The phrase “prayers of faith” can mean many different things to many different people. Is it following the “name it and claim it” philosophy, believing that God will give us whatever we ask if we just have enough faith (and thereby saying if we don’t get what we asked for, our faith is lacking)? Is it only praying “safe” or vague prayers that we fully believe we have the faith to support, and that God will do? What do we do when our prayers seem unanswered?
As we prepare for 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, it’s worth taking a moment to examine the Bible’s teaching on the intersection of faith and prayer, specifically Jesus’ words on the subject.
In John 16:22-24, Jesus teaches us that praying in faith is directly connected to praying in His name, and praying in His name is directly connected to joy. The passage reads:
“Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:22-24, NASB 1995)
Two sources of joy
When Jesus first spoke the words of John 16 to His disciples, they didn’t know it yet, but they were about to go through tremendous hardship. Before the night was over, Jesus would be arrested, and they would be stricken with grief. To prepare them for what lay ahead, He gave them two promises that were specifically designed to lift them out of their sorrow.
First, He said: “I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (v. 22). That means: “You’ll never be alone. I will always be with you, and someday you’ll see me again, face to face.”
No matter our circumstances, we know and believe in faith that God will make all things right in the end, and we will be with Him. At their most basic, all of our prayers are really just asking God to be who we believe him to be: a God who loves us, who cares for us, and who will restore all things.
One day, we will see God face to face. Then our prayers will be answered in completeness. In the meantime, we can praise God in faith for what He has done in the past and what He will do, even in the midst of hardship or in the midst of seemingly unanswered prayer.
The second promise Jesus made was this: “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full” (v. 24). In other words: “You’re going to see answers to prayer that are so amazing, you won’t be able to be sad. You’ll be constantly rejoicing in God.”
At their most basic, all of our prayers are really just asking God to be who we believe him to be: a God who loves us, who cares for us, and who will restore all things.
In My name
To pray “in Jesus’ name” means to pray what He tells us to pray. Once we’ve determined what Jesus wants us to pray, we can present our request to the Father “in Jesus’ name.” Finally, we need to learn to endure in such prayers until the answer is released. Let’s consider each step:
1. Discover Jesus’ will: Answered prayer starts by asking Jesus to reveal His will in a particular matter. What does He want us to do? What is He going to do? Those are very different questions from what do we think should happen.
Before we can sincerely ask for this guidance, we must first empty out our own desires and expectations; only then will we be free to let the Holy Spirit direct our thoughts. We must get to the place where we can say, “Not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
The important point to remember is that we must not move forward until we are satisfied that we’ve truly heard from Him. Though His voice can come to us in many different ways, what matters isn’t how He speaks, but that we know He has spoken.
2. Ask the Father: Jesus said that because of His cross and resurrection, we can boldly and confidently go straight to the Father with our prayers. If we have discovered what Jesus’ will is and what we should pray, we can be confident that the Father will surely answer us in His own way and in His own time. In fact, Jesus literally assured us that we will always receive an answer when we pray this way.
3. Pray through: Prayer is not usually a simple process in which we merely ask for something and God immediately gives it to us. In practice, there is often a delay (sometimes a very long one) between the prayers we pray and God’s answer.
If someone doesn’t know that, they may become disillusioned because their prayers appear to go unanswered. That’s where enduring prayer comes in. We don’t continue praying as a way of pushing God to do something He doesn’t want to do. We keep praying because that’s what faith truly is, continuing to believe even when it’s hard or doesn’t make sense.
The Joy of answered prayer
In John 16, Jesus explained to His disciples the joy they would discover when they learned to pray in His name, to pray in faith. With complete openness, He described the hardships that lay ahead of them, but then quickly assured them that those seasons of hardship would become joyful times. They weren’t going to miserably hang on until it was over. They were going to be filled with joy.
Why? Because they would see Him again, and because He was going to give them a level of answered prayer that would change their entire attitude toward life. In effect, He said, “Don’t focus on the trials that are coming; look at the promises I’m giving you because these promises will lead you into a wonderful future … full of joy.”
This is what it means to pray in faith. You and I can rejoice right now because He’s given these same promises to us. As we head into 2026, will you consider joining your global Foursquare family in praying together during 21 Days of Prayer + Fasting? I can’t wait to see the joy the Lord will bring us through this time.
Join 21 Days of Prayer + Fasting
The Foursquare family is praying together Jan. 5-25, 2026. Consider joining to learn more about “Prayers of Faith.”
