The KEY SECRET to a fulfilled life is learning how to pray and receive answers. God wants you, His child, to come to Him in full confidence, knowing that all it takes is a simple prayer of faith to ask Him for whatever you desire, and He will do it for you.

He has made many wonderful promises, and they are addressed to you personally:

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” — Jeremiah 33:3

This is how God invites you to pray and promises to answer you.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” — Matthew 7:7

Thus, Christ encourages you to pray and assures you of an answer.

“For everyone that asketh receiveth.” — Matthew 7:8

That is His promise. If a million people ask, each one receives. In His mind, there is no prayer without an answer.

“He that seeketh findeth.” — Matthew 7:8
“And to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” — Matthew 7:8

He always wants to answer you. That is His joy. God invites you to pray, to ask. He is always ready to answer you. When people do not pray, it is because they do not expect an answer. Unanswered prayers create obstacles between people and their faith.

Some say: “I would have faith if I hadn’t prayed so much without receiving.” Or they say: “I had faith, but I prayed continuously for a solution, and the answer never came.” Many blame God and consider Him unfaithful, when in fact they did not pray according to His Word.

Usually, people do not openly accuse God of failing in His duty, but they carry internal confusion—a mixed attitude towards prayer—because of continual unanswered requests.

Within themselves, they have given up hope of receiving what they ask for, and so they stop praying altogether. This is equivalent to surrendering their faith. Those who no longer pray are frustrated in their faith.

Their hopes for answers have been too often disappointed; they have given up. Now, they continue only with religious formalities. All reality is gone. When the light of faith goes out, life becomes a hard road, and religion a ritual formula.

Abandon faith and you walk alone, because God cannot accompany unbelief. If someone gives up faith, their life becomes dominated by fear and insecurity. You don’t need to despair of receiving an answer. You can pray and receive. Asking and receiving is a wonderful way to fellowship with the Lord.

It is so wonderful, in fact, that those who have received an answer even once in their life never forget it. An old man may wipe away tears as he recalls the one time (perhaps long ago) when, in a desperate hour, he called on God—and was heard and answered.

Yet, our Heavenly Father invites us to enjoy this blessing every day of our lives. This blessed privilege is yours today and for the rest of your life. But you must forget those unanswered prayers filed away in the closets of your memory.

Don’t cling to the past. Think you’ve failed? So what. Many have. And many have forfeited their future because of past failures. But there are others who deliberately filed those bad memories under “profit and loss,” and started afresh. Those are the ones who succeeded. They found God’s happiness and abundance.

The foundation for answered prayer is realizing that the only reason you can expect any blessing from God is that Jesus provided it by His death. You see, thousands of people seek an answer, but they never ask themselves whether Christ has already provided it through His death.

These people want healing—but not on scriptural grounds. They seek it “because they have suffered so much,” or “because they are good and sincere,” or “because they faithfully attend church,” etc.

Such reasons do not form a valid foundation for faith to receive healing from Christ. When you pray to Christ for healing, here is the only biblical foundation for receiving it: He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… and with His stripes we are healed.” — Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4-5

To be heard by God, rely only on the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ. That is your sole reason to claim a divine blessing.

Whatever you ask according to His Word, understand that Christ died on the cross to provide it. In dying for us, Christ provided all the blessings that any human being could ever desire or need.

Later in this chapter, I will show you the seven foundational blessings necessary in human life. All are acquired through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Knowing this, you will be able to pray with faith, without wondering if it’s God’s will for you.

Never forget: Since Jesus died to provide what you’re asking for, it is God’s will to give it to you. Knowing that these blessings are already secured, you will know you are rightfully entitled to receive them. Christ suffered to give them to you. Why? Because He loves you and earnestly desires to see these blessings manifested in your life.

When you pray, first look to the cross where Jesus paid the price for the benefit you’re seeking. Understand this: Since Christ died to secure this blessing for you, it is yours, and He wants to give it to you. Therefore, boldly claim it!

You need seven essentials. Seven is the perfect and complete number in the Holy Scriptures. God reveals Himself through seven redemptive names, each reflecting an aspect of His nature. When you receive Him, He gives you access to these blessings. Through His redemptive death, Jesus provided everything you could need or desire.

According to the Scofield Study Bible commentary on Genesis 2:4, here are the seven redemptive names of the Lord:

• The Lord our Righteousness — Jehovah-Tsidkenu (Jer. 23:6)
• The Lord our Peace — Jehovah-Shalom (Judges 6:23–24)
• The Lord our Shepherd [our Guide] — Jehovah-Raah (Ps. 23:1)
• The Lord who Heals us — Jehovah-Rapha (Ex. 15:26)
• The Lord who Provides — Jehovah-Jireh (Gen. 22:8–14)
• The Lord is There [Always Present] — Jehovah-Shammah (Ezek. 48:35)
• The Lord our Banner [our Victory] — Jehovah-Nissi (Ex. 17:15)

These seven names reveal to mankind essential aspects of God’s nature. Because they are redemptive names, they represent redemptive blessings intended for all. Christ’s redemptive work allows for no exceptions.

God’s redemptive will is demonstrated through Christ’s death on the cross. This means that every blessing Jesus provided through His death is included in our redemption—without exception. They are available to anyone who wills.

To receive answers to your prayers, your faith must rest on the fact that Christ gave His life to provide what you ask for.

You do not claim healing simply because you do good and go to church, or because you’ve suffered and your family needs you, or because you want to serve God.

The only basis for claiming healing from God is this: Christ bore your diseases, He carried your pains; healing has been freely given to you through His stripes. — Isaiah 53:4–5

This is a legal basis for your claim. You are God’s child. Jesus purchased your health by willingly taking your diseases upon Himself. He wants you well. So, health belongs to you. He paid the price and offers it freely. You have a legal right to this blessing. You only need to claim it—it’s like money deposited into your account.

Since Christ died to give you health, you do not have to tolerate sickness. Therefore, it is unjust and illegal for Satan to afflict your body. He has no right to impose upon you what God already laid upon Jesus. In faith, resist the oppressor. — 1 Peter 5:9

Claim your health, because Christ took your sicknesses. — Matthew 8:17
Refuse to remain under the grip of disease, since Christ became a curse for you and bore your pains. — Galatians 3:13
Understand that your healing is part of your redemption. Realize that health is already credited to your account. And above all, grasp that Christ suffered to heal you.

Sickness comes from the devil. — Job 2:7; Luke 13:11–16; Acts 10:38
It is a curse. It is not something natural. It kills. It entered the world because Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Sickness does not come from God, but from Satan.

When God redeemed us, the salvation provided by Christ included deliverance from sin and its consequences. Sickness is a consequence of sin in the human race. — Psalm 103:3
By bearing our sins and taking them away — 1 Peter 2:24 — Christ also took our diseases and removed them from us — Isaiah 53:4–5. He suffered in our place. He redeemed us. He delivered us by bearing the punishment we deserved — Romans 5:8; 6:6

We deserved to die in our sins. Christ died in our place, for God made Him to be sin for us — 2 Corinthians 5:21

We were subject to disease. Christ took that plague and suffered our pains, and by His stripes we are healed. Make the death of Christ your only argument—your only reason to claim a blessing.

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Fulfilled Life” written by T. L. Osborn.
We invite you to read the next article: “Practice the Presence of Jesus Within You.”

RECEIVE ANSWERS. RECEIVE ANSWERS. RECEIVE ANSWERS. RECEIVE ANSWERS.