“Ask, and it will be given to you” – and yet almost everyone knows prayers that received no visible answer. The Bible does not hide this. Here you will find 21 Bible verses about answered prayer: promises that God hears, examples of answered prayers, and verses for times of waiting.
God hears prayer
Promises from the Old and New Testaments.
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Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; everyone who seeks finds; and everyone who knocks will be opened to.
Matthew 7:7-8Seeking God
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And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
Matthew 21:22Receiving
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And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do.
John 14:13-14
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If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:7
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And this is our joy, to ask according to his will, and he hears us. And since we know that he hears us when we ask, we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15
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When I sought the LORD, he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
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It is my delight to hear the LORD’s voice and my prayer. For he inclined his ear to me; therefore I will call on him all the days of my life.
Psalm 116:1-2
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I call to the LORD in my distress, and he answers me.
Psalm 120:1
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Then you will call, and the LORD will answer you; when you cry out, he will say, “Here I am.”
Isaiah 58:9a
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For this child I prayed. Now the LORD has granted me my petition that I asked of him.
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The LORD hears my prayer; the LORD accepts my prayer.
Psalm 6:10
When the answer is delayed
This is also in the Bible: prayers that must wait or are answered in another way.
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LORD, how long will you hide your face from me? How long will you forget me?
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I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined himself to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:2Patience
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Should God not also save his chosen, who call to him day and night, and should he not forgive them?
Luke 18:7
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The prophecy will surely be fulfilled in its time and will surely come to light and not be delayed. But if it is delayed, persevere; it will surely come and will not be delayed.
Habakkuk 2:3Patience
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Three times I pleaded with the LORD that he would turn from me. And he said to me, “Let my grace be enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9a
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Then he went away, and after a little while fell on his face and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me—not as I will, but as you will!”
Matthew 26:39God’s willObedience
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In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings that words cannot express.
Romans 8:26PrayerConfirmation verses
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For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8
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Wait patiently for the LORD! Be strong and courageous, and wait patiently for the LORD!
Psalm 27:14PatienceEncouragement
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For the LORD is gracious to those who wait for him, and to the soul that seeks him. It is good to wait patiently and hope in the LORD.
Lamentations 3:25-26Patience
Bible texts: Luther Bible 1912 (public domain), carefully adapted to modern spelling.
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Does God hear every prayer?
The Bible makes great promises: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). But it links them to a relationship. John writes that God hears us “if we ask according to his will” (1 John 5:14). Prayer is therefore not an automatic process, but a conversation with a Father who gives good gifts – and sometimes answers differently, later, or more deeply than we wished. Even Jesus prayed in Gethsemane: “Not as I will, but as you will!” (Matthew 26:39).
Praying when nothing seems to happen
The Psalms show that frustration also has a place in prayer: “LORD, how long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:2). Paul asked three times to be delivered and received this answer: “Let my grace be enough for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow so that we would “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). If you are waiting, you will find verses about Bible verses on patience and Bible verses on doubt; general verses about prayer under Bible verses on prayer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does it say, “Ask, and it will be given to you”?
In Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9. There Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Why does God not answer some prayers?
The Bible does not give a simple answer. But it shows that God hears us even when he answers differently than expected (2 Corinthians 12:8-9), and invites us to keep praying anyway (Luke 18:1-8).
