"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, he heareth us:" 1 John 5:14 KJV
I think this is one of the most important verses on prayer. There is a lot to break down, here, and really pay attention to. First, we have to ask ourselves, do we have confidence in Him? I'll wait...
As a person used to relying 90% on myself, my confidence in people not to disappoint me is low. I know that is a sad statement, and one I wish I didn't have to make, but it's not entirely without merit. I have a lot of confidence in my husband. After nearly 23 years together, I can honestly say he is the one person that I know I can rely on almost all of the time. He is human, though, and we all make mistakes and have failings. That's why God is there. He is not human, He is God. This is an important aspect to remember when we talk about having confidence in Him.
Has God ever failed you?
If you answered, "Yes," then you are probably one of the people that have asked something in prayer, wanting so badly for your prayer to be answered in the way you hope, only to lose the thing or person you prayed for so hard. Disappointment and disillusionment over who God is and whether He truly loves you may have even pulled you away from Him in pain and discouragement. Does this sound familiar?
At times, I have answered "YES!" and sunk into a feeling of abandonment and betrayal. Almost a year ago my husband had a heart attack, which led to a triple bypass surgery, complications afterward, and a 2 week stay in the hospital. Two weeks of sleeping on a pull out chair with a blanket and tears streaming down my face in fervent prayer that he would be healed and recover. Prayer that he wouldn't have to have surgery. When he did, prayer that it would turn out okay and he would recover quickly. The surgery went well, but the complications afterward nearly tore me apart with worry and fear. I felt that God had turned his back on me and for some reason was taking it out on my husband. For weeks afterward, even when he was finally back home, I refused to speak to God. If He could no longer hear my prayers and caused that kind of suffering, why did I need Him? I had lost all of my confidence in Him.
But what brought me back to Him was his revelations to me that he HAD answered my prayers. Maybe not right at that moment, in exactly the way I had asked for them, but in that my husband was standing next to me, still alive. He still has issues from the surgery. But I've been blessed with another year of him in my life and in the lives of our children. We are making new plans.
Do you have confidence in God? Do you trust Him? Has he broken your confidence? Can you look back and see where He left His fingerprints in your life to give you the best possible outcome?
According to His will
Ah, now here is the kicker. How are we, mere humans, supposed to know what is God's will? We don't. We never will. Think on the Lord's prayer. Even Jesus says, "Your kingdom come, your WILL be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." Luke 11:2. And Jesus' most heartfelt prayer on the night before his crucifixion, "My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39) and a second time, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, YOUR WILL be done." (Matthew 26:42) He went back a third time and prayed the same prayers, knowing all the while that he, Jesus Christ, was the ONLY one that could take on the sins of men and die as the ultimate sacrifice. He knew this, yet He prayed.
We do the same things. We pray for things, hoping they may come to fruition. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I had prayed and prayed for years for a new home, but it was not in God's will at that time for it to be. When it was time, when it was His will, it was. As for my husband, it was God's will that he survive and come home. It was his will that he walk for a little longer on this earth beside me. However, it was also His will that our bond and husband and wife be made stronger through this tribulation. His will that my husband learn to rely on me and our children after being a provider and fount of strength for many years. Also His will that I take a journey of learning to rely on God, even when the answer is not how I wanted it, and that His love for me does not change or go away, but that as a good father, He must teach me.
He Heareth Us
Yes, he does. Even if it does not seem like it as times, He hears us. God forsook Christ for the briefest of moments when all of the world's sins were manifested in Him. God could not look upon sin and had to turn his face from his son. Jesus felt it the moment that He did. He cried out upon the cross that moment.
But God perfected His son in every imaginable way. The grief and suffering were nothing compared to the glory that Christ received upon entering His father's kingdom. To this day, the name Jesus Christ is recognizable and known and revered.
One day, we will also stand in this glory. Everything we suffer now is of no consequence compared to that glory in heaven. We will be denied a momentary gift, decision, or loss of suffering so that we may participate in the revelation of holiness that is to come. That is why Jesus died. He broke down the barrier that stood between us and God, so that we could enter into His courts with petitions and ask anything we will of Him. He sees each and everyone of His children through His son. Christ petitions on our behalf. We can fall to our knees in prayer, and He hears us. This is the insight that I gained through my own petitions and perceptions of refusal and failure. God does not fail.
In Summary
Be confident in your prayers and ask that God's will be done in every aspect of your prayer life. Learn to accept that some prayers will not be answered in the way that you hoped, because it is God's will. But always know, that every prayer is heard. Every whisper, every breath, every groaning of your heart is heard. I pray that you will hear these words today and if you lack confidence in God, your heart and soul will be renewed.
Amen.
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