6.2. Efficacy of Prayers

We often hear Christians quoting, “Ask, seek, knock, and it will be given to you.” But truthfully, millions have prayed out of poverty or terminal illness, and almost none receive what they asked for. It seems more accurate to understand that Jesus’ teaching here is about the Father sending the Holy Spirit to us—not so much granting the specific miracle we prayed for. Jesus often described the Holy Spirit as the giver of authority, or as the Spirit of Truth, not a petition granter.

'And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it'. This verse sounds too good to be true, for how many of us Christians pray this and not getting what we want but call it because it is not according to His will. It seems this verse was intended only for the disciples as a continuation of Him asking the Father on their behalf: 'And on 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.' Extending this special promise to all of His followers do not seem to be wise.

We can confidently ask the Father for future things, but those requests often involve billions of human free wills. Even Jesus’ petition that “they may be one” wasn’t instantly or miraculously fulfilled by the Father or the Holy Spirit.

What seems more effective is uniting our requests to the Father—or rather, to His name. The shared mind of followers who let Christ rule within them can steadily receive one another’s petitions. If we lessen ourselves and let Him reign in our minds, this is similar to ideomotor effects—but shared across those who rely on Christ.

We can absorb one another’s emotions and vision more easily when our petitions are made public and offered in Jesus’ name, as He required: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am present.” He didn’t say the request would automatically be granted.

In this way, we can say prayer is powerful—if it’s made known to others and brought together in Christ as it may inspire them to act, pro-life movement of this era is a great example of this prayerful fruit. Whether the Father acts on it or delays it is often beyond our ability to correctly observe.

Therefore, let us pray in private to self reflect and sort our mind/heart and pray in public for any petitions or changes externally.