Does It Pay to Pray?

GOD has always approved of prayers such as this one: “Teach me your regulations.” (Ps. 119:68) Numerous modern-day examples show that he is very much interested in answering such prayers.

An elderly Japanese woman daily offered up rice, water and incense on her kamidana, or Shinto ‘god’ shelf. One day, as she clasped her hands together, she thought, “If there is a true God, teach me who you are before I die.”

No sooner had she completed her prayer than the door opened (in Japan it is customary to open the door and call out) and a voice cried out, “Excuse me, please!” When the elderly lady went to the entrance of her house the visitor politely told her she had come to talk to her about the “true God.” Her prayer had been heard and answered! She began to study the Bible and has now learned a great deal about Jehovah, the living Creator and Hearer of prayer.

It is not unusual for Jehovah God to answer sincere prayers for knowledge about Him even before the petitioner has completed his request. In Europe a man was in his apartment making such a fervent request when he heard a thump at the door. He ran to the door and threw it open. A person passing his room had accidentally bumped the door with his briefcase and kept walking.

The householder called out to the two men in the hallway. He was not fluent in the language of the country, but the two men spoke his native language. What was more, they were Bible teachers! They had visited that building to call on another person who had not been at home that day. Overjoyed, the householder arranged on the spot to start a regular Bible study. His prayer for knowledge of God had surely been answered. Not all answers to prayer come so quickly, but God does hear and answer those who sincerely want to know him and his requirements.

Have you wanted to know more about the true God, the Creator of all things? Would you be willing to do his will if it were revealed to you? This very magazine may well be the answer to your prayers. By getting in contact with the publishers, or any of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you too may arrange to obtain answers to your questions about God.

Another type of prayer that God approves is for help to do his will. The psalmist David testifies that his prayers were answered: “I earnestly hoped in Jehovah, and so he inclined his ear to me and heard my cry for help.” Why? Consider David’s desire: “To do your will, O my God, I have delighted.”​—Ps. 40:1, 8.

A salaried employee needed time off from his work to attend a school for training Christian elders. It was a very busy time of year for his company and he felt it would be impossible for him to get time off from work, but he prayed to Jehovah God for guidance and went into the manager’s office with his request. He was joyfully surprised when the manager said: “Yes, you may take off the time; it sounds like a good arrangement.”

In Hokkaido, Japan, a Christian man who was an experienced carpenter felt that he could do God’s will by assisting in a Christian construction project. Carpenters were very badly needed on this project at the time, but the man had numerous family obligations. With the encouragement of his wife, he prayed for Jehovah’s help to arrange matters.

This man had a family business, making and delivering tofu (a soybean curd that is very popular in Japan). While he was out of town helping with the construction project, who would deliver the tofu to his customers? That problem was solved when a man came to his house, wondering if the family knew where he might find a job. “Do you have a driver’s license?” he was asked. “Yes,” was the reply. “Then you have a job right here.”

But who would supervise the making and packaging of the tofu? The man’s three children pitched in and made tofu early in the morning during his absence. Even the five-year-old boy helped out by putting the floating curd cakes into plastic packs. In fact, he packed several hundred cakes without breaking one, something even an experienced adult may find difficult to do!

The man’s wife had previously been concerned about some health problems, but these vanished during his absence. In short, as this man prayed to do God’s will and worked in harmony with his prayers, every obstacle was smoothed out.

Answers to Your Prayers

Are your prayers being answered? Do you feel that you have really gotten to know God? Does your life have the deep sense of purpose and meaning that it should? Have you prayed for God’s help to know and do his will? If so, your prayers will be answered.

But what will you do about it? It is one thing to pray to God for his direction. It is something else to accept his direction when your prayer is answered. Jesus illustrated this by saying that a certain man went up to his child and said, “Child, go work today in the vineyard.” In answer the child said, “I will, sir,” but he did not go out.​—Matt. 21:28-32.

Many people today give God lip service, but do not really want to do his will. They want God to serve them, but they are not interested in serving God. They want help on exams, or money, or good luck, not so they can better serve God, but just for selfish reasons. (Jas. 4:3) Answers that God does give in harmony with his will they choose to ignore.

On the other hand, if you are one of the minority of persons today who really do wish to know God, to please him, to see his will done earth wide​—then you may rest assured that he will favorably answer your prayers. Jehovah’s Witnesses will be glad to assist you to learn more about the true God, the Hearer of prayer. And he will prove to you, if you let him, that it does pay to pray.