Day 4 - Week 18 - 1 John 5:15 "And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have whatever we have asked Him for."

Prayer - do you think we'll ever fully understand it's power?   What we can understand is that we can have confidence that God hears and responds to the words flowing out of our hearts.

How do you pray?  First thing in the morning...throughout the day...as you shut your eyes on your pillow at night?  Is there a wrong time to pray?  I don't think so. 

In the New Testament (NIV) alone, there are 77 verses that include "pray(s)", 44 that include "prayer", 24 that include "prayed", and 20 that include "praying"---if you want to know more about the subject, read each one of them.  Here's a few of my favorites:

Matthew 6:9 This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Luke 5:16  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Luke 6:12  One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

Acts 7:59  While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Romans 8:26  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.


It always astounds me that even Jesus felt the extreme need for prayer time...if Jesus, the Son of God, felt the necessity of time alone with His Father, how much more do I need that time.  Jesus fully understood the importance and the power of prayer.  As His disciples, we need to follow His example...early in the morning, retreating by ourselves, late at night...spend time with God.  Only in this manner can we gain His strength for the battles that are sure to come.  Jesus knew what was ahead of Him...we don't.  But we can be assured that without the enforcement that comes from communing with God, we will not bear up and be successful when the battles come.  When telling us how to prepare for battle, Paul includes in his instructions to us in Ephesians 6:18, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." 

And again we remember...we know...He hears...He answers.

Day 3 - Week 18 - 1 John 5:15 "And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for."

When you really let this verse sink in and become a reality to you, then you can immediately give thanks to God for answering your prayer as soon as you have said your "Amen." 

For this verse tells us that we know that God hears us, and we know that He answers us...so an immediate thanksgiving relays to God our confidence in Him.  Don't you think that gladdens His heart!

Just think about it with a father/child relationship...when your child asks you for something that you've already decided would be good for them at some point, and if you tell them, "Yes - I will get that for you just as soon as I see you are ready for it; but be assured, you will get it", how heartwarming would it be for your child to look up to you with a radiant smile and instead of saying, "I WANT IT NOW!", they would say, "Thank you, Daddy...I know you are always good to me."

I think that's exactly what God loves to hear in our response..."Thank you, Father...YOU are always good to me."  As we talked about yesterday, this promise is still wrapped in the condition of our request being aligned with God's will.  But within the parameters of that condition we are told, as an absolute statement, "we know that we have what we have asked Him for."  So if we take God at His word (and we have no reason not to!), then let's be confident in His hearing our requests...and in His granting our requests. 

So here's one for you that I've pondered...I know it is God's will for all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.")  So if I pray this very Scripture for a family member, "Lord, please bring _______ to a knowledge of Your truth, accept you as their Lord, and be saved"....does that mean that that person is absolutely going to be saved? 

Well, I would love to think that...it's just that there is another aspect of God's will...that we all make our decision about Him based on our free will...Revelation 3:20 states, "Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."    We can pray for God to keep knocking, and I absolutely believe He will.  But we can't pray for Him to force Himself on the person we are praying for...He won't.  That person will have to be the one to open the door and invite Him in. 

It's complicated...it's simple.  Everything is intertwined in God's will, and yet He hears us, and He loves to grant our requests....just like earthly fathers love giving their children the very things they have asked for. 

Keep praying, have confidence, give thanks!

Day 2 - Week 18 - 1 John 5:15 "And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for."

So we've confirmed that when we present our requests to God in alignment with His will, He hears us.  Now we're reaffirming that once He hears us, He will grant our request.

True in your life?  It sure seems like there have been times that I have asked God for things that I have not gotten.  This is one of those verses that I'd like to pass off to someone else to explain, because I know God's Word to be true, but I also know that God does not give us everything we ask for.  Or does He?

I see three reasons why we feel our requests are not always answered:

1.  We don't recognize God's answer

Adoniram Judson (a 19th century missionary to Burma) said, "I never prayed sincerely for anything, but it came, at some time, somehow, in some shape."

Maybe the problem is that many time we don't recognize God's answers to our prayers.  The answers don't come in our preconceived manner, so we don't see them as answers at all.   But how many times do things "seem to work out" over a period of time.  There were probably many different pieces of God's answer spread out over time, but we didn't put all the pieces together to see "the answer."

2.  We haven't been patient enough

We've already established that God's timing is perfect, yet we want our answers N-O-W.  God is the One who knows when it will be best to bring resolution to our problem or grant our request.  We've also established that God does hear us...so if we know He hears, then we know He will respond.  But we don't know when His response will come.  Again, trust is the issue.  Trust that He hears, trust that He cares, trust that He will respond.

