Prayer for most Christians is a source of confusion. We struggle with prayer. We wonder about prayer’s relationship to God’s sovereignty. We’re confounded by the relationship between our will and God’s will, and what is meant by praying, “Thy will be done,” a phrase which, for many, seems to make prayer superfluous. Much of our confusion, I believe, arises from a narrow definition of prayer––prayer as petition. Prayer is not primarily making requests. Prayer is primarily relationship, it is “drawing near” to God, it is knowing God and enjoying His fellowship (Heb 4:16; 7:19,25; 10:1; Jas 4:8). As we do, we begin to conform to the image of the One in whose presence we are resting. We begin, further, to conform to His will. We take on the mind of Christ, to see things as God sees them and to want the things that God wants. The question, “Why pray?,” often betrays the ignorance that prayer primarily is fellowship, not requests; relationship, not a shopping list.

Nevertheless, there is a strong petitionary element. We are encouraged to “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” (Mt 7:7ff), to make our requests (Phil 4:6,7). We are even warned that “we have not because we ask not” (Jas 4:3). Promises and answers are given in connection with our petitions.

Yet often it doesn’t seem so. Our confusion arises because our prayers go unanswered. God is silent, as the psalmist often complained (Ps 83:1ff; cf. 44:23ff; 13:1ff; 89:46ff; 28:1ff; 35:22ff; 109:1ff). We lack assurance that when we pray we will be heard and our requests granted.

It is with some interest that we find the Apostle John urging confidence in our petitionary prayer. “This is the confidence we have,” he writes (5:14). “We know that He hears,” he continues, “we know that we have the requests” (5:5). How can we have such certainty? On what does he base our confidence?

Grounded in assurance

The Apostle John writes,

And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 Jn 5:14)

The “confidence” of which he writes arises out of the assurance of verse 13:

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 Jn 5:13)

Our confidence is that we have eternal life, that we are the children of God (3:1), forgiven by God (1:9; 2:2,2), born of God and loved by God (5:1,2). As we saw last time, we believe (5:5,13) and have life (5:11-13). We have life, eternal life, in the present life we are now living. We don’t have it completely. Yet we do taste its joy, its peace, its fulfillment, its contentment. Our experience verifies our convictions that God is our Father and we are His beloved children. This gives us confidence in prayer. “At the heart of true prayer is a relationship,” Hamilton reminds us.[1] Confidence, according to Bruce, means “free access and freedom of speech which the children of God enjoy as they come to their Father to present their requests to Him” (cf. its use in 2:28; 3:21; 4:17).[2] We have this boldness “before Him,” or “in His presence.”[3]

Confidence in prayer is grounded in the assurance that we have been justified and adopted, that we are accepted, that we are members of God’s household. We can then argue, as does the Apostle Paul, from the greater to the lesser, that if God has done all that for us, He will not withhold other, less critical needs.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Rom 8:32)

The knowledge that God has given us His Son forms the basis for the confidence that He will give us other, lesser but necessary things as well. A parallel in human relations might be the difference between making a request of a loving father versus a total stranger or even an enemy. One is not as sure of the response one will get. Those without assurance of salvation, especially of their justification and adoption, can’t know if God is pleased or displeased, or if He looks upon them with favor or disfavor. They can have no confidence, and, it naturally follows, they are slow to turn to Him for help. We begin our life of prayer with the certainty and confidence that comes from knowing that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. This means in practice that we “dare to call on God undauntedly,” as Calvin puts it.[4] We have bold access to God (Eph 3:12). We come boldly to the throne of grace (Heb 4:16). We pray as children to a loving and kind Father who wishes to please us (Mt 7:7-11; cf. 6:5-15).

Built on promises

Because we know that we are children of God, we know that we have the ear of our heavenly Father. Why? We have confidence, not just generally because of the Father-child relationship, but because of specific promises.

And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 Jn 5:14)

To “hear” means to hear favorably and to grant, as John explains in the next verse.

And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 Jn 5:15)

The promise of verse 14, “if we ask anything . . . He hears us,” is reinforced in verse 15. “Whatever we ask,” says the Apostle, “we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” This promise is based on the promise of Jesus:

“And in that day you will ask Me no question. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for anything, He will give it to you in My name. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full . . . (Jn 16:23,24)

Jesus uses universals to describe confidence in prayer: “anything,” “whatever” we ask or wish, “He will give it,” “that will I do,” “it shall be done” (14:13; 15:7,16).

Our confidence is a matter both of approach and of outcome. Draw near and ask, ask, ask. Jesus and His Apostle invite us. We are to come to Him with boldness and “let our requests be made known” with the confidence that He will answer. Bring burdens. Bring cares. Bring large requests. Bring small needs. Ask and ask again, and He will give it.

However, the Apostle John adds an important qualification which some think nullifies the promise and undermines our motivation for prayer altogether. He says that we must ask “according to His will” (5:14b). This is where some are tempted to say, “So why bother?” If my prayer must match His will, why should I bother to pray? Isn’t he going to do His will anyway? The question, however, indicates that we’re approaching prayer from the wrong perspective, in two respects.

