ASSURED PRAYERS

In this portion of 1 John, we examine the wonderful topic of prayer. I find it interesting because our sermon this past Wednesday evening focused on Word-Shaped prayer.

Prayer, simply put, is communicating with God. It comes in a variety of forms, of which Paul speaks of in 1 Timothy 2:1,

1 Timothy 2:1 ESV

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

The basic concept, however, focuses on individuals or groups of people communicating with God. At times, this communication focuses on requests. We ask God for wisdom, for help, for direction, and so on.

At other times, our prayers focus on God’s glory. We ask that He would be glorified by our songs, our acts, our art, and so on.

Still yet, we see that prayer can be made on behalf of others (i.e., supplications). We pray that our family member would come back to the faith, we intercede for our nation’s leaders.

Prayer is like a flower, it is displayed in a variety of beautiful ways. The simple concept, however, is one of communication. It is individuals and groups of people talking to the God of the universe.

Let that thought sink into your minds. As __________ prayed before reading the Scriptures, as I will pray in a moment, we are praying to the Lord God.

With that deep and amazing thought, let us consider our topic for today: Assured Prayer. That is, you and I can have certainty in our prayers.

John just discussed our Authentic Faith in 5:6-13. He wrote this epistle “that you may know that you have eternal life.” And this is the confidence, he begins our passage this morning, that we have toward him, Assured Prayer. That is, through answered prayer we have confidence that we truly know God in a salvific way. Confidence is a key aspect of the basics of believing, and in this aspect it is confidence that is brought through answered prayer.

Answered prayer strengthens our faith and resolve and encourages additional prayer. But how often have we witnessed unanswered prayer? How many times did we pray for deliverance only to be told no?

Our passage offers us a wealth of instruction regarding prayer, and many applications to help our own individual prayer life, as well as our corporate prayer life.

I. ASSURED PRAYER PROVIDES ASSURANCE- 1 John 5:14a

II. ASSURED PRAYER CENTERS ON GOD’S WILL- 1 John 5:14b

III. ASSURED PRAYER STRENGTHENS OUR FAITH- 1 John 5:15

I. ASSURED PRAYER PROVIDES ASSURANCE- 1 John 5:14a

We see first that Assured Prayer Provides Assurance. That is, when we know God hears our prayers, we have confidence, and this word confidence, if you remember, is like a child who fearlessly enters his parents bedroom at two in the morning to ask for a snack. There is no fear in the child, he simply walks into the parents’ room where they lie in a comfortable and deep sleep, with no inhibition to stir them for his request.

Confidence, as John has mentioned four times in this short letter, is a key aspect of the child of God. Due to the person and work of Jesus Christ, believers enjoy confidence in the presence of God. We can, like the fearless child, enter into His presence with confidence.

When we have the Son, we have life, and consequently, we have confidence. When you have prayers answered, you are encouraged to pray more.

Seeing God at work provides cement to our faith. It is like digging a hole for a mail box. Once you have dug the hole, you drop the mail box in. Now, you have two choices: fill it back in with dirt or mix some concrete in with the mailbox and then add dirt on the top. We know from experience that it is beneficial to add that cement. Likewise, our Christian life is like the mailbox, and through the cement of prayer our faith is secured, it is confident. And this confidence, John tells us, is toward Him.

It is toward the God of the universe. The unimaginable, holy God. The God who is light, and in who there is no darkness at all. It is the God whose Son has no sin at all. It is the God who abides forever. It is the overcoming God. This is with whom we have confidence.

It is, as the song I Must Tell Jesus reminds us [RED TAB].

I. ASSURED PRAYER PROVIDES ASSURANCE- 1 John 5:14a

II. ASSURED PRAYER CENTERS ON GOD’S WILL- 1 John 5:14b

This second point is perhaps the most important in today’s sermon. I say that because there is much confusion on prayer. Many people believe that when we pray, God is expected to answer. So they pray for that promotion, that relationship, that money, and the lists go on, only to have a negative response. And then they wonder why God does not care, why He does not hear them.

I am sure that you and I have prayed this way in the past. Perhaps we are praying this way right now. And we wonder why God has not answered our prayers.

Yet we never stop and consider for what we are praying, do we? Think about a child and a parent (the very relationship that depicts the believer’s relationship with God). Consider the child’s many requests. Can I have that? Can you buy me this? Why can’t I have that?

A wise parent (and possibly a poor parent) will answer the child’s requests in the negative. The child does not understand, and likewise we often do not understand. But John offers us incredible instruction in this one verse that I believe will help us understand, enjoy, and engage in prayer.

A. TO CENTER ON GOD’S WILL WE MUST PRAY ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE—We ask anything according to His will

This first point teaches us that as we ask according to his will we ask according to Scripture. William Gurnall, a puritan pastor, describes it like this,

“The mightier any is in the Word, the more mighty he will be in prayer.”—William Gurnall (1616-1679)

As we read the Scriptures and understand Who God is and what He has done, we can turn these into prayers. We pray the Scriptures, or as John puts it, “according to His will.”

This harkens us back to the words of Jesus Christ in John 15:7,

John 15:7 ESV

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

We pray, then, according to what God wants. Paul provides us with a wonderful example. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul details the account where, in order to keep Paul humble, God allows a “messenger of Satan” to “harass” Paul. Paul prayed to God three times, and each time the Lord said no, that His grace was sufficient for Paul.

