Young People's Group

IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU

January 19, 2014

Having Confidence In Prayer

Can we find a tremendous sense of confidence in prayer? The answer is an absolute “yes”. Without being presumptuous, we can learn to pray with a special sense of certainty in God that He will hear and answer our prayers. Our Lord had taught His disciples about prayer on many occasions. He also consistently set for them a wonderful example of how to pray. In the text of John 15, the Lord Jesus encouraged His disciples with these words of having confidence in prayer.

“You will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.” 
John 15:7

Very often, this verse is taken out of context. It is important for us to understand that the context of this verse is concerning the Lord Jesus as the true Vine (John 15:1). We need to take into consideration as we pray His teachings on being fruitful. It is about bearing the fruit of love and not just seeking our own personal desires. When we pray with this in mind, the Lord will make our request into a reality. By His great mercies and grace, He will hear our prayers.

The Lord’s Teachings On How To Pray With Confidence

How can we go about finding confidence in prayer?

1. The Principle Of Remaining In The Lord And His Word

“If anyone abides in me and My words abide in you” 
John 15:7

The confidence in God answering our prayer is contingent on whether we are abiding in Christ or not. The Lord Jesus was teaching His disciples how to abide in Him as the true Vine. The word “Abide” means to “remain resolutely”. As a branch needs to be connected to the main vine all the time and draw much nourishment from it, even so the disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be connected to Him ceaselessly and to draw much spiritual nourishment and strength from Him. We are meant to have a continuing and close relationship with our loving Saviour. As we abide in Him, we too would be deeply concerned about His word. His word would also abide in us. Our challenge is to let His word dwell so much more in our life (Colossians 3:16). When we abide in the Lord and in the word that is taught to us, our desires would be more focused on Him and His will. We will ask things according to His will. The Lord Jesus taught us to pray according to His will, which was taught in the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:10). When we desire for the things of God and His will and pray with confidence, it shall be done for us. This is our certainty in the Lord’s promise of answering our prayer.

2. The Principle Of Glorifying The Father

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit” 
John 15:8

Another important consideration is with reference to the Lord God being glorified. It is through the answering of prayer that our heavenly Father would bring praise and honour to Himself. When a person who abides in the Lord prays with the purpose to bear much fruit, the Lord will hear and bless this person’s life. When his life is fruitful, he will bring much glory and honour to God. The Lord Jesus taught also in His teachings on the Lord’s prayer that we are to bring glory to the Lord (Matthew 6:3). Our concern in prayer should always be for the Lord’s kingdom and His glory always. When we pray with this in mind, it shall be done for us. Let’s seek to glorify the Lord’s name even as we pray to the Lord to help us bear fruit. Let’s ask for this in faith.

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