We serve a great God! And that great God loves us unconditionally and wants what is best for us! As you learn more about the faithfulness of God and His Word, the more you will trust Him; and the more you trust Him, the more you will enjoy talking with Him. God is your perfect Heavenly Father and you can pray with confidence knowing that He is listening and will answer your prayers!
Why can you pray with confidence? God’s Word gives many reasons, here are a few:
Because you belong to Christ. Many people pray instinctively, even if they do not have a relationship with God. However, it because you have a relationship with God through Christ that God your heavenly Father hears your prayers! It is important that you remember that you pray to the only true God, our Creator, and heavenly Father.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Praying in His name means far more than just adding those words as a sort of good-luck charm to the end of your prayer. It means you speak to your Father with all the authority of Christ! It is like placing a draft on the bank of heaven with the check signed by Jesus Christ! Asking in His name means on the basis of who He is. Many people today think that Jesus Christ doesn’t really matter … God will hear whoever calls out to him.
But the Bible is clear that it is through Jesus Christ alone that we come to God! It means you speak to your Father with all the authority of Christ!
When you have a clean heart. Psalm 66:18–20 says, “If I had harbored sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. However, God heard; he listened to my prayer. God deserves praise, for he did not reject my prayer or abandon his love for me!”
Jesus paid for your sin on the cross, but you need to confess that sin to God!
When you have a forgiving spirit. An unforgiving spirit is a terrible roadblock to your fellowship with God. If you hold anything against anyone, take care of it at once!
Mark 11:25–26 tells us, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your sins.”
You can be confident that God will answer any prayer that is according to His perfect will.
When you come in faith. You must have a believing heart if you are to communicate with your Father.
James 1:6 says, “But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.”
Q. Which one of these reasons is the most encouraging to you today?
Q. Why is it encouraging to you?
Q. Do any of the above statements seem difficult for you?
Ask God today to help you to embrace his design for having a right relationship with Him.
“Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God, and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him. Now this is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he gave us the commandment. And the person who keeps his commandments resides in God, and God in him. Now by this we know that God resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us.” —1 John 3.21–24
Q. What are the keywords in these verses from 1 John that really stand out to you?
Q. What do these verses teach you about talking to God?
God’s Word tells us that as his children we are always welcome in his presence!
Hebrews 4:16 explains, “Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.”
Q. What do you think of when you see the words “confidently” and “mercy”?
Q. How are your ideas about talking with God changing as you read and think about the verses and passages contained in this lesson?
God answers the prayers of his children! John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.”
Q. What are some ways that you can remain in God?
“And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” —1 John 5:14
Q. Sometimes people like to focus on the word “anything” in this verse, rather than on the phrase “according to his will.” What are some things that you know are God’s will?
Q. What are some things that you know for sure are not God’s will?
You can be confident that God will answer any prayer that is according to His perfect will. Don’t give up on prayers that don’t get answered right away. Countless Christians will tell you stories of God’s faithfulness in answering prayers after many years of continual prayer. It is important to focus on God rather than on your requests when you pray. He already knows what you are praying about and His answer to your situation.
Trust His heart, His answers, and His timing.
Application
Q. What is one way you can grow your confidence in prayer: memorize a scripture verse, take a step of faith, pray in a different way, another idea?
Commit yourself to whatever it is you have chosen to do … and ask God for the strength and discipline to do it!