1 John 3:21-24 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
1 John 5:15-16 And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
When does God answer our prayers? And when do we receive what we ask of Him? And when are we confident He has heard our requests? Many of us wonder why our prayers seem to go unanswered. Here are some insights:
"If our hearts do not condemn us.." Simply, it's almost impossible to ask for anything in faith if your conscience is defiled. Yeshua (Jesus) said, "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive;" [Mt. 21:22] If your heart is condemning you, thank God you have a conscience, and then clear it by confessing your sin and receiving forgiveness through his blood. Your capacity for faith will be restored and your prayers won't be hindered by a troubled heart.
"Keep His commandments..." John distills this advice with two simple injunctions; "Believe in the name of the Son of God", and "Love one another"... Apostle Paul beautifully re-echoes these with his word in Galatians, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love; [Gal. 5:6]. Faith is a steadfast reliance on the nature and character of Yeshua, and love is the outflow of abiding in Him. Prayers which emerge from this disposition are answered. Faith in Yeshua, and love for others form a sure foundation for answered prayers. Yeshua taught us to pray, "Thy will be done." John simply affirms that our confidence of being heard derives from asking for anything that God wants. Some people teach that God will give us anything that we want, because He loves us and has paid for all of it. But that's not what the scripture teaches. John says that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, then we know we're getting what we asked for...this could be the most important element in our prayer life.
Why do I say that? Because John's implication is that we should always pray "in the Spirit"; that if we really want to pray confidently, we should listen first; we should make sure we're abiding in Him, and are in communion with his Spirit. Praying from the place of communion will issue prayers that are inspired by the Lord himself, and are sure to be answered.
"Whoever keeps His commandments abides in God, and God in him." Any hope of effectual prayer in which we can have confidence for answers depends absolutely upon this one amazing reality. God with us: "Immanuel"... The great challenge and opportunity of the life of faith is maintaining this abiding reality. Don't waste the opportunity.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]So often in our walks with the Lord, we become focused on what we can see, what we can hear and what we can sense in the physical realm. Like that young man, we focus on the enemy’s attacks around and about us. At times we can get so focused on our physical circumstances that we forget that the Lord has already provided for us the victory!
Why is it that some believers seem to go much deeper in their walk with God than others? I believe it has to do with a desire to pursue God and not to stop until they feel His very presence in their lives. These believers decide not to settle for anything less than a growing, vibrant relationship with God, and God honors that desire for those who seek it.
This pivotal passage of scripture, Isaiah 52 and continuing into Isaiah 53, profiles a suffering servant whom the nation of Israel would not recognize. The spiritual leaders of Yeshua’s (Jesus) day were blinded to the messianic passages which pointed to the messiah’s role as a humble servant and bearer of sins.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California Los Angeles wanted to find out, “if you had to choose between more time and more money, what would it be?” While they found most respondents answered, “more money”, they also found that those who preferred “more time” were generally happier! When I read this article, it reminded me of a story, that I’d like to share.
The Lord spoke to Moses, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt to be desperately cornered with the Red sea before them and Pharaoh’s chariots advancing upon them from behind. Overwhelmed with terror they cry out to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Having just miraculously escaped from the miserable life of slavery, and only beginning their new life of freedom, the children of Israel were faced with the most dire threat to their existence.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun a series of devotions based on the Exodus wanderings of the Children of Israel, and their tragic mistakes which we can learn from and avoid. One powerful influence common to their failures was fear.
For the past two weeks we have examined lessons from the OT account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt in hope of avoiding the errors and attitudes of the children of Israel. This week we will draw connections between the Exodus and the prophecies in the book of Revelation.