The One Result You Should Expect Every Time You Pray

Prayer is a fascinating topic to study because it is so vital to our walk with the Lord. It is the vehicle which God has established for us to communicate directly with him. Best of all is he invites us into his presence and wants us to share with him what is in our hearts. This is one benefit of walking with Jesus.

One reason you pray is you have a need. You may need answers to questions, or you are depending on God to help you through a challenging situation. Whether you need healing, an open door, provision, or whatever it is, there is an expectation that God is going to move in your situation. If you didn’t have this, there would be no need to pray.

I want to challenge your thinking about prayer just a little. We all know prayer is the means by which you ask and receive from God. All throughout the Bible God encourages us to pray. However, what if there was something deeper in prayer that God wanted to do that happened every time you prayed, regardless of how he answered? I believe there is, and I want to share it with you today.

A Closer Look at a Familiar Scripture

One of my favorite passages of scripture is Philippians 4:4-7

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Chances are, you have read these verses before, so they are not new to you. I have even written about this passage before. Recently, I was thinking about prayer and I saw this passage in a different light. This passage tells us there is one result you should expect every time you pray. We find that result in verse 7 – God’s peace.

Peace Is Not Dependent on How God Answers Your Prayer

In this passage, we find encouragement from God to pray. The language is clear. Don’t be anxious, but in every situation bring your requests to God in prayer. However, the immediate response to your prayer is not that God is going to give you the answer you want, but that God is going to give you his peace. This means every time you pray, you should walk away with God’s peace. Regardless of when or how God answers, he wants you to have peace after you pray, and he has promised to give it to you.

Why Does God Promise Peace as the Response to Your Prayer?

Think about the place we often approach prayer from. Many times, we are in a place of anxiety and worry. There is something we need that only God can provide, and because the need is often a pressing one, it can cause us to worry.

If we learn anything from Scripture, we know God does not want us carrying those anxious and worrisome things around with us, and therefore he invites us to pray. One purpose when you pray is not just to get an answer but to get relief from your anxieties. This is where God’s peace comes into play.

So often we approach prayer looking for the result we want. In this passage in Philippians, God does not promise when or how he will answer; He promises to give you his peace. This means your prayers should lead to peace in your heart, and if they don’t, then maybe you haven’t prayed effectively.

How many times have you gone to God in prayer with your heart full of anxiety and after you prayed, you are still worried and anxious? If this has happened, then you haven’t really connected with God concerning your situation. The promise in Philippians is a will, not a may. Make your requests known with thanksgiving and God will give you peace. This peace will sustain you, and it does not matter how God answers the prayer.

Why Does Peace Matter?

One reason peace is necessary is because we don’t know when the answer is coming. His peace protects our heart while we wait. When there is an absence of peace, it can lead to frustration, discouragement, and even despair.

My wife recently went back to school, and she is just about finished. She has now begun looking for work. If you have ever attempted to find a job in the 21^st Century, this is more frustrating than you could ever imagine. Bots control the entire process and there is no human touch until way down the line. During her search, we have prayed asking for an open door, which hasn’t happened yet. This has led to frustration and discouragement fighting to make their way into her heart. The remedy for this situation is God’s peace. Because we don’t know when the opportunity will come, we need encouragement until it does. God’s peace is the source of that encouragement.

God’s peace will allow you to patiently endure as you wait on him. It will keep you from making rash decisions that, in the long run, will be more damaging. For this reason, the one result you should expect and seek every time you pray is God’s peace.

Peace Comes before the Answer

One more thing to notice in these verses is peace comes before the answer and regardless of the answer. God’s peace is not determined by the manner or timeframe God answers. God’s peace comes without you ever knowing what God is going to do. That’s why peace is such a powerful weapon to guard your heart and mind.

P.U.T.P.C.

We love to talk about breakthrough, yet it could be the breakthrough you need is God’s peace. With that, I want to give you a new slogan to remember.

Pray Until The Peace Comes

Try as you may, you cannot control when or how God is going to answer your prayer because we are not privy to that information unless God reveals it to us. However, God has promised to give us peace, and you should expect it every time you pray. If you have finished praying and you still don’t have peace, then you need to pray some more. Pray until the peace comes. If you don’t, then you will leave prayer no better off than when you started, and that is not God’s desire. He wants your heart and mind filled with peace so your faith won’t waiver.

Final Thought

If peace is a champion for our hearts look what anxiety does.

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up” (Proverbs 12:25).

God does not want you weighed down by the anxieties of life. He wants you to be free and the path to this freedom is his peace. The next time you pray, follow everything he instructs you to do in Philippians. As you do, make sure you pray until the peace comes. Let it be that even if you don’t walk away with answers, you walk away with peace. Sometimes that is the only answer you need.

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.