True Prayer

14 This is the confidence (boldness) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will (that pleases Him), He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask (request)--we know that we have what we asked of Him.

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV).

When we pray to God, our primary goal should be asking according to God’s will. The only way to please God is seeking, asking, and living according His will. If our prayers line up according to God’s will, God will listen! In essence, all of the conditions related to prayer are summed up in this phrase—”according to His will.” With this understanding, “according to His will” means according to what pleases God as found in the Holy Scriptures (John 15:7). This means that God’s answer may be “no” or different than planned (Luke 22:42; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9). If you do not know God’s will, ask God (James 1:5)!

True prayer is not demanding, persuading, forcing, nor manipulating God (Matthew 6:5-6); but rather submitting our will and way into complete agreement with God (1 John 5:14). Even more, true prayer means (1) praying in Jesus’ Name, that is, in accord with Jesus' character and nature (John 14:13-14; John 15:16; John 16:23-24), (2) abiding in Jesus and His words abiding or remaining in us (John 15:7), (3) having faith (Matthew 21:22; James 1:6), (4) being righteous in life and fervent in prayer (1 John 3:21-22; James 5:16), and (5) praying persistently until God’s will is accomplished. That is true prayer! So, believers in Jesus Christ can stand firmly and confidently in faith that God hears us believing whatever we pray for is already ours (1 John 5:15).