[This message is part of a series through the book of 1 John, entitled "Salvific Assurance Through Testimony," preached by Pastor Senter].
Last week we concluded with a brief review of the entire book of 1 John. We looked at what John had written. We considered every subject and aspect of the epistle. We looked at the audience and the understanding that John had with respect to the audience at hand. John was speaking to believers because he knows those in the audience who were not truly believers would not hear the message. Considering the message, we looked at the purpose of the writing first – that we believers might know intellectually that we have eternal life. Folks, the reason we can know is that He is in us. We can know and have mental confidence on our eternal resting place because we have accepted the Son of God and His atonement for our sins. Once this acceptance takes place, we can move to knowledge of eternal life. This was a direct attack against the forces of the day that were attempting to be intellectual in their approach to religion. The same is true today as it was in the first century, that is, that no knowledge of man will get you any closer to God than you already are. Like the eight-year-old child, listening to another eight year old child who seems better informed– man listening to man concerning a better way to salvation is just as immature and foolish. There is only one way to eternal life, through the Son of God, who is God, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Through Him, His vicarious death, His burial, and resurrection unto new life, we have life eternal. He did all the work, we need only believe in that as solely sufficient to satisfy God’s wrath against our sins. This is how we know we have eternal life. There is no other way to heaven. Moreover–make no mistake–heaven, in the presence of God, is the only life eternal. All other eternal existence is death.
Please look at 1 John 5:14. Once again John has turned a corner; however the walls are still connected that he is walking around. We should never lose sight of this. We look at what is here and almost find two disconnected thoughts – 1 John 5:13 knowing eternal life and these verses 14-15 going before the Lord in confidence à la 1 John 2:28. There are great differences in these two verses though. Let us explore them together.
Prayer and prayers answered are two very highly-charged subjects. Some contend that the scriptures teach that all prayers to God will be answered. Some contend that only the prayers of certain individuals will be answered. Yet others would say there is no god to hear you prayers. In addition, we find people claiming that God hears all prayers, whatever god you might pray to. It might astonish you to know that all of these statements have an aspect of truth to them, and in that idea lies the simple satanic ploy of mixing truth and error. Scriptures do teach, at a very elementary level, that all that we pray to God is answered. That is not actually the issue though. People do not consider prayers “answered” many times because the answer is not what they specifically prayed to happen. It is equally true that prayers of certain people are answered exactly as they request. This is because the individual is praying in accordance with the will of God. When others claim that there is no god to hear their prayers, they speak from prayerful experiences that are not submitted to God in the first place. How then can God honor a request that is not within His will, or from one submitted to it? Finally, God does hear all prayers. He is the omnipresent and omnipotent God of the entire universe. He hears this message right now, and everything that takes place upon this earth. He knows what is happening and hears every prayer. That is not the operative question in these verses though. The individual who claims this is somewhat also claiming an assent to these heard prayers. This cannot be further from the truth. Although God hears all prayers, there are only specific prayers He will answer in specific ways. In our scripture today we have one assurance of our prayer life, how we approach God. Below is a poem that I found very instructive. It is “Thank you for saying no” written by Ruth Harms Calkin:
Lord day after day I have thanked you
For saying yes.
But when have I genuinely thanked You for saying no?
Yet I shudder to think
Of the possible smears
The cumulative blots on my life
Had you not been sufficiently wise
To say an unalterable no.
So thank You for saying no
When my want list for things
Far exceeded my longing for You.
When I asked for a stone
Foolishly certain I asked for bread
Thank You for saying no
To my petulant “Just this time, Lord?”
Thank You for saying no
To senseless excuses
Selfish motives
Dangerous diversions.
Thank You for saying no
When the temptation that enticed me
Would have bound me beyond escape.
Thank You for saying no
When I asked You to leave me alone.
Above all
Thank You for saying no
When in anguish I asked
“If I give You all else
May I keep this?”
Lord, my awe increases
When I see the wisdom
Of Your divine no.
(excerpted from her book, "Tell Me Again, Lord" (Wheaton:Tyndale, 1974), p. 124-25.)
