Confidence in Our LordSample

Be confident in prayer!
By Rev. Joel Gaertner

Are you listening? It’s likely you have asked that to someone you are speaking with or have certainly thought it. How often does it seem we are speaking to a person and his or her attention appears to be elsewhere?

Do you ever pray and wonder if God is really listening?Today’s verse speaks of confidence in approaching God in prayer, as well as the assurance he hears us.

There is one more key element, “according to his will.”

Asking God to bless a bad or even sinful decision is certainly not praying according to God’s will.By the same token, it is not against God’s will to ask for something which might seem trivial or difficult.

Often, we lack confidence in prayer because we doubt God’s ability to do something or try to limit God with our human reasoning. Having confidence in prayer comes from knowing and remembering who God is.He always has been and always will be the almighty, all-knowing God.Nothing is beyond his ability or power.

We need to remember when it seems like God isn’t listening it is because he is likely doing one of the following:

1. Giving us something else because he knows what we asked for isn’t the best for us.
2. Making us wait because in his perfect knowledge he knows the perfect timing for everything in our lives.
3. He is not giving us what we asked for because again he knows what is best for us.

Making regular use of prayer, a precious gift and privilege, will help us be more confident as we understand what a conversation with God looks like and how he answers as he knows best.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the privilege of speaking to you in prayer! Give me confidence when I pray that you always do answer my prayers, but it might not be in the way or time I want because you always know and do what is best for me. Remove my doubts and lead me to come to you regularly and confidently with all things because you have invited me to talk to you, my dear Father in heaven.As always, I pray in Jesus’ name.Amen.