GOD PROMISES TO ALWAYS HEAR US
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14
When a parent says to a child, “Did you hear me,” he isn’t wondering if sound registered through their ears. He is asking if the child understands and will respond to what was said. So, too, when God says He “hears” us, He means the request registers and He will respond appropriately. He promises that will happen every time we ask Him about something.
This is not a blank check to get whatever we want whenever we want it, but assurance that He will give us what we need. It means we are asking “according to His will,” wanting what He wants for us. We don’t presume to know what is best for us, instead we trust Him to answer in the way that is best for our growth and His glory. God always gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.
God put it in Elijah’s heart to pray for the widow’s son to come back to life, and when he prayed it happened (2 Kings 4:32). It was God’s will for the Jews to totally defeat their enemies, so when Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still so the enemies couldn’t escape in darkness, God did so (Joshua 10:12-15). Samson prayed for his strength to return so he could avenge himself on his Philistine enemies, and God granted his request (Judges 16:4-30).
God does the same for us. He reveals His will to us in our spirit or mind, then when we pray accordingly, He answers that prayer. First, we must want to have His will done more than anything else. Then, we must deeply desire to know His will. When He guides us in His direction, we must follow. We can’t make our own plans and then try to convince Him to put them into effect. We can’t make our will become His will for us. We must want and follow His plans for our lives.
This promise was written by John, Jesus’ closest friend on earth, the cousin He loved in a special way (John 20:2). It was written about 70 years after Jesus returned to heaven, so John certainly has a lot of experience behind this statement. He knew it was true!
Yet for Him to hear and respond, we must first “ask.” We must humble ourselves and recognize our need. We ask for Him to do what is best, not to do what we think is best. We must learn to pray the problem, not the solution. God has better solutions than we have, many of which we haven’t even thought. So, don’t tell Him what to do to take care of something, just talk to Him about the issue and tell Him you trust Him to handle it in the way that is best for your growth and His glory. You’ll see many more prayers answered if you do this instead of giving Him a list of things you expect Him to do for you!
Does it seem He isn’t answering a prayer of yours at the moment? Try praying the problem and leave the solution up to Him. Go ahead, close your eyes and pray the problem right now, trusting He knows best how to take care of it!
INDIA UPDATE & PRAYER REQUEST: I have added new books to the web site, https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/ These include a very helpful Topical Index to the Bible, Bible study courses about Joseph and Revelation, books What God Expects of Churches and Duties of Church Leaders and articles Lies About Marriage and Life and Promises of God. There are now 11 books translated into SPANISH so please tell Spanish-speaking pastors and Christians about them. There are also 2 HINDI books with more to follow. All the books are also in TELUGU. There are also 2 videos of me speaking at a missions conference about life in India and an overview of its religions. Tell others about these practical and helpful resources.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
Copyright © 2021
I have posted almost 40 blogs about God’s Promises to us today in my India and Spiritual Warfare blogs. If you would like a PDF document containing all of them, email me and I will send it. Jerry@Schmoyer.net