¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.

“Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz” is the first line of a song by Janis Joplin and wouldn’t it be wonderful if we came to know God and were then able to ask for whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted it, knowing it would be given to us without question? Except that it would be disastrous for us and disastrous for the Kingdom of God. If you think it through it would feed our greed and inflate our pride to unimaginable levels. We would become people who were never satisfied with the things we have, we’d always want more and we’d expect it to be delivered yesterday. We’d stop caring about other people because we would be consumed by our own desires and God would be reduced to ‘Delivery Driver.’ We’d be unbearable. Beware Amazon shoppers! Isn’t it fascinating how we find ourselves getting angry when the Amazon delivery doesn’t turn up on time and we immediately start to think about making a complaint?

John was careful to write this verse as it should be, “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” God knows that the accumulation of stuff isn’t good for us, He knows that while our careers serve a purpose they shouldn’t become all consuming. He knows that there are more important things in life than the things we want rather than the things He knows we actually need. So, before we start singing to Him for a new car perhaps we ought to begin by asking “Lord won’t you show me your plan for me.”

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Application:

What are your goals right now? Are you working up the career ladder with aspirations to reach the top? Are you saving hard to buy a new car or the latest gadget? Are you busy planning to refurbish your kitchen or planning your next foreign holiday? Have you taken time to ask God what He has planned for you? Did you ask Him what He wanted you to do with your annual bonus or what He wanted you to say to the stranger you met in town yesterday? If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.

Prayer:

Oh Lord won’t You guide us along life’s paths. Won’t You show us your purpose in the place you lead us? Won’t You teach us Your ways and open our minds, to the ways of the heavens and the purpose divine. That’s it.