The apostle John speaks often about confidence, boldness, and assurance. He wants believers to know that they know they are in Christ. But he also exhorts us to know that we can come to God with our requests. Because we know that we believe in Jesus and have eternal life (1 Jn 5:13), we can approach God confidently.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

1 John 5:14–15 (John 14:14)

Don’t miss this. God invites us to ask, ask, and ask again! I find this quite incredible. Of course there can also be mystery and doubt surrounding prayer because sometimes it feels like God doesn’t answer, or at least not in the way we want. But rather than focus on the “whatabouts,” let’s remember what John tells us we can confidently know—God hears us! He listens, he cares, he loves, and he wants us to come to him with our requests.

When we ask, John says we must ask “according to his will.” This means asking God for what HE wants, what he cares about, what’s on his heart. We can confidently expect an answer when we know we are asking for the things God desires.

To figure out what God wants, we abide in him day by day—get to know him as he appears on the pages of the Bible, think about him, rely on him, be with him, make him the place where we dwell.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

Gradually our desires and agenda will align with his. We will begin to care about what he cares about, and we ask for those things to be fulfilled. When we are in this mindset, we will want to please him and keep his commands (specifically the command to love others.)

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

1 John 3:21–22

John tells us right away something God cares about that we should pray for—that our fellow believers who sin will find true life in Jesus.

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin … you should pray and God will give them life.

1 John 5:16 NIV

There is so much we can confidently ask God for. Start with Jesus’s model prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. Ask for God’s kingdom to come and will to be done on earth. Pray for your daily needs, forgiveness, and deliverance from the evil one. Then follow Paul’s prayers in Eph 1:17–20, Phil 1:9–11, Col 1:9–12, 1 Thess 3:13. Ask for wisdom, love, discernment, righteousness, strength, endurance, patience and many other things. Ask freely, for as Martin Luther said, “His ears are open to us and his heart is enlarged to us” (1 Pet 3:12).

What are some other things we can ask for that are in accordance with his will?

PRAYER

Lord, teach me to pray according to your will. Help me to abide in you so that I might discover what you want. For the times prayer still confuses me and I don’t understand, show me your heart and remind me of your goodness and love.

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I heard the quote from Luther in a sermon but I have not yet found a citation for it.