We've Always Got God's Ear

Strictly speaking, John ended the epistle with 1st John 5:13. Everything built up to that Grand Finale verse. The whole epistle led us to gain assurance of our salvation or to know we didn’t have it.

1st John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

But, if that was the climax, why do we have these extra verses? Why didn’t John just stop writing? John seems to be reluctant to leave the matter so he adds some postscripts, some additional assurances, and another warning. John has covered these topics before in greater detail, but these are like last reminders. This section is wrap-up.

The first thing John does is offer assurance in prayer:
1st John 5:14–15
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

Praise God! We always have God’s ear. Day or night, in church and out, whether we have our eyes closed or not, it doesn’t matter. We are never out of God’s earshot. It doesn’t matter if we live in Maine, or darkest Africa. Prayer never becomes inoperative. We can have total confidence that God hears us.

Plus the second confidence is this: We always get an answer from God. Some people say, you either get a “Yes,” or a “No,” or a “Wait;” but this actually says, “We know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

Ah, but the catch, of course there’s a catch. Verse 14 adds, “If we ask anything according to His will.” How obvious! This is only common sense. If a Father says to a son, “Son, I want you to go out and mow the lawn this afternoon.” And the son says, “Great Dad, can I go out and mow the lawn?” The dad is always going to say, “Yes! You can!” – Amazing!

But the opposite is also true. If the Dad says, “Son, I want you to go out and mow the lawn this afternoon.” And the son says, “But Dad, rather than mow lawn, can I play ball with my friends?” The dad will usually always say, “No!” – almost always. The assurance of answered prayer always comes with conditions. The answers have to fit within the will of God, not just fit within our selfish desires.

For instance, look at John 14:13-14”
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Do you see? There are conditions: First, it has to be “in My name.” In other words, according to all that Christ is and stands for. And second, so that “the Father may be glorified in the Son.” The requests can never be for our own glory, never for our own selfish desires.

1st John 3:22 says:
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

The conditions here are:
1st– obedience – “because we keep His commandments.” There’s no reward for rebellion. Bad boys don’t get special favors.

2nd – our desire to please God – “and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Just like with anyone you love, you want to please them. You listen to them and study them to find out their likes and dislikes. We pray for what pleases God.

Aren’t these conditions all wrapped up in the way Jesus taught us how to pray?
Matthew 6:9-10:
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I’ve quoted this before, but Robert law said: “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but in getting God’s will done on earth.” The issue isn’t getting God to pay attention to our selfish requests, but the issue is getting our requests in line with His will. Do you see the difference? When will we stop looking at prayer as if it were a letter to Santa Claus, and start using it as a tool of ministry as a way to tap into God’s unlimited power to accomplish His will through us?