The Answer

“This is the confidence which we have before 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 which we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

I still have a powerful resistance to the word, “Whatever.” Parents who raised teenagers, during the Valley Girl phase, will know what I mean. Every question was always met with a shoulder shrug, and an eye-roll, accompanied by the word, “Whatever.” But I digress.

“Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his.” ~ John R.W. Stott

Answered prayer builds our faith because it places our confidence in The Father, and yields our will to His. Answered prayer is not based upon our eloquence but on our obedience. Answers to “whatever we ask” are not based upon the limits of our own personal resources, but on the limitless love The Father has for His children.

NOTE TO SELF: You can have no greater confidence than to know that your prayers are heard, and answered, when you pray in line with The Father’s will. Pray accordingly, and pray expectantly. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!