Keys to Answered Prayer

All the conditions elsewhere in Scripture that are placed on getting prayer answered are still in force even though James does not mention them. Those conditions can be summed up in four categories: relationship (trusting God, reverence for God, righteousness, and repentance), the reason for prayer (don’t pray with James 4:3 type adulterous motives), resolve (earnestness and persistence) and the request itself (praying for the right thing). The Spirit intercedes for us by moving our hearts to pray in accordance with God’s will. What James calls for with the elders here sets up a situation where all four of those are most likely to be fulfilled.