The question today folks is a matter of hearing. We have to understand and ascent to this level of understanding that God hears all, how He hears, and what He hears are two different things. People frequently consider God aloof, or unapproachable: “God could never understand what I am going through because everything is perfect for Him. How can He relate to my emotionally destructive feelings if everything is so perfect for Him?” When people do not receive immediate and direct response to prayer, especially emotionally-charged prayer, they immediately ascribe these attributes to God, as if He does not care. Does God really hear you then? Is He even listening in the first place? Further, since we all know the difference between hearing and listening, does He actually hear what it is that you are asking of Him? We will find some answers to these very probing questions in our study today while we look at a proper orientation for prayer; specifically asking and receiving in His will. “Our confidence in prayer stems from our eternal focus.” We lose sight of this frequently because we know that “Many scriptures teach God is omnipresent and hears all our prayers, but we still question whether He does or not.“
I. Confidence in the request (verse 14)
When we consider this passage, we might think that this deals with our appearance before Christ at our judgment. We might look for instance at 1 John 2:28 and think this is an eschatological reference, a reference to the end times judgment. If this were the case, it would have to be a judgment for believers because verse thirteen, as we noted last week, sets believers as the real audience. However, upon closer inspection, we find that the reference is not back to 1 John 2:28, but instead it is a confidence not “before” as the NASB would read, but an “in” as the KJV reads or “toward” as the ESV reads. The context of this verse is within the same paragraph or general idea as that of verse 13. John is still talking about strengthening our faith, giving us assurance of salvation, and knowing our eternal life is secure. Within this context, we go to God or lean toward Him in confidence. We do this in prayer, when we speak to Him, when we talk to God. The scriptures here then refer to our asking things of God. These are our requests, our petitions that we raise up before Him. Quite literally, when we have knowledge of our eternal position with God because we believe upon the name of the Son of God, we can have confidence when we ask anything of God according to His will. We find again then, not a blanket statement where God answers prayer indiscriminately, but a statement that prayers are answered under specific conditions for specific purposes.
Our first consideration is a relationship with God, which is only possible through the Son. Have you accepted and do you believe in Christ Jesus as your Savior?
We should look at the conditions or purposes for this confidence. We begin with the confidence itself.
A. The Confidence (verse 14a)
The first word here translated “confidence” means “a state of boldness and confidence, sometimes implying intimidating circumstances.” It can be intimidating to stand before God, even in prayer. What is the confidence that we are supposed to have toward Him? It is that we have eternal life, that we have an audience here on earth, and will have one in heaven. We have a relationship born through faith in God the Father through the Son. Our entire existence, and here specifically the spiritual existence we enjoy with God, is dependent upon this relationship. The confidence we have (the antecedent of “this is”) is born from the understanding in verse 13 – knowing that you have eternal life. When we have the faith of Abraham that the resurrection promise will be fulfilled because we believe and it is accounted unto us for righteousness, we can equally have confidence and faith that we are heard. We know we have eternal life because we believe, the things written in this epistle and even in this entire cannon are provided for that purpose. When we rest in this faith, our hearts are encouraged. We are injected with the hope of the God of eternity being attentive to our very desires, needs, wants, and concerns. He wants to hear from us and our confidence lies in knowing Him and His eternal life for us. This is our confidence.
If you have no confidence that your prayers will be heard, if you have grave concerns about whether or not you can pray, if you do not pray in the knowledge and comfort of eternal life, you have a serious heart issue that questions your salvation. If you do not pray resting in this knowledge, you pray without Christ, you pray without eternal life.
The second condition deals with the specific request that we put forward. Not only are we required to be saved in the blood of Christ, but we must also look for His will.
