Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:14-15)

God Hears Us

Prayer is the greatest gift of man to stand in the presence of the Almighty Creator and make his heart known to the Father. Pleading the promises of an eternal God shows the mercy of the Lord to allow man the stand before Him and plead his case. Prayer is not a case for demanding but asking for what God has already granted by His grace. Many do not have a strong prayer life because they think praying to the Lord is a vending machine that after depositing the money of our words we will get whatever we desire. Instead of asking the favor of God we demand He give us what we believe to be rightfully our own. John the apostle defines the nature of prayer based upon the will of the Father not the whim of the one praying. There is a confidence in prayer promised by the Father. It requires preparation beforehand because in order to receive the blessings of the petitions sought the will of God must be known. Knowledge and prayer go hand-in-hand dependent upon one another. If prayer is pleading the promises of God the promises of God must be known first to issue the entreaties of prayer. Asking according to the will of the Father will better suit the answer of the prayer than demanding what God has never promised. The unique nature of prayer is that asking something from the Lord is a promise awaiting release by the word of the petitioner. Like a huge storage place the answers to prayer await the calling of the child to plead for its release. The story is told of the man given a tour of heaven and he came upon a large building with many shelves containing millions of boxes. When asked what this building was the answer was given the shelves contain all the unanswered prayers of the saints of God. How sad we do not take more advantage of the privilege to seek the blessings of the Lord in prayer.

Seeking the will of the Lord is having the confidence that anything we ask in His name He will hear us. That is a remarkable blessing to consider God will take the time and energy to hear my prayer. Of the six billion souls on the face of the earth the Father has all the time in the world to hear every word of my prayers and listen as long as I need to tell the Lord my desires. Knowing His will fuels my prayers to have the fervent desire of letting His grace live in my life to grow in the knowledge of His Son. He grants us His favor and answers our prayers. The Father knows everything we need before we ask but He wants us to seek Him and talk with Him about our lives. Prayer is a conduit of faith that measures itself by the amount of time we desire to speak with Him. We know He hears us and we know He will guide our lives. Talking to God is as natural as breathing. There is so much to tell Him. This comes from the knowledge of His word as we ponder the depths of the Bible. Prayers fail when the word fails. The greater the knowledge of God the greater our prayers. Spiritual growth is manifested in the manner of our praying through the continual knowledge of His word.

Knowing the will of God is not to have a body of information to send the Lord bullets of requests in some formal or rote manner. Spending time in Bible study shows the pattern of how God answers prayer, why He does not always answer prayer the way we think He should and what to expect in prayer. The people of God have been praying to Him since the beginning of time. Every story in the Bible is based upon the relationship of men to God. Often men tried to fool God in asking His favor when they refused to obey His will. The results ended in failure because asking anything from God must come from His word. Many stories fill the pages of God’s word of those who trusted in the word of God and saw their prayers granted. The Lord has not changed in the millennia of generations as He has dealt with men. When a man is in covenant with God and abides by His will, he may have the confidence that anything sought through prayer has already been provided. God will hear the heart of the child who knows and follows His will. Pray earnestly but study hard. Through knowledge of God’s will men learn to pray.