“I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 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.” (1 John 5:13-15 NLT)
There is never any reason to have confidence in ourselves when it comes to spiritual progress or success, especially when praying. To grow in grace is to depend entirely on the ministry of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. Any progress we make in living, loving, praying, serving, worshiping, witnessing or in any other way is only and always by the grace of God engineered and accomplished through the Spirit of God.
Yes, of course, the Spirit always works in cooperation with us, but there would be no work in or through us without the Spirit. We’re the vessel, He is the source, resource and power. There would be no growth and development without the seed of faith planted in our heart by the Spirit of God. Our confidence must always and only be centered and focused on the Lord Jesus and the invaluable work He has done on the Cross and is doing in and through us by His Spirit.
R. C. Sproul said it well when he wrote: “We rest on confidence in the efficacy of the prayers of Jesus, not our own consistency as Christians.” Efficacy essentially means effectiveness, value, or fruitfulness of something. So, in reference to the efficacy of Jesus’ prayers, we have full confidence that every prayer He ever prayed was heard and answered in absolute accordance with the will of God the Father. EVERY prayer of Jesus WAS answered in a manner that pleased Him and honored His heavenly Father.
Isn’t that what we want when we pray? Our confidence can never be in how spiritual we are, how close we believe we are to God, how refined we’ve become in formulating our prayers, how well-versed we are in the Scriptures, how long or often we pray, how well practiced we are in our prayer language, or in any other man-oriented means of measuring success or evaluating our effectiveness in prayer.
Our confidence in prayer must always and only be focused on the One who answers prayer, not on the one who offers it. Human effort, while certainly required, is never the sole factor in not only whether a prayer is answered, but whether a prayer is even heard. A prayer offered with pride and self-confidence will never reach the ear of God, only those that are offered from a contrite heart and spirit that is aligned with God’s heart and mind.
Growth in prayer is a gift from God that is derived from a heart that longs to please and honor Him, not simply to use Him to get answers that would satisfy or edify us. When I pray, I ask in full confidence that the Lord is hearing and will answer as I’ve asked. If He doesn’t, He often lets me know why. If I’m being selfish, asking awry or in an inappropriate way, He corrects me and helps me understand a better way to ask.
Once we get to the place we believe we have “this prayer thing down pat,” is when we’re allowing the enemy to gain too much ground in our heart and mind. Prayer is conversation with the Lord that issues from a heart that seeks to be in tune with the heart of God. How is that possible? It’s possible as we learn to love Jesus more than we love our sin; when we learn to desire God’s will more than our own will. Then it becomes easier to pray in line with God’s heart because all we want is for Him to gain glory in and through us and to do that which pleases Him the most.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 