15 Bible Verses about Prayer, Advice For Effective

or you pray and yet do not receive, because you pray wrongly, your object being to waste what you get on some pleasure or another.

But let him ask in faith and have no doubts; for he who has doubts is like the surge of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed into spray. A person of that sort must not expect to receive anything from the Lord--

And to some who relied on themselves as being righteous men, and looked down upon all others, He addressed this parable. "Two men went up to the Temple to pray," He said; "one being a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee, standing erect, prayed as follows by himself: "'O God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people--I am not a thief nor a cheat nor an adulterer, nor do I even resemble this tax-gatherer.read more.
I fast twice a week. I pay the tithe on all my gains.' "But the tax-gatherer, standing far back, would not so much as lift his eyes to Heaven, but kept beating his breast and saying, "'O God, be reconciled to me, sinner that I am.' "I tell you that this man went home more thoroughly absolved from guilt than the other; for every one who uplifts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be uplifted."

"Sir," replied the Captain, "I am not a fit person to receive you under my roof: merely say the word, and my servant will be cured.

Then Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the Captain sent friends to Him with the message: "Sir, do not trouble to come. I am not worthy of having you come under my roof;

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have perfect confidence towards God; and whatever we ask for we obtain from Him, because we obey His commands and do the things which are pleasing in His sight.

"I solemnly tell you," said Jesus, "that if you have an unwavering faith, you shall not only perform such a miracle as this of the fig-tree, but that even if you say to this mountain, 'Be thou lifted up and hurled into the sea,' it shall be done; and everything, whatever it be, that you ask for in your prayers, if you have faith, you shall obtain."

Jesus said to them, "Have faith in God. In solemn truth I tell you that if any one shall say to this mountain, 'Remove, and hurl thyself into the sea,' and has no doubt about it in his heart, but stedfastly believes that what he says will happen, it shall be granted him. That is why I tell you, as to whatever you pray and make request for, if you believe that you have received it it shall be yours.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For it is always he who asks that receives, he who seeks that finds, and he who knocks that has the door opened to him. What man is there among you, who if his son shall ask him for bread will offer him a stone?read more.
Or if the son shall ask him for a fish will offer him a snake? If you then, imperfect as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

"So I say to you, 'Ask, and what you ask for shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.' For every one who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened. And what father is there among you, who, if his son asks for a slice of bread, will offer him a stone? or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish offer him a snake?read more.
or if he asks for an egg, will offer him a scorpion? If you then, with all your human frailty, know how to give your children gifts that are good for them, how much more certainly will your Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

After His entry into Capernaum a Captain came to Him, and entreated Him. "Sir," he said, "my servant at home is lying ill with paralysis, and is suffering great pain." "I will come and cure him," said Jesus.read more.
"Sir," replied the Captain, "I am not a fit person to receive you under my roof: merely say the word, and my servant will be cured. For I myself am also under authority, and have soldiers under me. To one I say 'Go,' and he goes, to another 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this or that,' and he does it." Jesus listened to this reply, and was astonished, and said to the people following Him, "I solemnly tell you that in no Israelite have I found faith as great as this. And I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west and will recline at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of the Heavens, while the natural heirs of the Kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside: there will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the Captain, "Go, and just as you have believed, so be it for you." And the servant recovered precisely at that time.

After He had finished teaching all these things in the hearing of the people, He went into Capernaum. Here the servant of a certain Captain, a man dear to his master, was ill and at the point of death; and the Captain, hearing about Jesus, sent to Him some of the Jewish Elders, begging Him to come and restore his servant to health.read more.
And they, when they came to Jesus, earnestly entreated Him, pleading, "He deserves to have this favour granted him, for he loves our nation, and at his own expense he built our synagogue for us." Then Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the Captain sent friends to Him with the message: "Sir, do not trouble to come. I am not worthy of having you come under my roof; and therefore I did not deem myself worthy to come to you. Only speak the word, and let my young man be cured. For I too am a man obedient to authority, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this or that,' and he does it." Jesus listened to the Captain's message and was astonished at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I tell you that not even in Israel have I found faith like that." And the friends who had been sent, on returning to the house, found the servant in perfect health.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew into the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. Here a Canaanitish woman of the district came out and persistently cried out, "Sir, Son of David, pity me; my daughter is cruelly harassed by a demon." But He answered her not a word. Then the disciples interposed, and begged Him, saying, "Send her away because she keeps crying behind us."read more.
"I have only been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He replied. Then she came and threw herself at His feet and entreated Him. "O Sir, help me," she said. "It is not right," He said, "to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." "Be it so, Sir," she said, "for even the dogs eat the scraps which fall from their masters' tables." "O woman," replied Jesus, "great is your faith: be it done to you as you desire." And from that moment her daughter was restored to health.

Then He rose and left that place and went into the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon. Here He entered a house and wished no one to know it, but He could not escape observation. Forthwith a woman whose little daughter was possessed by a foul spirit heard of Him, and came and flung herself at His feet. She was a Gentile woman, a Syro-phoenician by nation: and again and again she begged Him to expel the demon from her daughter.read more.
"Let the children first eat all they want," He said; "it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." "True, Sir," she replied, "and yet the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps." "For those words of yours, go home," He replied; "the demon has gone out of your daughter." So she went home, and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

In most solemn truth I tell you that he who trusts in me--the things which I do he shall do also; and greater things than these he shall do, because I am going to the Father. And whatever any of you ask in my name, I will do, in order that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you make any request of me in my name, I will do it.