Student - House of Judah

-60-
This is made very clear in -
1 John 5:14 -
It is reasonable that it should be so, for God to answer prayer which did not
harmonize with His will would be for Him to do something inconsistent with His
nature. Of course, God, being God, could not do such a thing.
#4 - This promise is given, not to hinder our asking, but to encourage
it.
We must remove from our minds the idea that prayer is so difficult, and that receiving
things from God is such a hard business!
To pray ‘according to His will’ -
1 John 5:14 -
does not mean asking for less but for more. If it means asking for more, it means
receiving more.
#5 - This promise implies that we may be absolutely sure of God’s will
when we pray.
Notice the words ‘confidence’ in -
1 John 5:14 -
and ‘we know’ in -
1 John 5:15 -
Compare -
John 11:41-42 -
We may be absolutely sure of God’s will when we pray. If we are sure of His will
when we pray, we are absolutely sure of the answer.
All this leads us to ask: How may we be sure of God’s will when we pray We can
be sure, otherwise the words in verse 14 would mock us.
But the question is: How
First, He reveals His will by His word.
Second, He reveals His will by His Spirit.
© Stephen Nemeth The Epistles of John, Study 8, Student Manual