6. The Promise of God: Confidence in Prayer

Scripture: 1 John 5:14–15 (NKJV)

“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.”

Introduction

There are many promises in the Word of God, and this is one of the most comforting and strengthening promises for every believer:
God hears us when we pray according to His will.

What a tremendous promise. Not that God might hear us. Not that God sometimes hears us. Not that only special Christians are heard.
But that we can have confidence in Him.

Prayer is not a religious exercise. It is not empty words thrown into the air. Prayer is communion with the living God. And John tells us that one
of the great privileges of the child of God is this: we may come before God with confidence, knowing that He hears us.

This scripture does not merely teach us how to pray. It reveals to us the heart of God toward His children. It shows us that prayer is built on
relationship, confidence, and promise.

1. “This is the confidence that we have in Him”

John begins with the word confidence. This is very important. He does not say, “This is the fear we have in Him,” or
“This is the uncertainty we have in Him.” He says, “This is the confidence that we have in Him.”

The word confidence speaks of boldness, freedom, and assurance. It means that because we belong to God through Jesus Christ,
we do not come to Him as strangers. We come as His children.

Our confidence is not in our own goodness. Our confidence is not in how well we performed this week. Our confidence is not in our emotions.
Our confidence is in Him.

That means prayer is not based on our worthiness, but on God’s faithfulness.

Many believers struggle in prayer because they look at themselves too much. They think:

• “I have failed too many times.”
• “Maybe God is tired of me.”
• “Maybe I am not spiritual enough.”
• “Maybe God listens to other people more than to me.”

But this scripture lifts our eyes away from ourselves and places them on God. Our confidence is in Him.

If you are in Christ, you have the privilege of coming before God with assurance.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16

Why? Because Jesus has opened the way.

So the first lesson is this: The promise of prayer begins with confidence in God’s character.

2. “If we ask anything according to His will”

This is where many people stop and feel discouraged. They read, “according to His will,” and think that this weakens the promise.
But in truth, it strengthens it.

Why? Because the will of God is not something harsh or unwilling. The will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect.
His will is wiser than ours, purer than ours, and more loving than ours.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:2

Sometimes we ask based on emotion. Sometimes we ask based on fear. Sometimes we ask based on what seems right to us at the time.
But God answers according to His perfect will.

This is not a limitation to frustrate us. It is a protection to preserve us.

A loving Father does not grant every request exactly as a child imagines it. He grants what is truly right, truly good, and truly necessary.

To pray according to His will means:

• we pray in harmony with His Word,
• we pray in submission to His wisdom,
• we pray with a heart that says, “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done.”

“Saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’”
Luke 22:42

This is the beauty of true prayer: prayer is not about forcing God to do our will; it is about aligning our hearts with His will.

And the more we know His Word, the more we understand His will.

We can pray confidently for what God has clearly revealed in Scripture: forgiveness, wisdom, holiness, strength to endure, the salvation of people,
boldness to witness, daily provision, peace, the fruit of the Spirit, and grace in time of need.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
James 1:5

When we pray in line with God’s revealed will, we are not praying uncertainly. We are praying on the ground of promise.

So this verse teaches us: The promise of God in prayer is connected to the will of God.

3. “He hears us”

This is one of the most precious statements in all of scripture: “He hears us.”

The Creator of heaven and earth hears us. The God who rules over all things hears us. The Holy One, the Almighty One, hears us.

This does not simply mean that God is aware of the sound of our words. It means that He hears with attention, care, and readiness to act according to His wisdom.

How wonderful to know that when the believer prays, heaven is not silent.

There are times when prayer feels weak. There are times when prayer feels dry. There are times when we do not feel anything dramatic at all.
But the promise does not depend on our feelings. The promise depends on God’s truth.

John does not say, “If you feel that He hears you.” He says, “He hears us.”

That means when you pray according to His will:

• your prayers are not wasted,
• your words do not fall to the ground,
• your cries are not ignored,
• your tears are not unseen.

God hears.

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers…”
1 Peter 3:12

This should encourage every believer who has been praying for a long time and has not yet seen the answer. The first assurance is not that we immediately see the result.
The first assurance is that God has heard.

And if He has heard, then we may rest in Him.

4. “If we know that He hears us… we know that we have”

John takes it one step further.

