Confidence In Prayer

PRAYING WITH CONFIDENCE

1 John 5:14-15

INTRODUCTION

Illustration: Testimony Praying for a house in Strathroy.

The Lord said to speak to the mountain. I did not understand what the Lord meant until I saw the house that would become our home. My first reaction was, ‘Does the Lord love me enough to actually give me the desires of my heart.’

The mountain was not whether or not I would have a place to live. It was my faith, or lack of confidence in the Lords love for me to provide what I needed.

The lesson God taught me was that He does care, and He does hear and He does answer prayer when we pray confidently according to His will.

I am not an expert on prayer. It is a discipline that I continue to grow in. Just when I think I have a handle on my prayer life, something happens that causes me to pray more diligently, more passionately, and teaches me to have greater confidence in Gods power and desire to meet my needs.

One of the areas where the Lord wants us to have boldness is in prayer. Notice that the text mentions confidence, or boldness, along with the subject of prayer.

1. CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER

Sometimes we confuse boldness with brashness and confidence with arrogance.

Our text begins, with an assertion,’ And this is the confidence …’

The KJV uses the word boldly. The word “boldly”, in the KJV and other translations has the thought of being brazen—there is sort of a flippancy suggested by it. But that is really not the idea.

It is a very interesting word in the Greek (parrhesia) it is the same word rendered “confidence” in 3:6. We can enter into God’s presence before the throne because we understand it is not a throne of judgment or condemnation but one of grace.

Believers should courageously approach God in prayer because His is a “throne of grace,” and our High Priest sits at His right hand interceding for us.

The Bible gives this unequivocal promise and invitation to ‘approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need..’

Because we have Jesus as our High Priest we have an open invitation to enter into the presence of God.

Heb. 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by th

blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is,

through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Then, Eph. 3:12 tells us that we can “have boldness and access with confidence.”

This morning, you and I can have full access into the very presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords through His very own Son, and our High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Many Christians shy away from prayer because of guilt or shame of the past. But the Bible says We can and should draw near to God even when we feel the burden of guilt, and amazingly enough we are invited to do so with boldness.

In the Old testament, only the High Priest cold enter the Holy of Holies once a year where he would intercede for the nation. The tradition began that a scarlet rope would be tied to his ankles, so that in case the Priest died whle in the presence of God, he could be pulled out.

It’s so good to know that we don’t need another individual to go into God’s presence for us. We don’t have to wait till a certain time of year to have a mediator go to the Father for us. We don’t have to live in fear of being struck dead if we enter His presence unworthily anymore, but we can rest in His promise that if we draw near to Him He will draw near to us. His invitation is open to all men and women to come boldly before His throne at any time, in any place, in any condition.

His presence is available in our Sunday services. His presence is available in our daily quiet times. His presence is available at our family altar. His presence is even available on the job or in our car. It doesn’t matter where you are or what time of day it is, the invitation is still extended. He’s approachable. He’s accessible through His Son and our High Priest.

II. THE DIRECTION OF PRAYER (v. 14).

‘…that we have toward him,…’

All too often the attitude towards prayer is much like the woman who was rushing home from a doctor’s appointment.