We consider a Cauchy problem for differential equations in a Hilbert space X. The problem is stated in a time interval I, which can be finite or infinite. We use a fixed point argument for history-dependent operators to prove the unique solvability of the problem. Then, we establish convergence criteria for both a general fixed point problem and the corresponding Cauchy problem. These criteria provide the necessary and sufficient conditions on a sequence {un}, which guarantee its convergence to the solution of the corresponding problem, in the space of both continuous and continuously differentiable functions. We then specify our results in the study of a particular differential equation governed by two nonlinear operators. Finally, we provide an application in viscoelasticity and give a mechanical interpretation of the corresponding convergence result.