Praying Confidently
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.”
(1 John 5:14)
God hears and answers our prayers.
“You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.” (Psalm 65:2)
If we look at God’s character, He is faithful. He is loving. God is good. God loves His children and would deny them only what might harm them. We can see by reading the Bible, God is faithful to His promises and answers prayer, but we can’t expect to receive “anything” we ask for, whatever we want. Your children may “want” chocolate ice cream for breakfast. But is that good for them? Requests must be in God’s will and a person must be in a right relationship with God.
John talks about the importance of prayer and the promise of God answering our prayers if we are obedient to Him.
“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:21-22).
Then, John repeats this promise two chapters later.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
Prayer is not an “option” for God’s children, it is essential.
As believers, we must pray. We can’t simply trust in ourselves, we need to lean in and trust in God. And when we pray, we must pray with confidence that God hears us.
I will never forget an incident that happened last year that struck me. My mom was living with me at the time. I had traveled to Orlando and I was sitting in my Seminary class at 10:30 a.m. when I heard The Lord say, “During your next break pray for strength for your mother. Pray for strength.”
At first I thought, “I hope nothing is wrong, is she ok Lord?”
The Lord responded. “She’s ok, she just needs strength right now. Pray for strength.”
About 10 minutes later, we received a short break, so I went outside and circled the building and prayed for strength.
When we broke for lunch I called my mom to make sure she was okay. She curtly told me, “Christine, I can’t talk to you right now, I’m really sick.” And she hung up the phone. I was confused and concerned. “Lord, what’s going on?” I asked.
The Lord responded. “She’s ok, just keep praying for strength.”
“Ok,” I thought. But it made no sense.
I arrived home later that night and my mom seemed fine. She said she was feeling better and I watched her eat dinner with no problems. Still, I was confused.
Why did The Lord ask me to pray for strength?
The next morning as I got up early to head back to Orlando, I remembered to take the garbage out. That meant going into our garage. We were renting a house and there were boxes everywhere in the garage. My mom was not supposed to be lifting or moving anything. When I put the light on and opened the garage door my mouth dropped. I was in shock. The garage was clean and everything was put away. And then I realized why The Lord asked me to pray for strength for my mom. I knew my mom had been struggling physically, and God knew she needed strength. Honestly, it brought me to tears.
That night when I got home I shared the story of what happened the day before. “Mom, what time did you start this incredible herculean project of organizing and fixing the garage?” I asked her. She replied, “It was around 10:30 a.m.”
I shared with her that at that very moment, The Lord spoke had spoken to me to pray for strength for her.
My mom, so overwhelmed by what I had just shared, began to cry. She lifted her arms in the air and cried, “You do hear me! Lord. You do hear me! Thank you! Christine, I went into the garage and cried out to God, please Lord give me strength! Please give me strength. He did.”
Prayer: Father, thank You that we can come to You and approach You with confidence, knowing You hear and answer our prayers. Thank You that it says in Your Word, You promise to grant us our petitions according to Your will. Thank You for loving us and being there for us, even when we might not know it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I really hope this encourages you today how important it is to pray and pray with confidence. Please know we love you and are praying for you!
God hears and is listening.
Christine Batchelder