1-2. Tãi ta, le mɛni ɓe a kɛ la kukili-ŋa yɛɛ Ziova fe kufɛli-woo su tooi?

 “FIND exquisite delight in Jehovah, and he will grant you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4) This one that wonderful promise! But you think it mean that we must expect Jehovah to give us everything we ask for right away? Why it good to ask this question? Let look at this example them. One single sister pray to Jehovah to help her to go to the School for Kingdom Evangelizers. But plenty years na pass and they still not invite her yet. One young brother who was seriously sick, pray to Jehovah to make him better so that he can do more in the congregation. But he still not get better yet. Christian parents pray to Jehovah to help their child to stay in the truth. But their child decide to stop serving Jehovah.

² Maybe yourself too na ask Jehovah for something, but you not get it yet. Because of that, maybe you start thinking that Jehovah can answer some people prayers but he can’t answer your own. Or maybe you feel that you na do something bad. One sister name Janice b was feeling the same way. She and her husband pray to Jehovah that they really wanted to serve in Bethel. She say: “I was convince that it was not coming stay long for them to call us to Bethel.” But plenty years pass and they still not invite them to Bethel. Janice say: “It made me to feel sad and confuse. I start thinking wetin I na do to make Jehovah feel bad. I na stay long praying to go to Bethel. Why Jehovah not answer my prayer yet?”

3. Le ɓe kwa pai maa-kɔrii zɛŋ-lɛɛi ŋi su?

 ³ Sometime, we can be thinking whether Jehovah even listening to our prayers. Even some faithful men them who were living way back, use to think the same way. (Job 30:20; Ps. 22:2; Hab. 1:2) Wetin will make you sure that Jehovah will answer your prayers? (Ps. 65:2) To help us answer that question, we will talk about three thing them: (1) Wetin we must expect from Jehovah? (2) Wetin Jehovah want us to do? (3) Why we will need to change the thing them we praying for sometime?

4. Yɛɛ berei gaa la Zɛlemaya 29:12 sui, kono-tee kɛɛ leŋ ɓe Ziova aa gɛi?

⁴ Jehovah promise to listen to our prayers. (Read Jeremiah 29:12.) Our God love us because we faithful to him, so he will always listen to our prayers. (Ps. 10:17; 37:28) But it not mean he will just give us anything we ask for. Maybe we need to wait for the new world before we get some of the things we ask for.

5. Mɛni-ŋa kɛɛ leŋ ɓe Ziova ŋɛi a kɛ dia a kɛ ŋoli-tɔɔi kufɛli-woo ma? Ŋaa lɛ.

⁵ Jehovah can look at how the thing them we ask for in line with his purpose. (Isa. 55:​8, 9) One of the thing he want, that for the earth to be fill with people who happy to obey Him as their ruler. But Satan say that human being will be more happy if they rule their self. (Gen. 3:​1-5) To prove that Satan not talking the truth, Jehovah na allow human being to rule their self. But, we get plenty problem today because human being ruling their self. (Eccl. 8:9) We know that Jehovah will not solve all this problem them now-now. If Jehovah solve our problem them now-now, some people will feel that human being able to rule their self. They will think that human being solving the problem them.

6. Le mɛni ɓe maa nɛ̃ɛi kukɛ a kulaa la a gɛɛ Ziova a pai kufɛli-woo su tooi a wɛli-kɛ-maa pere?

⁶ Sometime, Jehovah can answer the same prayer different-different ways. For example, the time King Hezekiah was seriously sick, he beg Jehovah to help him get better. Jehovah answer his prayer by healing him. (2 Ki. 20:​1-6) Maybe the apostle Paul was having certain health problem that the Bible call “thorn in the flesh.” He ask Jehovah to heal him, but Jehovah not do it. (2 Cor. 12:​7-9) Let also look at the example of the apostles James and Peter. King Herod wanted to kill two of them. The congregation pray for Peter and maybe for James too. But they kill James and one Angel free Peter. (Acts 12:​1-11) Maybe we thinking, ‘Why Jehovah save Peter but he not save James?’ The Bible not tell us. c But the thing we sure about that, Jehovah always fair. (Deut. 32:4) And we know that Jehovah love Peter and James. (Rev. 21:14) Sometime, Jehovah will not answer our prayer the way we expecting it. But because we convince that Jehovah will always love us and he fair, we can’t complain about how he decide to answer our prayers.—Job 33:13.