First, conformity to the will of God is the broader context in which prayer is answered. Prayer was never meant to be understood as a means by which the will of God is changed. John Stott explains with his regular lucidity,

Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending His will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to His.[5]

We saw this in chapter 3. There the Apostle John said,

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. (1 Jn 3:21,22)

Obedience to God’s commands is the context of answered prayer not the meritorious cause. God does not usually grant the requests of those who are rebellious and defiant, any more than does any wise Father. Those who are assured of answers to their prayers are those who are seeking to do the will of God, and who want to see His will done on earth, even as it is in heaven. God promises nothing to the wayward and disobedient. The Psalmist says,

If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; (Ps 66:18)

It is foolish to think that we can be seeking our own will, our own way, our own lusts, and ask for them and receive them. Prayer has as much to do with listening to God as with talking to Him. Our prayers will be answered only insofar as we abide in Christ (Jn 15:7), pray with faith (Mk: 11:27), and are obedient (1 Jn 3:21,22).

Similarly, we are promised that our prayers are heard as we pray “in Jesus’ name” (Jn 14:3ff; 15:16; 16:23-26). Since the “name” is the person, this means not only more than a magical incantation, but an invoking of fullness of the person and work of Jesus Christ, and implies a subordination to Him.

I once had a fellow from off the streets come to me to seek healing. He was not attending church, not walking in obedience, and yet thought he could come, claim God’s promises, pray in Jesus’ name, and be healed. God doesn’t work that way. If we are not seeking the will of God in our lives when we kneel down to pray our prayers will be useless. “Thy will be done” is our life’s theme, as well as the theme of every prayer. Lex oranda, lex vivendi: we pray as we live and live as we pray.

Second, conformity to the will of God is the foundation of our freedom in prayer. I was once taught not to say “if it is Your will” during prayer, because that would somehow nullify the prayer. This is silly. Could it be that we don’t want God’s will? Our will is to be preferred? “If God indulged our wishes,” Calvin says soberly, “it would be in our worst interests.”[6] It would be as a loaded gun at our heads, as Alec Motyer used to say. We want nothing but the will of our gracious, kind, all-wise God in every circumstance, not our foolish preferences. We want God to do His will, not for us to get outside of that will where we might destroy ourselves.

Third, to pray according to the will of God is to embrace God’s agenda. To pray according to the will of God means to take on the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). It means to have His values, priorities, and as much as is humanly possible, His perspectives. There should be no dichotomy between God’s will and our own. God’s will is my will. My will conforms to God’s will. When we pray for this point of reference we “have the requests” (present), we have them now, immediately. The present tense recalls to mind the promise of Jesus:

Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you. (Mk 11:24)

“Believe that you have (already) received them.” It is done.

Back to the question. Why bother? God’s will is going to be done, regardless, it is true. He will have His way, but God has ordained the accomplishing of His will through means. For example, He ordains the salvation of sinners, not through osmosis but by the preaching of the word. If we fail to preach, we are responsible for those who do not have the opportunity to hear (Ezek 33:1-9). The Apostle Paul asks, “How shall they hear unless a preacher is sent” (Rom 10:14). God doesn’t normally shout the gospel out of heaven. He uses preachers. Similarly, prayer is a means of accomplishing the will of God. Somehow, in the providence of God, there is a connection between the prayers we utter and the outcome of history, whether on the personal level or the international level. Our confidence is that as we align ourselves with the cause of God, our prayers positively affect the outcome of events as they unfold.

James’ warning addresses the point directly. He says, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives” (Jas 4:2,3). If we would ask, it would make a real difference. But we must ask for the right reasons. Motives count. Our relationship with God means everything when it comes to prayer. As individuals, as a church, as families, we must be asking. When we do not ask, we experience genuine loss – we do not have.

What do I need? Do I wish to see people saved? Do I wish to grow as a man of God? Do I want to be a more godly spouse and parent? Do I wish to be a more effective witness at work? Do I seek health and reconciliation in my family? Do I want to see the church experience growth while preserving its purity and unity? Then ask! Ask with the confidence that He hears and will answer, and that your prayers will be the means by which these things are accomplished.

Reinforced through practice

How do I gain confidence on the basketball court? Through practice. The same is true in prayer. The Apostle John gives the specific example of a person who is entangled in sin. In doing so he distinguishes between sins not leading to death and sins leading to death. We will attempt to interpret this phrase. But we should not let the discussion distract us from the main point; the efficacy of our prayers for those snared in sin. John says,

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. (1 Jn 5:16,17)

Notice that the Apostle John assumes that we are our brothers’ keepers. By “brother” he probably means a fellow believer, though Stott gives it the broader interpretation of “neighbor,” or nominal church member. As we become aware of another “committing a sin,” it is to become our concern. “Committing a sin” is literally “sinning,” a present participle, which, according to Bruce, “may denote engagement in a sinful course rather than committing an isolated act of sin.”[7] We cannot just ignore it. We cannot just walk away from it. We must respond. This is not to say that we are snooping on one another. One “sees” the sin, indicating “that the sin is observable, not some inward attitude.”[8] It is not meddling but loving that he has in mind. The Apostle envisions caring enough to put someone on our prayer list and seek their deliverance from sin.

