1 John 3:21-22
“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
Having confidence is important in any area of life. When a speaker has confidence in the subject they are speaking on, they have a much better chance of getting their listeners to believe in what they say. Confidence was one of the things that separated Jesus from the Scribes and Pharisees. That is why His ministry increased and theirs decreased.
One area where many Christians suffer a lack of confidence is in their prayer life. Many Christians struggle with praying simply because they don’t have the confidence that they are being heard. Jesus knew that Christians would struggle in this area, so He gave us a formula to gain confidence in our prayer life. A confident prayer is a believing prayer. A believing prayer will become an answered prayer because God promised that He would answer if we pray without doubt. What does it take to gain confidence in prayer?
First, it takes an obedient Christian life. You will notice that the verse above says that He will answer our prayers “because we keep his commandments.” You will never have confidence in your prayer life when you are disobeying the commandments of God. You may be able to fake your Christianity to others, but you know that God knows what you are doing. When you know you have sin in your life and will not deal with that sin, then God cannot and will not hear your prayers. Sin must be removed to gain confidence in praying.
Second, it takes a loving Christian. In this chapter, God talks about loving the brethren. Loving the brethren is more than just being kind to them in their presence, but it is doing what you can to meet their needs. When you see a brother in need and you have the wherewithal to fulfill that need and do it, then that will give you the confidence with God that you need to get your prayers answered. There is something about being able to tell God that you obeyed Him with meeting another’s needs and knowing that gives you confidence with God.
Third, it takes a transparent Christian. God is not interested in facade Christianity, but He is interested in Christianity that is exemplified in deed and in truth. This type of Christianity is real Christianity. This type of Christianity is what changes the lives of individuals. You can talk all you want about how great of a Christian you are, but your life should speak for itself. God is not interested in what you say to others, but He is interested in what He sees you doing. You will gain confidence in your prayer life when both your private and public life are the same.
Last, it takes a praying Christian. I know this sound trivial and obvious, but you cannot get your prayers answered if you don’t pray. You have to ask before God can answer. If you don’t have a personal time with God daily, then He cannot answer your prayers.
You can maximize your prayer life if you will do what it takes to gain confidence in your prayers. You can pray for hours on end, but without confidence you will just be filling time. I encourage you to do what it takes to have a confident prayer life so that you can have the power needed in your Christian life to be the help to others that Christ wants you to be.