based on God’s Word, not on the fact of His existence, what He did, etc. The Gov. of Texas was asked about the condition of his soul. He replied that his soul was fine because “I know the Lord.” But so does Satan, who speaks to Him face-to-face. We are told in 1 Jn. 2:4: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep (obey) His commandments is a liar and the Truth (God’s Word-Jn. 17:17) is not in him.” Here is where Satan has sidetracked the Institutional Church. PROFESSING CHRISTENDOM HAS SUBSTITUTED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT JESUS FOR KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT HE SAID. He said in John 12:48 that we would be judged by “… THE WORDS THAT I HAVE SPOKEN,” not by the fact that we believe in Him and what He did. THE CHURCH KNOWS VERY LITTLE OF HIS TRUTH,  BELIEVES VERY LITTLE OF WHAT SHE KNOWS AND OBEYS VERY LITTLE OF WHAT SHE BELIEVES. She claims to “know Jesus” but does not obey His commandments. The church, having dead faith, is spiritually dead. So says the Lord.

Jesus said that He came to die for His “friends.” He then identified His friends as those who “… do whatsoever I command you” (Jn. 15:13). His commands are written in the Bible. Note that He was talking to His hand-picked disciples who would remain His friends ONLY as long as they obeyed His Words. One of them failed in that regard. Jesus came to save His “brethren” whom He identified as “… they who do the will of My Father in heaven” (Mat. 12:46-50). God’s will is His Word. Only those who are His friends/brethren will join Him in paradise.

The reason prayer is not the solution to America’s problems is that those doing the praying do not know Him, do not know His Word, do not believe His Word and do not obey His Word. Their faith is based on who His is and what He did, not on what He said. Therefore their faith is dead, making them as dead as their faith. L.J.