3.  Our request wasn't aligned with God's will

Face it - sometimes we ask God for stupid things, or for things that God knows, in His omniscience, would result in damage or needless harm to us or to others.  When you have a prayer that goes unanswered, reconsider it.  Could it be a selfish request of some type?   Is it truly a God-centered request?  If your request passes those two questions, then you have to, again, trust God's will and know that either the answer is still coming or God saw that the negative results of your request far outweighed the positive.

I have more confidence in my prayer life as a result of "talking" through this verse.  Hope it has done the same for you.  Would love to hear your comments!

Day 1 - Week 18 - You know what that means!!

Every week I think, "Can I do this??  Can I add one more??"  Well of course we can...we're making these verses a part of us over these weeks of study.  Let's go!

The Four Corners of the Bible
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14  And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us; we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.
John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans Road to Salvation
Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8  But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9  If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 12:1  Therefore, dear brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.  This is your spiritual worship.

The Gift of Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16  All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correction, for training in righteousness.
Joshua 1:8  This book of instruction must not depart from your mouths.  You are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.  For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
Psalm 119:11  I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.
Deuteronomy 6:6  Listen O Israel: The Lord your God, the Lord is One.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.  These words I give to you today are to be in your heart.
Deuteronomy 6:7  Repeat these words to your children.  Talk about them as when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Hebrews 4:12  The Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide the soul, spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the ideas and thoughts of the heart.

The Gift of Prayer
Hebrews 4:16  Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.
1 John 5:14  Now this is the confidence we have before Him; whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

After this week, we won't review our "Four Corners of the Bible" again for a while as we will let those drop off to make room for new verses to be added to our review list.  So make sure you have those four verses truly ingrained in your brain and embedded in your heart so they continue to be there as your foundational verses of faith.

Now for the third of the triplet of  verses on The Gift of Prayer...

1 John 5:15  And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.

Well that's a great follow up to this past week's verse, isn't it?  I think I can add one more verse!  And I'm so glad that we had last week's verse before this one (just as they are written)...for if you take this verse on its own you could get a skewed philosophy that whatever we ask God for, He is going to grant to us.  But we've already learned that we have to be in a spirit of agreement with God's will for these verses to be applicable. 

I'm glad that God included that caveat in His gift of prayer to us...I could really ask for some stupid things sometimes!  He is watching over me!

Day 7 - Week 17 - 1 John 5:14, "Now this is the confidence we have before Him; whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

Last night on this verse. We've spent a lot of time talking about God's will and trusting it for our lives.  S. D. Gordon states,

The purpose of prayer is to get God's will done...The greatest prayer any one can offer is, 'Thy will be done.'  It will be offered in a thousand different forms, with a thousand details, as needs arise daily.  But every true prayer comes under those four words.

True prayer has to be cloaked in God's will.  We cannot come to God and demand Him to do whatever it is that we want...that makes God much less than God, it makes Him subject to us, and that will just never be the case. 

But tonight as we close this verse, let's dwell on the last three words..."He hears us."  That's what we need to have confidence in as we come before our God --- He hears us.  Don't ever doubt it, don't ever stop believing it...God hears you when you come to Him asking for things according to His will.

We have a God who hears His children.  He wants to hear from us.  Speak to Him.  Converse with Him.  Share your heart and your hurts with Him. Ask Him to examine your requests and point out through the Holy Spirit anything that you are asking that is not according to His will.  Ask Him for His wisdom to request things that will make an eternal difference for you, your family and for others. 

He hears and He is ready to answer...in His way....in His time.

Day 6 - Week 17 - 1 John 5:14 "Now this is the confidence we have before Him; whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

Just a brief note tonight since we have had a late night of transporting travelers...long story!

Many thoughts going through my head this night...primarily the thought of thanksgiving for God's hand in healing my brother-in-law.  A week ago tomorrow, he was taken by ambulance and admitted to ICU in critical condition.  One of his nurses told us that he was as sick as anyone he had seen in a long time.  He was intubated, and kept sedated for three days.  We were told his pneumonia was severe and his congestive heart failure complicated matters.  I really thought that Shorty might not pull through this bout of illness.

But a few days ago he started to make positive turns and today he was moved out of ICU into a regular room.  I stand amazed in what I can only say was God's determination that there is more to Shorty's earthly story that has yet to be accomplished.  I'm glad that we will have more time together and I am excited to see how God will use his life in the years to come. 

I listened to Howie Batson, senior minister at First Baptist Church here in Amarillo, this morning.  He talked about that none of us know the length of our lives, but that the most important thing is to make sure we don't stop our Christian walk before our lives end...that our lives of faithfulness to God keep moving us forward until we leave this earth.  We should never quit, but we should finish strong. 

And you know what, when we ask God for more strength, for more faith, for endurance to finish our race...those requests are definitely according to His will, and we can be confident that He hears us, and that He honors those requests. 

He heard our prayers for Shorty and He responded.  Thank You Lord!