Pray With Confidence!

19th Sunday after Pentecost, 10/16/22 1 John 5:13-15 Pray With Confidence! I. You have eternal life. II. Your God is listening to you. We’ve seen it and heard it in the media. A celebrity or a politician says something and one of the words they use or an entire phrase that they spoke wasn’t carefully thought out ahead of time. They said something they shouldn’t have, and the media immediately grabs it and makes it available for the entire world to see, hear, and form an opinion. And one outcome is that this celebrity or politician will be a little more careful with their words the next time they speak publicly. We’ve learned the same thing in our personal relationships, or, at least I hope you have. Say the wrong thing in the wrong way to someone close to you and the fallout is immediate. If you want to repair the relationship, you’ll have to expend a good deal of time and effort. And from that point forward, you’re going to be more careful what you say and how you say it. In fact, you begin approaching some subjects with that person as if you were making your way through a minefield. You take each step with the utmost care and a good deal of trepidation. Am I right? Let’s admit it. There are far too many situations in our lives when we’re afraid to speak what’s on our mind and in our heart. This morning’s worship theme focuses our attention on our prayer life. A simple definition of a prayer is that it’s a heart-to-heart talk with God. In other words, you’re telling him what’s on your mind and in your heart. You’re going to him with your feelings and thoughts. You’re sharing with him what’s happened in your life and what you think your future might hold. You’re asking him for guidance and direction. You implore him to bless you and make things turn out the way you hope and plan. So, what’s your attitude as you speak with the Lord in prayer? Do you open up your heart and let all your thoughts and words soar to his throne of grace, or, are you a little uneasy? Do your prayers hands wring with angst or doubt? While you pray, are you also thinking that there’s no way God will do what I’m asking him to do? Are there times when you approach praying with the nagging question, “What’s the use, anyway?” That prayer approach doesn’t make God happy. Instead, he wants us to pray with confidence. That’s the truth that he used St. John to convey to us this morning. Pray with confidence! Let’s see why we can have that approach in our heart-to-heart talks with our God. I. Some years ago, I met a Christian woman with whom I had several conversations about many topics in the Bible. And one of them was her disagreement with Christians who state that they know for certain they’re going to heaven. I can still here her mimic them. It was simply inconceivable to her that any Christian could be absolutely certain of their eternal future. Needless to say, I tried to convince her to the contrary. I recall reciting John 3:16 where Jesus himself stated that whoever believes in him has eternal life. I’m not sure if I used John’s words before us or not. If I didn’t, I should have. Listen once again to what John states, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Listen one more time, “So that you may know that you have eternal life.” That’s an astounding biblical truth. Notice that John doesn’t state, “So that you will have eternal life. He states that you know you have it right now. But we’re not in heaven yet. How can we have eternal life now? Because when the Holy Spirit brought you to faith in Jesus, he gave you life with God. As long as you remain in the Christian faith you have that life which is eternal life. It never ends. It starts here on earth and continues in heaven. And that life never ends. I’m sure you’ve noticed that everything in this life has an expiration date. There’s even one stamped on your earthly life, unless Jesus returns first. Everything in this life either breaks down, wears out, or becomes obsolete. But not your life with God. It’s eternal. Those who have that eternal life are special people to God. In fact, they are so special that he places his name on them. He calls them children of God. And that’s what you are—God’s own dear child. And that’s why you have nothing to fear when you approach your God in prayer. You already have eternal life with God. In fact, that’s what he wants most of all for you. Why wouldn’t he be willing to listen to what you have to say to him now about your earthly life in prayer? You are his own dear child. He wants you to address him as your Father. What loving Father doesn’t want to hear what’s on the heart and mind of his dear child? If our God were some awful tyrant who is never pleased with us, if he demanded that we scratch and claw our way to him, if he were constantly changing his mind about how he felt about us, then, sure, we should be wringing our prayer hands in fear and trepidation. We should come trembling to him, apologizing profusely for bothering him. But that’s not who he is. And that’s not who he made you to be. So, pour out your heart and mind to him! Pray with confidence! You have eternal life! But there are times when our prayer attitude is less than confident. We have some nagging fears as we pray because we’re not sure if we’re asking him for the right thing. What if he already decided something different for us? What’s more, our prayer life to date hasn’t been so stellar and God knows it. We should have been better pray-ers in the past. Does he hold that against us now? Am I being selfish and self-centered with what I’m praying for? I know I should be more concerned about others. Why should God listen to me now? Because I know I have eternal life. And that’s all God’s doing. My access into eternal life with God had nothing to do with my actions. It was all the work of my God through my Savior, Jesus Christ. And my access now to my God in prayer is another blessing Jesus won for me. My Savior erased my sinful record. My God has nothing against me. He has everything for me. You have eternal life now. So, pray with confidence. Let your thoughts and feelings fly to God’s throne of grace! II. We live in a world in which messages are being blasted at us constantly from every direction. At times it seems as if everyone wants our attention at the same time. We try to multi-listen, but it doesn’t work. So, we realize we need to focus, to shut down the website and apps that are vying for our attention. Now, imagine being the only true God. There’s roughly a billion Christians on earth. Imagine if each Christian spoke two prayers a day. That would mean God had more than 83 million prayers per hour to listen to and answer. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But not for our God. In fact, he promises to do that very thing with each and every Christian prayer. Listen to John’s words, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: 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 what we asked of him.” John makes some amazing statements about our prayers. Can they really be true? Indeed, they are! First, God listens to you every time you pray to him. He does that for every Christian. In fact, the Bible states he already knows what you’re going to ask of him before you ask it. Amazing! And then, he answers each one. Perhaps you’ve heard it said that God has three answers to every prayer: yes, no, and not now. The other day I heard another twist on that truth. He answers each prayer with a yes or, I have something better in store for you. And realize that we might not think that what God has in mind is better, but he always knows what’s best for us. If what we’re asking for will not be good for us, he doesn’t give it. That’s better! But John states a truth that might be puzzling you. He states that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us and will give it to us. But how do you know what God’s will is? Only by what he tells us in his word. I don’t know if God wants me to have a cushy amount in my savings and investments, but I do know he wants me to grow in my faith, be confident of his love for me, and to overcome temptation and evil. I don’t know if he wants me to have a relationship with someone else, but I do know he wants me to have a relationship with him. I don’t know if he wants me to take a different employment opportunity and move to a new location, but I do know he wants me to live with him now and in heaven. I know those aspects of God’s will because that’s what he tells me in his word. And when I go to him in prayer for those things, he hears me and answers me. So, pray! Pray with confidence because your God is listening to you. We live in a connected world. With the tap of a finger on a screen, you can be connected to a countless number of web sites that will tell you what they think you need to know. And we appreciate that. The information they give is often helpful and useful. But none of them will listen to you. But that’s OK, because, as a Christian, you have something infinitely better. You have a God who loved you enough to sacrifice his Son for you so that you could be his dear child eternally. As your loving God, he promises to listen to and answer each and every one of your prayers in the way that is best for you. And when you pray according to his will, he will give you what you ask for. Can you think of a better listener than your God? So, take him up on his prayer offer! Pray to him! Pray confidently and then watch and wait for God to answer you for your good now, and eternally. Amen.