How do you pray in Gods will? Understanding 1 John 5:14-15

 

 The promise contained within the verses of 1 John 5:14-15 appears, at first glance, to be a Christian's ultimate prayer "get out of jail free" card. The New Living Translation states it with remarkable clarity: “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” On the surface, these words suggest a divine guarantee: ask and you shall receive. Yet, for countless believers, this passage has been a source of profound frustration and doubt. They have prayed for jobs, for healing, for relationships to be restored, and for financial burdens to be lifted, only to be met with silence or a definitive "no." This apparent contradiction between the divine promise and the human experience can leave people feeling that their faith is inadequate, that God is distant, or that the Bible is a collection of impossible promises. However, the root of this tension does not lie in the faithfulness of God, but in a common and fundamental misunderstanding of the phrase, "anything that pleases him." This phrase is the key to unlocking the true power of this scripture, revealing that effective prayer is not about commanding a cosmic genie, but about aligning our hearts with the will of a sovereign and loving God.

 The natural human inclination is to approach prayer from a self-centered perspective. We often come to God with a list of wants and needs, treating the divine relationship as a transactional one. The prayer becomes, "I need this, so please provide it." This is a natural instinct, as God is indeed our ultimate provider and comforter. However, when we read 1 John 5:14-15 through this lens, we filter it through our own desires, not His divine purposes. The problem is not with the promise, but with our premise. We assume that "anything that pleases him" is synonymous with "anything that I, the believer, desire." This assumption, however, completely ignores the preceding verses and the overarching message of John's letter. John is writing to a community of believers, reinforcing the truth of Christ and the importance of living a life in relationship with Him. The power of prayer he speaks of is inextricably linked to a life lived in harmony with God's character and purposes. It is an invitation to move beyond our own immediate needs and into a collaborative partnership with the Creator of the universe.

 To pray "in God's will" is not to blindly guess at a divine script or to wait for a mystical sign. It is to know God so intimately that our deepest desires begin to mirror His. The more we lean into a relationship with our Creator, the more we understand His heart for this world, and the more our prayers reflect His kingdom-focused agenda. We come to know God through His Word, the Bible, which reveals His unchanging nature, His priorities, and His ultimate plan for humanity. We know Him through consistent prayer, not just as a one-way channel for our requests, but as a two-way conversation where we listen for His guidance. And we know Him through the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, molding our character and interceding for us with groanings too deep for words. When we know God, we know the things He longs for: reconciliation between humanity and Him, justice for the oppressed, mercy for the repentant, and the spread of the Gospel to every corner of the earth. Our prayers for personal needs don't vanish, but they become contextualized within this larger, eternal framework. A prayer for a job, for example, is not just about a paycheck, but also about the opportunity to be a light in a new workplace.

 The concept of praying in God's will is further complicated by the reality of human free will. God, in His sovereignty, permits us to make our own choices, and a significant portion of our world’s brokenness is a direct result of humanity’s decision to choose sin over righteousness. The Lord's Prayer, a model given by Jesus himself, directly addresses this tension. When we pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we are acknowledging that God’s will is already perfectly established and executed in heaven, but it is not yet fully realized on earth. This line is not a passive acceptance of whatever happens; it is an active and dynamic plea for God’s perfect will to break into our fallen reality. It is an invitation for God to work through us, to use our prayers, our actions, and our influence to bring His kingdom to bear on a world that desperately needs it. This prayer reinforces the understanding that while God permits free will, our role as believers is to be agents of His will on earth.

 When our prayers align with God's will, something transformative happens. We move away from our own selfish, fleeting desires and lean into the heart of our sovereign and loving God. A prayer for personal comfort may shift to a prayer for strength to endure. A prayer for revenge against a personal wrong may transform into a prayer for forgiveness and reconciliation. This shift is not a defeat of our desires, but rather a refining of them. We begin to long for what God longs for, and our prayers become less about getting what we want and more about being used by God to accomplish what He wants. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise in 1 John 5:14-15. When we ask for "anything that pleases him," we are not asking for a divine favor but for an opportunity to participate in His eternal plan. And because our desires are now aligned with His, we can pray with absolute confidence, knowing that He hears us and that He will give us what we ask for, because what we are asking for is what He desires all along.

 The confidence described in 1 John 5:14-15 is not a naive belief that we will get every single thing we wish for. It is a profound and unshakable assurance that when we come to God with a heart surrendered to His will, our prayers are powerful and effective. It is the peace that comes from knowing that the outcome of our prayers is ultimately in the hands of a God who is working all things for the good of those who love Him. It is a confidence born not of our own strength or the merit of our requests, but from the intimate knowledge of a loving Father who delights in answering prayers that are in perfect alignment with His perfect will. It is a promise not of personal gain, but of kingdom advancement, and it is a reminder that the greatest privilege of prayer is not getting our way, but getting to share in His.

-Pastor Patti