He does not only say that God hears us. He says that if we know He hears us, then
we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

This is the language of faith.

Notice: it does not say we always see it immediately. It says we know that we have it.

This means that the answer is secured in God, even if it has not yet fully appeared in our circumstances.

This is how faith lives. Faith takes hold of the promise of God before the visible evidence arrives.

There is often a space between praying and seeing. But in that space, the believer stands on the promise of God.

This is not presumption. This is confidence rooted in His Word.

We do not say, “I know I have it because I am strong.” We say, “I know I have it because God has heard me.”

There are answers God gives immediately. There are answers God unfolds gradually. There are answers that come in a different form than we expected.
But the believer can rest in this: if God has heard, then God will answer in the right way and at the right time.

So prayer is never pointless. Prayer places our request into the faithful hands of God.

5. Prayer is built on relationship, not performance

John says, “the confidence that we have in Him.” Prayer is deeply relational. It is not about mastering a formula. It is about knowing God.

The world often treats prayer like a technique: say the right words, have enough intensity, repeat it enough times, and then perhaps the result will come.

But biblical prayer is not magic. It is not manipulation. It is fellowship with our Father.

Because of Jesus, we can draw near. Because of Jesus, we are accepted. Because of Jesus, we can ask. Because of Jesus, we can trust.

“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
Ephesians 3:12

This changes the way we pray.

We do not pray as beggars trying to convince a reluctant God. We pray as children speaking to a willing Father.

That does not mean we become casual or irreverent. God is still holy. But it does mean that we pray with assurance, because His heart toward His children is full of mercy.

6. This promise calls us to perseverance in prayer

If God hears us, then we should not give up praying.

One of the enemy’s greatest attacks is to make believers discouraged in prayer. He whispers:

• “Nothing is happening.”
• “God is not listening.”
• “It is no use praying anymore.”
• “You have prayed too long already.”

But 1 John 5:14–15 answers that lie. God hears us.

That means we keep praying. We keep trusting. We keep bringing our petitions before Him.

Sometimes God delays, not because He is absent, but because He is working deeper than we can see. Sometimes He is shaping us while we are waiting.
Sometimes He is preparing circumstances. Sometimes He is teaching us dependence. Sometimes He is answering in a way far greater than the thing we first requested.

The delay is not denial if God has spoken promise.

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,”
Luke 18:1

So let us not become weary in prayer. The God who hears is the God who answers.

7. The greatest promise behind every prayer is God Himself

This passage is not only about getting answers. It is about knowing the God who invites us to come near.

The greatest gift in prayer is not merely the petition granted. The greatest gift is that we have access to Him.

Prayer reminds us that we are not alone. Prayer reminds us that we are heard. Prayer reminds us that heaven is open through Jesus Christ.
Prayer reminds us that God is not distant.

Many people seek God only for what He can give. But the mature believer learns that the greatest treasure is God Himself.

Even before the answer comes, we already have something precious: His ear, His presence, His attention, His promise.

And that is why this is truly a theme of the promise of God. God promises not only to bless us, but to hear us and receive us.

Practical Application for the Homegroup

1. Pray with confidence

Do not approach God as if He is unwilling to listen. Come in faith, through Jesus Christ.

2. Pray according to the Word

The more you know scripture, the more boldly you can pray. God’s Word teaches us what pleases Him and what He has promised.

3. Pray with surrender

Bring your requests honestly, but always with a yielded heart: “Lord, let Your will be done.”

4. Rest in the fact that He hears

Even when you do not yet see the answer, take comfort in this: God has heard you.

5. Persevere

Do not stop praying because the answer seems delayed. Continue trusting the God who is faithful.

Conclusion

1 John 5:14–15 is a powerful promise for every child of God.

It tells us:

• we can have confidence in God,
• we can pray according to His will,
• we can know that He hears us,
• and we can rest in the assurance that He will answer.

What a promise. The throne of God is open to the believer. The ear of God is attentive to the believer.
The will of God is good toward the believer. The answer of God is certain in His perfect wisdom.

So let us be a praying people. Let us be a confident people. Let us be a people who stand on the promises of God.

When we pray, we are not speaking into emptiness. We are speaking to our Father. And His Word says:

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
1 John 5:14

That is not merely a comforting thought. That is a promise of God.