1 John 5:14-15 — “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
Have you seen infants or preschoolers behave this way – they will ask their parent, and ask, and ask, and ask through different ways: speech, actions, tantrums or any other method. This ‘ask’ or bargaining may continue till they get what they want. They do this because, they know that they are asking their father and they know their relationship with him; they know they will get what they want unless it is dangerous for them.
The NIV version for the scripture reads – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” There are three things involved. God knows us. God knows our needs. Similar to a father, who likes to give their child what they ask, our Heavenly Father also likes to be asked for our needs and wants so that He is especially pleased to fulfill them.
The second is if we ask of something within His will or what He approves of, that He will do. So if you ask to have someone fall ill or harm to befall someone, that is not part of God’s nature. God will not allow for that to happen. God creates. He loves. He forgives.
The third is the most crucial. Even if we could ask and knew what to ask, would we hesitate to go to someone to ask for something? Would we be comfortable to do this? We only do this because we have faith in the ability of God to fulfill all our asks. We have the confidence that whatever we ask within God’s boundaries of acceptance will be imparted to us.
Armed with this knowledge, let us remember Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
