CONFIDENCE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
(Confidence in Prayer - October 17, 2021)
Series Big Idea: "Close fellowship with Christ silences the destructive beliefs and behaviors of this world"
Sermon Big Idea: "Believers have confidence God will answer prayers prayed according to His will"
Key Scripture (1 John 5:14-21)
We have already seen back in chapter three that John addressed the issue of confidence in prayer for every believer. At the end of his epistle he circles back and discusses this idea once more. John's idea here is that prayer is not an optional thing for believers. It is essential. If a believer doesn’t pray then that person is not living by faith in God. You are basically trusting in yourself. This is how the world lives. So, John has some final words about prayer in the life of all believers.
(1 John 5:14-21)
14 Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not bring death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t bring death. There is sin that brings death. I am not saying he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that does not bring death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the One who is born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true One. We are in the true One—that is, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
The promise in verse 14 is that God hears us when we pray according to His will. So, focusing on this verse, there are at least two actions every believer must take when communicating with God in prayer.
Believers should come to God in Prayer with Confidence
This confidence is always in Christ and not ourselves. (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. (Ephesians 3:12) In Him we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Jesus secured access to the Father through His blood that He shed on the cross.
Prayer is not mumbling or simply repeating the same thing over and over again. Prayer is actually coming to a Holy living God and humbling ourselves in His presence. We must come to God and no one else.
Believers should come to God in Prayer with the Right Motives
(James 4:2-3) You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires. Believers are to ask God with the right motives and that the request we are asking for will further God's purposes and His Kingdom.
God hears everything and He knows everything. Maybe John means that He hears us favorably and comes to our help. It is like when a parent hears the scream of her child. A mother especially knows the voice of her child, and she responds to it. Our Father knows the cry of His children and He hears and responds. But the idea of verse 15 doesn’t mean we will see immediately an answer to our prayer but it is as good as done. Remember, Abraham prayed for a son and God promised to give him one. But, it was 25 years later that Abraham received the answer to that prayer in His son Isaac. Scripture speaks much about waiting on God. There is no magic formula but when we receive answer to our prayers we need to thank Him.
CONCLUSION
There are many people who pray, but they are not seeking God's will in prayer. They are actually using Him to get what they want. Prayer is submitting our will to God's will. It is praying just as Jesus taught (Matthew 6:10) Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But, how do we determine what God's will is so we can pray in line with it?
God's promise to hear and respond to our requests as believers when we ask according to His will is not a "name it and claim it" process. God's will is that His Kingdom will come. But the process of His will involves thousands of years and thousands of setbacks. What you and I must do is to remain consistent in prayer even when we don’t understand God's ways or His will.
Pastor Beaver's thoughts and ideals for this message, are inspired by:
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