B. The request (verse 14b)
The asking. That is a key issue with this interpretation. What is God’s word saying about our “asking?” The word for asking is in the present middle subjunctive. This means it is a present condition, but it is focused upon our self – we ask for ourselves. A more literal translation may then be “if we ask anything for ourselves.” You might say then that the request is simply for us, it is simply a matter of selfishness. Folks, in some ways, the matter of salvation is rather selfish. We first reach out to God for salvation because we see the need in our lives for it. We recognize an eternal damnation and torment awaits the one who does not seek salvation through Christ. In this realization, we reach out to and ask for it. We are, in part, seeking Christ to save our own necks. We are encouraged to ask things of Him for others and to instruct others in the right way to pray (1 Sam 12:23). Some have the ability or standing to intercede in prayer for others (Job 42:8). We are to pray (in love) for those who persecute us (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27). We are to pray with purpose and from our heart (Matt 6:5). Our Lord spent whole nights in prayer (Luke 6:12). We find praying in tongues is forbidden in 1 Corinthians 14:13-15, where, if we are unable to mentally contemplate our prayers, they are useless. We are commanded to “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Col 4:2 ESV). In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we find praying continually and giving thanks in all circumstances, as this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. This is a testimony that we accept His sovereignty. In this resting confidence, this is where our focus truly lies with respect to this prayer. We should rest in the confidence of our ability to go to the Lord in prayer by resting in the confidence that His will is paramount and that it was within His will that we have eternal life. This understanding, that we have the Son of God and that the Son of God gives us eternal life, gives us confidence to go to God in prayer. Our requesting then should be characterized by asking for things as we focus upon His will. In this way, we are therefore identifying with our sovereign God in humble submission, and recognizing His great power to save us and give us eternal life. This is the true prayer, and this prayer is one in which we can have the greatest confidence.
Although we are commanded to pray without ceasing, we must pray with the appropriate heart attitude – that His will be done. When you pray this way, then you should have confidence in your prayer.
What should we expect, what confidence then should we experience in the prayer?
C. The result (verse 14c)
Nothing in this passage or any other passage gives us license to believe that any prayer we bring before the Lord will be answered specifically as we present it, only that it will be answered in a proper fashion according to the will of God–and this passage is not concerned about answer only about hearing. Even in our study concerning 1 John 3:22-24, we found this is a specific conditional response of God to a prayer. We found that when we keep His commandments, when we are doing the things that please God, when our heart does not condemn us, and we are seeking a way to love a brother or sister in a difficult time, we can be assured that our prayers will be specifically answered. We receive what we ask for, a way to love someone who is rather unlovable. Now, though, we look at another issue. The result of this prayer is not an answer. Many misconstrue the word “hear” with “answer” when they read this verse. The result to this prayer is not an answer. This is a prayer of hope, not a prayer of remedy. What we find then is that this is a prayer that is a plea to be heard. We can be confident that God hears our prayers when we know the Son of God and know that we have eternal life.
Do you have confidence in your eternal destination and the life it provides you eternally?
We have considered how we can have confidence in our request, now we should consider how we could have confidence in the response, regardless of our desires.
II. Confidence in His response (verse 15)
Because God is perfect, because we can have confidence that He hears us when we pray properly and right-heartedly, then we also know in our hearts that this is the case. When we look here at verse 15 an interesting thing to note is that the words you see as “know” are not head knowledge this time, but heart knowledge again. Hiebert notes that this is a child-like faith in God – trusting in Him wholly. We know we have talked with a real Person and developed, through this relationship, a confidence that we have been heard. We also consider the fact that in this relationship, in this trusting confidence, that we understand that He knows our request. When we consider these two facts– first, that we have a relationship with a real Person, and, second, that this person is God and therefore utterly trustworthy, we can have true confidence in our prayers being heard.
Do you have a relationship with the Savior; do you trust Him implicitly?
How do we really know he hears us though? Moreover, what is it that He hears?
A. Knowing He hears (verse 15a)
Have you ever had confidence enough in someone that you can predict what they are going to do? I know I actually shoot for this predictability. I know some people like to be unpredictable; however I find that that can scare people. Predictability is something that is comforting to people. Your children should know how you are going to act and what your expectations are. They should know that what you do and how you handle things today is the same way you will handle them tomorrow. Your consistency is something that children crave, gentlemen. If you fly off the handle one day, then the next day you are as calm as can be–you are unpredictable.