The Apostle John says, “he shall ask,” “using a future tense to indicate,” argues Stott, “the Christian’s inevitable and spontaneous reaction.”[9] “God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death.” “For him,” either for the one praying or the one being prayed for, God will . . . give life.” The prayer will be effective. “Life” is eternal life in its qualitative and quantitative dimensions. Prayer for lost brethren results in their rescue or salvation. The prayers of a righteous man can accomplish much (Jas 5:16). Do Christians commit such sins as put their souls at risk? Indeed they do. We’ve seen believers tear down their houses with their own hands, bringing untold misery to them, their spouses, their parents, and their children. Pray, then, for that wayward professing believer or nominal church goer who has fallen into sin. Maybe their sin is gross immorality or maybe it is indifference and inactivity. Either way, pray that God will deliver them from the path of death on which they are walking. The Apostle John says God will give life![10]

“All we did was pray,” someone may say as a criticism of inactivity. Perhaps at times the criticism is valid. However, do we really mean, “All we did?” If we’d just do a little more praying we’d probably see revival break out. The fact is that this is how most true revival does break out. Pentecost, The Great Awakening, the Second Awakening, the ’59 Revival, the Korean Pentecost, the East African revival, all began in prayer meetings. When we pray, sinners are saved and saints are sanctified.

However, the Apostle does speak of an exception, a sin “leading to death.” What is it that distinguishes this sin from all others? The short answer is that no one knows for sure. John distinguishes between sin that leads to death and sin that doesn’t, but he doesn’t tell us what the difference is. The two best options as I see them are as follows:

            1. Physical death is meant. The Apostle John is referring to a particular sin, or sin as a way of life, that is so bad, or is persisted in so long, that it moves God to take the person home.[11] This sort of thing actually happened in the early church in the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1ff), in the case of incest in the Corinthian church (1 Cor 5:5), and in the case of profaning the Lord’s table at Corinth (1 Cor 11:30). If this is correct, it means that there is a state of sin into which it is possible to get and from which there is no deliverance. The Apostle John is saying, don’t bother to pray in such a case. John does not forbid prayer. We’re not told not to pray for such. We’re told that we can have no confidence that God will hear such prayers (cf. Heb 6:4-16). The verse is a strong inducement to avoid heinous sin lest God take our life.[12] I lean away from this view because he speaks of “life,” meaning eternal life, for the one not committing sin leading to death. That is clear. “Death,” then, would most naturally refer to spiritual death.[13] It seems to me to be forced and unnatural to understand life in a spiritual sense and in the same sentence understand death in a physical sense.

            2. Spiritual death is meant. The sin that leads to death is the sin of the false prophets and antichrists who deny Jesus came “in the flesh” (4:2) and that His death is propitiatory (4:23; 5:1). That is, it is the sin that denies the full humanity and divinity of Christ and the efficacy of His atonement. Those who do so do not have life (5:12). In other words, it is the sin of apostasy or blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which, as we understand it, is the same thing (Mk 3:29). Both involve the “deliberate, open-eyed rejection of known truth.”[14] There are sins against the light, persisted in until the heart is hardened beyond remedy. The writer to the Hebrews speaks of those who have fallen away and for whom “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance” (Heb 6:6). There is a line which one can cross. Apparently the early church understood what that line was and that it resulted in irreversible spiritual death. We no longer know where that line lies, but we are cautioned us against indulging in sin and thinking we can do so with impunity. At the same time, the ordinary Christian need not fear. When Christians sin they are not rejecting God and His way of salvation. They may be “overcome by temptation against (their) will,” as Marshall points out. Yet they “still want to love God and (their) neighbor, (they) still believe in Jesus Christ, and (they) still long to be freed from sin.”[15]

Likewise, verse 17 says the same.

All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. (1 Jn 5:17)

Because there is only one sin, or attitude of sin, that leads to death, it doesn’t mean that all other sins are unworthy of our concern. “All unrighteousness is sin,” says the Apostle. It is all bad, though not all results in a final hardening in spiritual death. All wrongdoing is sin, “but not every unrighteous act is irremediably mortal,” explains Bruce.[16]

As we were saying, the main point is not about those for whom prayer is a waste of time, but for those who may be reclaimed by our prayers. The Apostle provides us with a powerful inducement to prayer. I know of a woman who prayed for 17 years for her unbelieving husband to be saved. Finally, he was. We know of parents who have prayed for children, brothers for sisters, for years and have seen them at last saved. Seeing this, experiencing this, increases our confidence in prayer, proving its efficacy, and encouraging us to pray all the more.