Confidence in Prayer

How many people lack confidence in approaching God! How many wonder if they are praying according to God's will! How many are uncertain that they will receive what they are asking from the Father!

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him. I John 5:14-15 NKJV

And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him. AMP

God's will is not some mystical, impossible-to-be-discovered unknown that He is withholding from us! The Bible reveals His general will; what He wants for all mankind. Then there are plans specific to a person's life and situation that He will also reveal! You may have heard it called His rhema word. In his book Sparkling Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner describes rhema as "something that is spoken clearly and vividly, in unmistakable terms and in undeniable language". Psalm 25:14 and Proverbs 3:32 says He will even tell us secrets!!

This passage in I John builds a sure foundation that we can have a confident boldness in the character of God ("this is the confidence we have in Him"), be assured that we can know the will of God, and, because we are sure that what we are asking is in "agreement with His own plan," we can know "with settled and absolute knowledge" that what we are asking is "granted as our present possession"!!