7. Le ɓe kwa kɔ a gbanaŋɔɔ a gɛɛ kufe kɛ gɛi, nyaŋ le mɛni ma?

⁷ We must not be comparing our situation with other people own. For example, maybe we ask Jehovah to help us with certain thing, but he not give it to us. Later on, we hear that somebody else  pray for the same thing, and it look like Jehovah answer them. The same thing happen to one sister name Anna. She pray for her husband Matthew to get well from cancer. Around that same time, two sisters who were older than her husband was also suffering from cancer. Anna really pray for her husband and for the sister them to get better. The two sister them get better, but Matthew die. From the beginning, Anna was thinking that the sister them get better because Jehovah help them. And if that Jehovah help them, then why he not answer her prayers for her husband to get better? Of course, we not know the reason why the two sister them get better. But one thing we know, Jehovah will end all our suffering forever, and he really want bring his friend them who na die back to life.—Job 14:15.

8. (a) Yɛɛ berei gaa la Azaya 43:2 sui, Ziova a kufɛli-woo su too leŋ? (b) Ɣala-fɛliɛ a pɔri kpɔnii leŋ kua kwa kɛ tɛɛi mɛni-kpanaŋ-ŋa su? (Ya pɔri ŋɔnɔ viloi Prayer Helps Us to Cope su kaai.)

⁸ Jehovah will always support us. Because Jehovah love us, he not want see us suffering. (Isa. 63:9) But still, he will not stop all our problem them that looking like rivers or fire. (Read Isaiah 43:2.) But, he promise to help us “go through” them. And he will not allow any problem to stop us from serving him. Jehovah also give us his powerful holy spirit to help us to endure. (Luke 11:13; Phil. 4:13) Because of that, we can be sure that Jehovah will always give us what we need to endure and continue to be faithful to him. d

9. Yɛɛ berei Zĩi 1:​6, 7 e mo lai, le mɛni ɓe maa nɛ̃ɛi ku laa la a gɛɛ Ziova a pai kpɔnii kua?

⁹ Jehovah want us to trust him. (Heb. 11:6) Sometime, we can feel that our problem them too heavy for us. Sometime we can even be thinking whether Jehovah will help us. But the Bible convince us that by God power we can “scale a wall.” (Ps. 18:29) So instead of thinking whether Jehovah will help us, we must pray and be having strong faith and trust that Jehovah will answer our prayers.—Read James 1:​6, 7.

10. Mɛni-kɔɔŋ-maa lɛ nyii berei lɛi kwa pɔri tii kɛi la e pilaŋ kuɣala-fɛli-wooi ma.

¹⁰ Jehovah want for us to play our part when we pray to him. For example, maybe one brother ask Jehovah to help him to get time from his job so that he can attend the convention. How Jehovah will answer that prayer? Maybe Jehovah will make the brother to be brave to ask his boss man for time off. But the brother will still need to go to his boss man to ask him for time. Sometime he will need to ask over and over. Maybe he will even ask his boss man so he can work on different day. And maybe, he can even tell his boss man to not pay him for the day them he will not be to work.   

11. Le mɛni ɓe maa nɛ̃ɛi ku kanaŋ Ɣala fɛlii la a tãi tamaa e pilaŋ kulii sɛlɛŋ mɛni-ŋai dia?

¹¹ Jehovah want us to pray over and over about the thing that on our mind. (1 Thess. 5:17) Jesus show that Jehovah will not answer some of our prayer them right away. (Luke 11:9) So don’t give up! Pray from your heart and do it over and over. (Luke 18:​1-7) When we continue to pray about certain problem, we show to Jehovah  that we serious about the thing we praying for. We also show that we get faith that he able to help us.

