Prayer is communication with God—and when we pray, heaven listens. Yet an unsettling question often lingers in the hearts of believers, especially after seasons of intense prayer and fasting:
Is it possible to wait on the Lord sincerely… and still walk away without receiving the answers we desire?
Let’s take a deep dive to find out.
The Prayer Value Chain
In 1 Thessalonians 5 vs 17, the Bible instructs us to pray. But scripture also reveals something more profound: prayer is not a lone sound released into the heavens. It is a symphony, carried by many instruments, each playing its part, each essential to the whole. When one instrument is missing or out of tune, the melody weakens.
James 5 vs 16 reminds us that “the effective, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much.” The word effective suggests structure, alignment, and completeness. Prayer, therefore, follows a value chain—a divine sequence that carries requests from earth to heaven:
Love ⏩️ Desire ⏩️ Motive ⏩️ Courage ⏩️ Prayer ⏩️ Surrender ⏩️ Faith ⏩️ Hope ⏩️ Expectation ⏩️ Persistence ⏩️ Patience ⏩️ Spiritual Sensitivity ⏩️ Gratitude ⏩️ Obedience ⏩️ Action ⏩️ Rest ⏩️ Result
Let’s look at the value chain more closely.
- Love: “For you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22 vs 37
The primary reason we pray or should pray is that we love God and we want to commune with him, not because of what He will do for us. This is important because love is the atmosphere where prayer thrives. When love for God and people burns bright, prayer becomes powerful and effective.
- Desire: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37 vs 4
Prayer does not happen in a vacuum; it hinges on a longing for something. The subject or object of your desire is what propels you to pray.
- Motive: James issues a sober warning: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.” James 4:3
The “why” behind your prayer matters just as much as the prayer itself. The right motives keep prayer aligned with God’s purposes, not personal ambition.
- Courage: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace.” Hebrews 4 vs 16
Some prayers require audacity—to ask for the unusual or the impossible, to wait long, and to obey fully when the answer demands action.
- Prayer: “Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62 vs 8
Your intimate communication with God where you bare your heart.
- Surrender: Jesus modelled this perfectly in Luke 22 vs 42
This is the point of alignment with God by relinquishing your agenda and control to Him. Surrender says, ‘Not my will, but thy will be done.’
- Faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11 vs 6
This is about believing but not just believing that God can, it is trusting in ‘how’ He chooses to act. It is refusing to script or box God. Faith keeps the heart steady when answers seem to delay, take a different route, or not come at all.
- Hope: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13 vs 12
This is the waiting season between the prayer and the answer. Hope keeps the soul alive while you wait.
- Expectation: “Surely there is a future, and your expectation will not be cut off.” Proverbs 23 vs 18
Believers don’t just pray—they watch because expectation is the force that shifts the room. Expectation keeps your eyes open for God’s movement, even in subtle forms.
- Persistence: Jesus taught this through the persistent widow. Luke 18 vs 1 – 8
Not occasional urgency, but daily devotion which builds spiritual muscle. Persistence understands that some doors will open at the first knock; but others will only respond to holy stubbornness. It says, “I’m not giving up, because God hasn’t changed.”
- Patience: “Though the vision tarries, wait for it.” Habakkuk 2 vs 3
Sometimes, God’s answers take a while but, they are never late—they are just layered. Patience trusts that delay is not denial, because in God’s grand scheme of things, timing is also part of the miracle.
- Spiritual Sensitivity: “He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 11 vs 15
Prayer is a conversation, not a monologue. Being spiritually sensitive is inclining your heart to listen because listening is as holy as speaking. Listening creates space for instruction, correction, assurance, and divine strategy.
- Gratitude: “In everything give thanks.” 1 Thessalonians 5 vs 18
Thanksgiving keeps the heart receptive. When God’s word comes to you through, gratitude receives it with joy even before anything happens physically. Gratitude says, “Lord, I trust you. Thank you for what you’ve done—and for what you’re about to do.”
- Obedience: “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” Isaiah 1 vs 19
Sometimes the answer you’re asking for is waiting on the other side of a simple “Yes.” Obedience turns prayer from words into walk. It is faith with shoes on.
- Action: “Faith without works is dead” James 2 vs 17
Prayer often requires action because God doesn’t speak for us to just listen, He speaks so we can act accordingly. Like stepping into the Red Sea before it parts, action declares belief before evidence.
- Rest: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46 vs 10
This is complete confidence in what God has said without any physical manifestation. It is living in the reality of the promise, certain that God is able.
- Result: “You will ask Me and I will answer you.” Jeremiah 33 vs 3
The moment you’ve been waiting for when your answers arrive and your joy is complete. 😃
The Question That Demands an Answer
When placed together, this value chain does more than connect prayer to answers—it connects the heart to heaven. And when every link is intact, prayer doesn’t just reach heaven… it pulls heaven to earth.
So now, the million-dollar question remains:
Is it possible for a believer to pray sincerely—and still walk away without receiving the desired answers?
👉 Join us in Part 2, where we confront this question head-on and uncover the truths many believers overlook.
Stay expectant. 😃