Praying with Confidence and Compassion According to God's Will

John returns to prayer at the close of 1 John because prayer has been all through the letter. John begins with confession, where God is faithful and just to forgive sin and purify believers from unrighteousness. John then points to Jesus Christ, the righteous One, as the Advocate before the Father. Christ does not merely represent guilty people before the Judge. Christ pays the fine, bears the penalty, and says, “This one is mine.”

John grounds confidence in approaching God in asking according to God’s will. Prayer is not a blank check, carte blanche, or a way to treat God like a genie who grants every wish. God hears every prayer lifted to Him, but His answers may be yes, no, or not yet. God’s sovereignty means that life is not ultimately about getting things one’s own way. God’s will and God’s glory stand at the center.

Jesus supplies the pattern for confident prayer in Gethsemane. Jesus asks for the cup to pass, yet submits Himself fully: “Not as I will, but as you will.” God’s will can turn even terrible suffering toward eternal good, though finite minds cannot always see how. Paul’s thorn in the flesh makes the same point. Paul pleads three times for relief, but Christ answers, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Prayer therefore keeps asking, seeking, and knocking without giving up. Jesus does not call believers to annoy God into action. Jesus calls believers to keep bringing every burden to the Father, trusting that God hears and that His will is better than anything people can ask or imagine.

John then turns confidence outward into compassion. John commands believers to pray for a brother or sister overtaken by sin, asking God to give that person life, restoration, and blessing. Compassion feels upside down when someone has sinned against another person, but John refuses to make prayer merely self-focused. John distinguishes sin that does not lead to death from sin that leads to death, with repentance marking the difference. All wrongdoing is sin, yet repentant sin finds mercy and life through Christ. Jesus therefore calls people to repent and believe the good news now, because today is the day of salvation. Prayer with confidence requires surrendered hearts, and prayer with compassion carries struggling brothers and sisters before God’s throne.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Prayer submits desires to God’s will John gives confidence not through getting every desired outcome, but through knowing that God hears prayers offered according to His will. Jesus Himself prayed with honest anguish and complete surrender in Gethsemane. God’s will may contradict immediate desires, yet God’s eternal purpose is never careless or detached from the good of those who belong to Christ. [45:44]
• 2. Christ is the Advocate who pays Jesus stands before the Father as the righteous Advocate for guilty sinners. Christ’s advocacy is unlike any earthly attorney because He not only represents His people but also pays their debt in full. Salvation rests on the penalty placed upon Him, not on the sinner’s ability to defend himself before God. [40:04]
• 3. Grace proves strongest in weakness Paul’s unanswered plea for the thorn to leave did not mean that God had stopped hearing him. Christ answered Paul with sustaining grace, showing that divine power is made perfect in weakness. Weakness can become the very place where self-reliance dies and Christ’s strength rests on a person. [51:31]
• 4. Compassion prays for fallen believers John calls believers to pray for brothers and sisters caught in sin rather than merely judging or resenting them. Repentance matters because unrepented sin leads toward separation from God, while repentant sin receives life. Prayer becomes compassionate when it seeks restoration for another person, even when that person has caused harm.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [38:10] - Reading 1 John 5:14-17
• [39:05] - Prayer Throughout 1 John
• [40:04] - Jesus the Advocate Who Pays
• [42:20] - Praying With Confidence
• [43:02] - God Hears and Answers Prayer
• [44:18] - Prayer Is Not a Blank Check
• [45:11] - Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
• [47:37] - Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
• [51:31] - My Grace Is Sufficient
• [52:37] - Ask, Seek, and Knock
• [53:34] - Praying With Compassion
• [54:03] - Sin That Leads to Death
• [58:17] - Repent and Believe the Good News
• [59:11] - Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

Bible Reading

1 John 5:14-17
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” [38:10]

Matthew 26:39
“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” [45:44]

2 Corinthians 12:8-9
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” [51:31]

1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [39:06]

1 John 2:1
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” [39:33]

Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” [52:37]

Observation questions

1. In 1 John 5:14-15, what is the basis of confidence when approaching God, and what condition does John connect to asking?
2. What two desires are heard in Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane: His honest request about the cup and His submission to the Father? [45:35]
3. According to 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, how many times did Paul plead for the thorn to leave, and what answer did Christ give him?
4. In 1 John 5:16-17, what does John tell believers to do when they see a brother or sister caught in sin, and what does he ask God to give that person? [53:28]

Interpretation questions

1. John says that God hears requests made according to His will. How does this keep prayer from becoming a way of asking God to fulfill selfish wants or personal plans? [43:22]
2. Jesus asked for the cup to pass but still prayed, “Not as I will, but as you will.” What does this show about bringing painful, honest requests to God while trusting His wisdom?
3. Paul’s thorn was not removed, yet Christ called His grace sufficient. What might it look like for a believer to receive God’s sustaining grace when the desired answer is not immediate relief? [52:05]
4. John calls the church to pray for a brother or sister who sins. Why might prayer for someone’s restoration be difficult, especially when that person has caused harm? [53:43]

Application questions

1. What prayer request has been weighing heavily on you lately? How could you bring that request honestly to God while also praying, “Not my will, but your will be done”? [45:44]
2. Are there areas where your prayers have begun to sound more like a “blank check” than a desire for God’s glory? What might change if you asked God to shape your desires as well as answer them? [43:36]
3. Is there an unanswered prayer that has made you wonder whether God hears you? How does the reminder that God’s answers may be yes, no, or not yet help you keep coming to Him? [43:02]
4. Where do you feel weak, limited, or unable to fix your circumstances? What would it mean this week to depend on Christ’s sufficient grace rather than only asking Him to remove the difficulty? [48:53]
5. Jesus calls His people to ask, seek, and knock. What is one burden, relationship, or need that you may have stopped praying about too quickly? What would faithful persistence in prayer look like this week? [52:52]
6. Is there a brother or sister who is struggling with sin, including someone who may have hurt you? How can you pray specifically for that person’s repentance, restoration, life, and blessing rather than simply holding onto resentment? [53:43]
7. Confession opens the way for forgiveness and cleansing because Jesus Christ is the righteous Advocate who has paid the debt of His people. Is there a sin you need to bring plainly before God instead of hiding or excusing it? [40:23]