Pray With Confidence

I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.  And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.  And if we know He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:13-15 ESV)

I recall a song that played on the top 40 stations back during my high school days that said this: “Give me, give me that, give me that, give me, give me, give me, give me that thing!”  It was certainly a fun song to listen to, and it was one of the few that I could sing the correct words to - Imagine that!  I mention this song because I am afraid that for many of us, this is a pretty good description of our prayer life.  We have made our prayers no more than a set of self-centered requests asking our heavenly Father to simply give us everything that we want.

John assists us in making sure that our prayer life does not become like the song mentioned earlier. He reminds us that with the assurance of our salvation in Christ Jesus, comes the privilege to approach God with confidence in prayer.  As we take a closer look at this passage we see the following truths concerning our prayer life.

  1. Know who we are in Christ Jesus. (13)
    1. We are His children.
    2. Heirs and joint Heirs with Christ.
    3. We are ambassadors of His.
    4. As ambassadors we demonstrate (live out) the hope that we have in Him.
  2. Have confidence in God and that He hears your requests. (14a)
    1. This confidence is a demonstration of our faith in God
    2. An acrostic for FAITH could be Forsaking All I  Trust Him!
    3. This confidence is not only in who God is but also in His care and Concern for His children – He hears. 
  3. Ask according to God’s Will not out of your selfish desires. (14b)
    1. Jesus stated, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7 ESV)
    2. Praying according to God’s will is possible only as we are in the Word and the Word is in us.
    3. Being in the Word will prevent our prayers from becoming outbursts of our selfish desires.
  4. Pray in FAITH – believing God for your requests. (15a)
    1. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
    2. Remember FAITH is SUBSTANCE.
  5. Walk as having received – Faith is the evidence of the unseen. (15b)

Maybe you will find these simple truths helpful as you spend time each day in the Throne Room of the Father in prayer. I know they serve as a great reminder to me as I fervently pray for God’s will to be accomplished through Seminary Baptist Church.

In Christ,
Brother Tim