6 Devotionals on What Our Prayers Are to Include #6: Boldness
1 John 5:14: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
Have you ever prayed a prayer that you didn’t think God would answer? I’m not talking about the prayers we prayed as kids for A’s on tests we didn’t study for or for our sports team to win the game. Have you ever gone to God in prayer because you felt you had to but you didn’t really believe that He would answer that prayer? There have been times where I have been asked to pray for things in a group where I was hesitant to approach God to ask for these things because I didn’t want His power to be tainted in the mind of the believer asking for prayer.
As I grow in my walk with God, I’ve developed an understanding that not only is God capable of answering my prayers; I can and should ask for him to do “the impossible.”
We are told to approach God in faith and with boldness, but not for what we want, but in accordance with His will. Should I ask for God to heal what doctors have deemed a terminally ill case? Yes. Should I pray that God would transform a devout atheist and bring that person into a relationship with Him? Yes. Should I ask for God to bring peace into an area of my life that always seems tumultuous? Yes. But these prayers should always be accompanied by the phrase, “Not my will but your will be done.”
When we pray, there should not be any doubt about whether God is capable. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfect. The question we should ask ourselves is, “Does this request line up with God’s will?”
1 John 5:14: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
What do you struggle with by thinking it is impossible? Perhaps it’s a person you’ve been praying to come to know Christ for years and it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe it’s a situation or relationship that is in desperate need of God’s presence. We should continue to approach God boldly for these things — not as some magic formula to get what we want but as a sign of our confidence and dependence upon Him. After all, He is the only One with the power to truly bring about transformation in our life. However, we also must examine our requests and ask, “Does this line up with God’s will or my will?” and ask God for the discernment and courage to align our will with His.
Adam Deering