He Hears Us

I really liked this verse of the day from the bible app on February 11th 2021.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”-‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God hears and answers our prayers when our prayers are according to His will. Pastor Mark Batterson, in one of his many sermons at National Community Church, says something like this about prayer, “if it’s not in the will of God or for the Glory of God then it’s a non starter.” This led me to question, what prayers are in the will of God?

I believe these are prayers rooted in God's word. God's word reveals His will for us. When we ask for things like peace (Philippians 4:7), love for our neighbors (Mark 12:31), forgiveness (1John 1:9), strength (Isaiah 40:29), healing (Matthew 9:20-22) etc. We can be confident that these are prayers that that will not go deaf to God's ear. These are prayers that God longs to answer because they are rooted in His word. These are prayers God desires us to have because he wants what is good for us. This is not to say that God won’t hear our prayers for a brand new house or car, "how God answers prayers is up to him,” but we should be confident that when we ask for things according to His will, which are the things in His word, He will hear us (Batterson).

If you would like to put this into practice I encourage you to pray for any of the fruits of the spirts, these are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). It is worth a try. God won't hear 100% of the prayers that don't get prayed. I guarantee that a prayer for the fruits of the spirit will not go unheard. It is God's will and nature for us to acquire these fruits.

Now our prayers might have to be prayed more than once. Sometimes our prayers won't yield immediate results. In the modern day of Amazon Prime, we even want same day delivery on our prayers. Remember the parable of the persistent widow? She kept asking and asking until the judge granted her request. Our prayers require persistence, keep asking and keep knocking. If it is for the glory of God and in the will of God, we can be confident He hears us.

---

Batterson, Mark. Win the Day, Multnomah, 2020.