What if you really believed that God heard your prayers and would answer them?
1. Would you worry less, and have a more peaceful and joyful heart?
2. Would you have more faith to pray, & would your prayers be deeper and “bigger”?
3. Would you stop feeling desperate to make things better, or to solve problems?
4. Would you have a deeper sense that God really does love you?

I. Have Confidence In God V. 14a

A. Confidence- free & fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance.

1. Opposite of doubt, being unsure, fearful & worried requests.
2. To have confidence in God brings freedom and readiness to ask Him.

B. God Doesn’t Lie

1. Titus 1:2 “…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…”.

C. God Is All Powerful

1. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

D. God Is All Righteous

1. Psalm 145:17a The Lord is righteous in all His ways…

E. God Is All Loving

1. Ephesians 3:17-19a 17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…

II. Ask God V. 14b

A. Ask

1. Asking God is our part. God knows our needs, but He still tells us to ask.
2. He supplies our needs, opens doors for us, etc., but God still desires and commands us to petition Him.
3. God desires to not only meet our needs, but to have relationship with us.
4. As we pray, do we come to God with only open hands, or with open hearts?

B. Anything

1. We shouldn’t think that anything is too small or too large to ask God for.
2. He is a loving Father who desires to hear from us in every area of life.

C. According to His will

1. We understand the will of God by reading the Bible.
2. There is the “general” will of God that applies to all Christians.

a. Personal holiness, worship, Christian service, Bible reading/study

i. God’s will is the same for all Christian re. these things.
ii. We shouldn’t pray for anything that violates God’s declared will.

b. There may be times when God will give us a certain verse or verses to direct us in something specific, etc.
c. Rob & Cindy Lee, from Canada, now serving in Rosarito w/ the Mayorals

i. After a year of a strong sense that they should move to Mexico, God confirmed it through His word.
ii. 2 Cor. 8:10-12; 9:1-2 (The verses speak about giving money)
iii. God may use a verse out of context, but never against context.

D. He Hears Us

1. When we ask according to God’s will, He hears us, & regards those petitions.
2. When not according to God’s will, God doesn’t hear or regard those petitions.
3. God “hears” every prayer, but doesn’t regard requests that aren’t acc. to His will.
4. We should not be afraid to ask b/c we don’t know if something is God’s will.

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

5. When we pray for people, pray to God; don’t preach a message thru your prayer.

III. God Answers Every Prayer That Is According To His Will V. 15

A. We Know That He Hears Us

1. Because of His nature. Loving Father. (See Matthew 7:7-11)
2. Because of the relationship that we have with Him.
3. Because He has promised to hear those petitions that are acc. to His will.
4. It doesn’t matter what we ask for: big or small, normal or extraordinary, etc.
5. Asking acc. to His will requires close fellowship, that we might know and experience God’s mind and heart, and that we might ask rightly & confidently.

B. We Know That He Will Grant Those Petitions

1. We can rightly expect that God will absolutely grant those petitions that we ask of Him, if they are according to His will. (Not acc. to our wants)
2. We cannot always know if we are asking according to His will.

a. This is where we stumble, and second guess our own prayers.
b. We wonder if we are asking for the right things.

3. We cannot always know the mind and intentions of God.

a. We can understand His nature and general intentions towards mankind
b. We can understand His revealed will for all Christians.
c. We can understand those special leadings for our individual lives.

4. When we pray, we ought to have complete faith in what God has stated here.

a. If I am asking correctly, and in alignment with His will, He absolutely will answer that prayer, either now or later.
b. If I am asking for ungodly or unbiblical reasons, then I cannot have confidence that he will answer my prayer.

5. Our faith needs to rest in God’s character, and His promise to answer prayers that are according to His will.

a. That is the strength of one’s prayer life.

6. The confidence of our prayers shouldn’t be in our words, but in God’s actions.

a. I don’t always know if I am asking for the right thing.
b. I absolutely always know that God will do the right thing.

C. Examples Of Prayer

1. Girl’s prayer on her wedding day. (How not to pray)
2. Found at http://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/1-john/praying-boldly

3. My prayer in the dentist’s office. (A prayer offered in confidence of God)

a. Prayer for my dental hygienist’s migraine. (tell the story)
b. Did God answer my prayer, or did the medicine work?
c. I don’t know and it’s not overly important to me.
d. I asked God to remove her headache, and something good happened.
e. My confidence wasn’t whether or not I was asking the right thing.
f. My confidence was that God was going to do the right thing.

A young woman’s prayer on her wedding day…
“Dear God. I can hardly believe that this is my wedding day. I know I haven’t been able to spend much time with You lately, with all the rush of getting ready for today, and I’m sorry. I guess, too, that I feel a little guilty when I try to pray about all this, since Larry still isn’t a Christian. But oh, Father, I love him so much, what else can I do? I just couldn’t give him up. Oh, You must save him, some way, somehow.
You know how much I’ve prayed for him, and the way we’ve discussed the gospel together. I’ve tried not to appear too religious, I know, but that’s because I didn’t want to scare him off. Yet he isn’t antagonistic and I can’t understand why he hasn’t responded. Oh, if he only we’re a Christian.
Dear Father, please bless our marriage. I don’t want to disobey You, but I do love him and I want to be his wife, so please be with us and please don’t spoil my wedding day.”
The essence of what she was saying was this…
“Dear Father, I don’t want to disobey You, but I must have my own way at all costs. For I love what You do not love, and I want what You do not want. So please be a good God and deny Yourself, and move off Your throne, and let me take over. If You don’t like this, then all I ask is that You bite Your lip and say or do nothing that will spoil my plans, and let me enjoy myself.”