In other words, when we pray for deliverance or freedom from a difficulty, we must pray in accordance with God’s will. So, if we have a significant medical issue, we can pray and ask God for healing, with the accompanying stipulation that submits to God’s greater working in our lives. That is, God’s Word shapes our prayers.

B. TO CENTER ON GOD’S WILL WE MUST FOCUS ON GOD’S GLORY—we ask anything according to His will

This is built on the foundation of the Word of God, but God’s glory is the ultimate aim of everything. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 1 asks,

Q 1 “What is the chief end of man?”

A “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”—Westminster Shorter Catechism Question and Answer 1

As for Scriptural proof, the Westminster Divines provide five supporting verses, though there are many more in the sacred Scriptures.

Our ultimate goal in life is to glorify God. This affects how we work (Col. 3:23), how we exercise our individual freedoms (1 Cor. 10:31), and how we live (Matt. 5:14-16). God’s glory is to focus of our entire beings and lives, and this includes our prayers.

How does God’s glory affect your prayer life? When we pray for healing, do we pray selfishly for our own comfort, or that people would witness God’s incredible power to wrought miracles?

When we pray for a promotion, does it stem from our desire to procure more material wealth, or from the desire to use our financial resources to serve missions?

Do you see how God’s glory, when coupled with our prayers, brings about assured prayer? When we center our prayer on God’s Will we will focus on God’s glory. In Paul’s example, God was more glorified by Paul’s weakness than He would have been by Paul’s strength, and this changed Paul’s prayer life. And brothers and sisters, it should change ours.

C. TO CENTER ON GOD’S WILL WE MUST REMEMBER IT IS GOD TO WHOM WE PRAY—He hears us

This seems pretty basic, but it is a necessary reminder for us today. When you hear some people pray, do you ever wonder who they are talking to? Or, to personalize it, have you ever been engaged in prayer and suddenly wondered what you just said?

When we pray according to His will, He, God hears us. What a tremendous thought! And one that we must never forget. When we center our prayers on God’s will, He hears us. This is how you have Assured Prayer.

We have seen that...

I. ASSURED PRAYER PROVIDES ASSURANCE- 1 John 5:14a

II. ASSURED PRAYER CENTERS ON GOD’S WILL- 1 John 5:14b

III. ASSURED PRAYER STRENGTHENS OUR FAITH- 1 John 5:15

Building off the thoughts of the previous verse, John moves on to present the results of God hearing our God-centered prayers.

Since we know that God hears us, we know He will grant out requests. In other words, when we pray according to God’s will, He answers.

That is the key distinguishing mark of the believer’s prayer, or Assured Prayer. It is prayer to the sovereign Lord, based upon His will, that produces the requests that we have asked of Him. Our question is, “How can I pray according to the will of God?”

I want to briefly offer you several prayers you can ask God for and will enjoy the answer.

Pray that every thing you do with bring glory to God (1 Cor. 10:31)

Pray that you will submit to everything that God providentially brings into your path to conform you into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:28)

Pray that God will help you love like He loves (1 Cor. 13:4-7

Pray that you will be grounded in the truth of God (Eph. 3:16-17)

Pray that you will respond in a Christlike way to all trials in your life (1 Pet. 3:13-17)

Pray that God will help you put off the old self, be renewed in your mind, and put on righteousness (Eph. 4:22-24)

Pray that God will help you love your brothers and sisters in Christ in tangible ways (1 John 4:7-12)

These are simply a handful of prayers you can pray that are God’s will for your life, and I can assure you, on the authority of God’s Word, He will hear and give you your request. It may be painful, it may be slow, and it may not even produce visible results to you or others, but God hears and will give you your requests.

CONCLUSION

Imagine how different your Christian life would be if you gave yourself to Assured Prayer. Here are three practical steps you can take to enjoy Assured Prayer.

First, in order to know the will of God you must know the Word of God.

This requires regular reading and studying of God’s Word. Now, I understand not everyone is nerdy and enjoys the geeky reading that I do. However, as is evidenced by the Word of God, God’s children love the Scriptures! Reading is, though not always, a blessing to one’s soul. And it is through the regular consumption of Scripture that we begin to understand and know the mind of God (as much as humanly possible). As we grow in this knowledge, our prayers are shaped more by the Word, and we enjoy Assured Prayer.

Second, in order to recognize Assured Prayer we must find some method of documenting our prayers. I mentioned in our Wednesday evening Bible study the use of prayer journals. These could be as simple as a list of your prayers or the actual prayers themselves written out. But the benefit of this is that you can go back and look at prayers. You can also use the prayer list that Mrs. Francis provides for us.

But you can go back and look at answered prayer. One example would be Michael Hughes, a friend of the Knights. We prayed and God answered that prayer. Calvin is a living testament to answered prayer. And what does recalling all of these answered prayers produce? Assurance.

Third, have faith. This seems to be an odd step, but it is implied in John’s statement. When we pray, we believe that God hears us and will provide answers in accordance with His will (which is the best possible direction for our lives if we had access to all the knowledge of God, by the way). This requires faith. James refers to this in James 1:6, and the author of Hebrews also discusses this idea in Hebrews 11:6,

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Brothers and sisters, I believe God wants to do great things in our lives, individually and corporately. We must, in accordance with the Scriptures, practice Assured Prayer.