In 1 John 5:14 the Amplified Bible reads, “And this is the confidence – the assurance … which we have in Him … that if we ask anything … according to His will …He listens and hears us.” But you may be asking, “How can I have confidence that what I am asking for is in accordance with His will?” To start with when we ask for things that align with His word we are asking according to His will! One of our problems is that we try to manipulate God to do what we want, in our timing, according to our preplanned way, and as James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” The Greek word that is translated “amiss” in this verse means “badly” The Amplified Bible explains it “with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasure.” Ouch! If we will pray “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteousness man” according to James 5:16, leaving the timing, ways, and methods to Him, He will answer according to His will. In fact He is so anxious to answer that He says in Isaiah 65:24, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking I will hear.” Today’s poetry rhyme written by Eliza M Hickok sums it up beautifully.
This I know
I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know, God answers prayer.
I know that He has given His word,
Which tells me prayer is always heard.
And will be answered soon or late,
And so I pray and calmly wait.
I know not if the blessing sought,
Will come in just the way I thought.
But leave my prayers with Him alone,
Whose will is wiser than my own.
Assured that He will grant my quest,
Or send some answer far more blest.
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.