Lesson 91: Our Boldness in Prayer, part 1
1 John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.
One of the greatest hindrances to believing prayer with many undoubtedly is this: they do not know if what they ask is according to the will of God. As long as they are in doubt on this point, they cannot have the boldness to ask in the assurance that they certainly shall receive. And they soon begin to think that, if once they have made known their requests, and receive no answer, it is best to leave it to God to do according to His good pleasure. The words of John, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us,” as they understand them, make certainty as to answer to prayer impossible, because they cannot be sure of what really may be the will of God. They think of God’s will as His hidden counsel—how should man be able to fathom what really may be the purpose of the all-wise God.
This is the very opposite of what John aimed at in this writing. He wished to rouse us to boldness, to confidence, to full assurance of faith in prayer. He says, “This is the boldness which we have toward Him,” that we can say: Father, You know and I know that I ask according to Your will: I know You hear me. “This is the boldness, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” On this account, He adds at once: “If we know that He hears us whatsoever we ask, we know,” through this faith that we have,” that we know while we pray we receive “the petition,” the special things, “we have asked of Him.” John supposes that when we pray, we first find out if our prayers are according to the will of God. They may be according to God’s will, and yet not come at once, or without the persevering prayer of faith. It is to give us courage to persevere and to be strong in faith, that He tells us: This gives us boldness or confidence in prayer, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. It is evident that if it be a matter of uncertainty to us whether our petitions be according to His will, we cannot have the comfort of what he says, “We know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him.”
But this is the difficulty. More than one believer says: “I do not know if what I desire is according to the will of God. God’s will is the purpose of His infinite wisdom: it is impossible for me to know whether He may not count something else better for me than what I desire, or may not have some reasons for withholding what I ask.” Everyone feels how with such thoughts the prayer of faith, of which Jesus said, “Whoever shall believe that these things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he saith,” becomes an impossibility. There may be the prayer of submission, and of trust in God’s wisdom; there cannot be the prayer of faith. The great mistake here is that God’s children do not really believe that it is possible to know God’s will. Or if they believe this, they do not take the time and trouble to find it out. What we need is to see clearly in what way it is that the Father leads His waiting, teachable child to know that his petition is according to His will. It is through God’s Holy Word, taken up and kept in the heart, the life, the will; and through God’s Holy Spirit, accepted in His indwelling and leading, that we shall learn to know that our petitions are according to His will.
Prayer: Blessed Master, with my whole heart I thank You for this blessed lesson, that the path to a life full of answers to prayer is through the will of God. Lord, teach me to know this blessed will by living it, loving it, and always doing it. So shall I learn to offer prayers according to that will, and to find in their harmony with God’s blessed will, my boldness in prayer and my confidence in accepting the answer.