12. (a) Mare-kɛɛ kɛɛ leŋ ɓe maa nɛ̃ɛi ku kukili-ŋa sia e pilaŋ ma a pa kuɣala-fɛli-wooi ma, nyaŋ le mɛni ma? (b) Le ɓe kwa pɔri gɛi a gɛɛ ku ɓaa-kɛ-maa lɛ Ziova mɛni ma kuɣala-fɛli-wooi su? (Basii “ Do My Requests Show Respect for Jehovah?” kaa)

¹² If we not get the thing we praying for, maybe we can ask ourselves three questions. The first question that, ‘I praying for the right thing?’ Most of the time, we can think that we know what good for us. But some of the thing them we can ask for can’t really benefit us. If we praying for solution to certain problem, maybe another solution better pass the one we praying for. And some thing them we can ask for, can’t be in line with Jehovah will sometime. (1 John 5:14) For example, go back to the example of the parents we talk about before. They ask Jehovah to help their child to continue serving Him. It looking like good thing to ask for. But, Jehovah will not force any of us to serve him. He want all of us and even our children them, to decide to serve him. (Deut. 10:​12, 13; 30:​19, 20) So maybe the parents can ask Jehovah to help them to be able to teach their child good-good. And that what they teaching the child must touch his heart for him to love Jehovah and be His friend.—Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:4.   

13. Yɛɛ berei gaa la Ibulu 4:​16 sui, mi tãi ɓe Ziova a pai kpɔnii la kua? Ŋaa lɛ.

¹³ The second question that, ‘That the right time here for Jehovah to answer  my prayer?’ Sometime, we can feel that Jehovah must answer our prayers right away. But to talk the true, Jehovah know the best time to help us. (Read Hebrews 4:16.) When we not get the thing them we ask for right away, sometime we can be thinking that Jehovah answer to our prayer, that ‘No.’ But sometime his answer can really mean, ‘it Not time yet.’ For example, think about the young brother who pray to get well from his sickness. If Jehovah was coming perform miracle to heal the brother, Satan was going to say that the brother only serving Jehovah because Jehovah heal him. (Job 1:​9-11; 2:4) Also, Jehovah already na set time to make everybody well. (Isa. 33:24; Rev. 21:​3, 4) And until that time, we must not expect Jehovah to perform miracle to make everybody well. So maybe the brother can ask Jehovah to give him strength and peace of mind to bear his sickness and continue to serve God faithfully.—Ps. 29:11.    

14. Le ɓe I maa-kɔrii Janice ŋɔmɛni-kɔɔŋ-maai su?

¹⁴ Think about the experience of Janice, who pray to serve in Bethel. It was after five years before she understand how Jehovah answer her prayer. She say: “Jehovah use that time to teach me and to help me be better Christian. I needed to get more trust in him. I needed to improve the way I was doing my personal study. And I needed to learn how to be happy no matter where I serving Jehovah.” Later on, they invite Janice and her husband to serve in the circuit work. Thinking about her experience, Janice say: “Jehovah answer my prayers the way I was not expecting it. It took me some time to see that Jehovah answer my prayer  the best way. But I really thankful for the love and kindness Jehovah show me.”   

15. Le mɛni ɓe maa nɛ̃ɛi ku Ɣala fɛli la mɛni takpɛni-ŋa diai? (Ya pɔri ŋɔnɔ votooi kaai.)

¹⁵ The third question that, ‘I praying for different-different thing them?’ Even though it good to pray for special thing, but we can know what Jehovah want for us when we pray for different-different thing them. Let look again at the example of the single sister who been praying to go to the School for Kingdom Evangelizers. She want go to the school so that she can serve where they need more people to preach. So, she continue to pray so they can invite her to the school. And at the same time, she can also ask Jehovah to help her to know different-different ways she can do more for him. (Acts 16:​9, 10) Then she can act in line with that prayer by asking her circuit overseer if they get any congregation near them that need more pioneers. Or she can write to the branch office to ask about where they need more publishers e to preach.

16. Le ɓe kwa pɔri kɛi a ku laa lai?

¹⁶ We na learn that we can be convince that Jehovah will answer our prayers in ways that show that he loving and just. (Ps. 4:3; Isa. 30:18) Sometime, we will not get the answer we expecting. But Jehovah will never ignore our prayers. He love us very much. And he will never leave us. (Ps. 9:10) So continue to “trust him all the time,” praying to him from your heart.—Ps. 62:8.