Specific Prayers Get Specific Results

I believe that specific prayers get specific results. So many times, Matt and I talk to and counsel with people who are considering a major life change. Maybe it’s deciding if they should pursue a new career or opportunity, a big move, a potential spouse, taking a chance on something, and more. When I ask how they are praying about it, they say something like this, “I’m just praying that God will show me.”

While that sounds good on the surface, that kind of a prayer does nothing to show you what it is you’re supposed to do. I am a huge advocate of specific prayers. I believe specific prayers get specific results. When you pray a specific prayer and line it out for God, you will know very clearly what his answer is.

An Example of Specific Prayer

A great example of this in the Bible is the story of Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac needed a wife, so Abraham (Isaac’s father) sends his servant back to his homeland with the goal of finding a wife for his son. Think of the enormity of the servant’s task. Knowing he his not equipped to be able to do this on his own, he enters the homeland of his Master Abraham and comes to rest at a well, and prays. He says God, I need you to point me to the right woman. Then he lays out his specific prayer.

He prayed, “O God, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, ‘Lower your jug and give me a drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and let me also water your camels’—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I’ll know that you’re working graciously behind the scenes for my master.”

Genesis 24:12-14 MSG

He let his specific requests be known to God, so he would know whether or not God had answered his prayer. When Rebekah comes to the well, she does exactly as he prayed she would. She offers him a drink and offers to water his camels. Then he knows that God has answered his prayer.

Learning to Pray Specifically

Too often, our prayers are not specific enough; so then we don’t know whether God is really answering that prayer or not. The best way to get God’s answer on a matter is to pray specifically.

For example, when Matt and I were praying about buying a building for our church, we prayed for the building to drop to a specific amount. We also prayed that the financing would work that we would rent from the owners of the building. When both of those prayers were specifically answered, we knew that this was the building God had for us.

If we had just prayed, “God, help us to know whether or not we should buy this particular building,” we wouldn’t have known if we God was answering our prayer or not. Praying specifically takes the guesswork out of prayer, out of knowing whether or not God is answering a specific prayer.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, read my post Stop Wavering in My Prayers and check out the book, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson. The Circle Maker is one of my favorite books on prayer.