As your pastor, I attempt to be predictable in that I will always point you to God’s word. Any man who has confidence in himself to minister to you is not leaning upon the power of God to do so. Anyone who considers their personal advice as more valuable than any other man’s advice is arrogant. We derive our principles in life from the Word of God and everyone and anyone who seeks us for any purpose, or any advice we provide for life comes from this book. I am talking about Christlike life activity, your testimony, the things you do every day when dealing with your children, or with others socially. In addition, I am talking about the way we handle and deal with ministry. If we do not believe Gods word is sufficient for all, we discount 2 Timothy 3:16. This is the form of consistency I attempt to bring to all of you. It is not me, but God who will effect change in people through His word. I am confident of that and rely upon it, not on myself.
God is so much more consistent, dependable, and reliable than any man can ever attempt to be. For these reasons (and many more) having a relationship with the one true God for consistent and steady understanding is paramount. We know that He hears us in whatever we ask because He has told us to come to Him and He will hear our prayers (Ps 77:1). God’s promises will not be broken.
Do you have confidence that God will hear your prayers? Are you praying within the will of God? The first prayer you should ever offer is one of humility and submission to the Son for salvation. After this, you establish a personal relationship with God and are assured your prayers are consistently heard.
I know though that some times when I pray I just do not know what to say, and I fumble around with words. What happens at times like this? Does He really know what my heart is trying to say?
B. Knowing our request (verse 15b)
In Romans 8:26 we find a very interesting verse with respect to prayer. We learn that when we are deep in despair, at a loss for words, without the mental capacity to think through clearly to speak, or in some other way we are hindered to actually articulate our prayers–the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. You may think you know your request, but if your spirit is turned over to the Lord and you are unable to actually speak the words of prayer, you are not at a complete loss. If you are truly seeking the Lord’s will, but you may not want to voice all the possibilities in this, you get stuck sometimes considering the vast array of things God can do to fulfill a request. God knows your heart and the Holy Spirit will fill in the blanks. You have the Spirit of God within you that is communicating with the Father. They are one. What you desire, they both know.
I know I have caught myself praying sometimes and something slipped out of my mouth that surprised the dickens out of me. Did I actually say that? Is this the thought that goes through your mind? Well, yes you did. You will have struggles such as this when you are truly seeking God’s will in your life. These struggles are two-fold. First, you do not know what God will do, and He will do whatever He needs to in order to fulfill His will. Second, you sometimes do not know your own true heart. God does, though. If your heart is turned over to God, you may be surprised at what happens.
Conversely, if your heart is still steeped in sin, you will find yourself praying clearly outside of God’s will. If you are praying for things that clearly cannot be in God’s will, things that are clearly unscriptural for example, you should have no confidence in God answering these prayers, and you can consider them unheard. He hears everything; however, your sin-filled heart will receive no audience. The promise is to be heard because you have a relationship with Him through His Son.
Do you pray for and seek God’s will through Christ Jesus?
When we look at these verses again, we receive this hope and assurance that when we talk to God, He will hear us. We find that we can have confidence that we are heard in our asking Him things in His will. This confidence comes because we are asking in accordance with His will. We can only ask in His will if we first have a relationship with Him through His Son. If we have confidence and we know we have eternal life, we can equally have confidence that we go before Him and seek His will honestly. We then can know that He hears whatever we ask. We know that we have the proper requests, the ones He would grant us, the ones within His will. This is a confidence that we should have. We can seek Him at any time, and when we seek Him within His will, we are heard, we have an audience, and God listens to every plea.
The question for you is, do you lack this confidence? Do you lack this ability to approach God and ask Him things within His will? Are you afraid to pray? Is your heart troubled to close your eyes and seek God? If you are at all concerned about these things, you also experience questions concerning your eternal life. You do not have a confident relationship with the Savior, and therefore you have no knowledge that you have eternal life. You question your eternal position with the Father because you really do not completely trust the Son. Where do you stand? Are you able to say, “God hears my prayers because I pray for His will”? Alternatively, do you say, “I am not sure that God hears me because I do not know if I have a relationship with His Son.” Are you able to ask and receive with the confidence that you are asking in His will and ready for His will to be done?
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