Prayer Moves Us! (I John 5:14-15)

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

THE STUDY:

          John connects the Christians’ assurance of eternal life with confidence in prayer. Our “confidence” that our prayers will be answered must not assume that God must do as we request. As we ask (lit. request, translated twice in v 16 as “pray”), our asking will first change us. The point of praying is not just getting things from God, but getting “on the same page” with God. Rather, it is a means of gaining intimacy with God. As we learn to ask … according to his will, we know God hears us. Surely the greatest benefit of praying is moving nearer to the heart of God.^[1]

                   

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that prayer moves us closer to God. It doesn’t move God closer to us. The closer we get to God, through prayer, we start to understand and accept His will and our will diminishes.

CONCLUSION:

          I have found that as a child I didn’t understand my parents: why they did what they did, said what they said, and thought the way they thought. As a teenager, I thought my parents were the most ignorant people in the world, because they didn’t understand how I felt. But, as an adult I started to see the reason for their madness; they loved me and they wanted the best for me! They tried to steer me in the right direction. Now, I find myself doing, saying, and thinking the very same things they had shown me over the years.

          As a man of God, I don’t understand everything about God. As a matter of fact I question some of the things God does or doesn’t do. What I find, though, is that the more I pray the clearer the understanding of Gods will becomes. Now, I find my actions, my words, and my thoughts are more like Christ. Why? Because I pray!

          Let us start our days in communion with God. When we do this His will starts to become our will.  

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (167). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.