“Dear friends,
if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will
received from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that
please him”
(1 John 3:21-22,
NLT).
A person who has what we
call a ‘troubled conscience’ is an
unhappy person – feeling guilty about practically everything, rethinking and
reliving situations, and hanging on to past hurts. Living the past today. When I
was on campus, I know a person like that. No matter where he went, it was like a small cloud was over his head, and it rained only on him. For everyone else,
the sky was shiny and bright. So sad.
One of the ways we can
grow as Christians are to share these troubles with God – “Give
all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter
5:7). We can have great peace when our consciences do not continue to trouble
us more than they should. As we learn to trust God and take Him at His Word,
God’s love continues to change us. A
troubled conscience can become a means to remind us of our need to be close to God and
others – and even to ourselves. “If we don’t
feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.” This is the
confidence that not only can we approach God with our needs, but that He will
answer our prayers.
Earlier, Jesus Christ had
promised: “Keep on asking, and you will receive
what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the
door will be opened to you. For everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who
knocks, the door will be opened. You parents – if your children ask for a loaf
of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you
give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts
to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:7-11). What a great promise! This
is an unlimited answer to prayer. Does Jesus (and John) mean that whatever
you ask for you will get? Wouldn’t some people take advantage of this?
Personally, I can think of all kinds of things I like to ask for myself!
But let’s put these
thoughts in its context. Jesus said elsewhere, “If you remain in me and my words
remain in you, you may ask for
anything you want, and it will be granted!” (John 15:7). In the
fifth chapter of this letter, the Apostle John adds an important qualifying
phrase: “If we ask anything according to His will, [that is,
consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us” (1 John 5:14,
Amplified Bible). In other words, we are not to ask for just anything that
appeals to us. We should remain and live in Christ and get to know His will
well enough so that what we want becomes what God wants for us. And we know
that God wants what is best for us and what makes us truly happy (Besides our
needs, it is always God’s will and joy that we ask for justice, mercy, and
humility. Pray for these!).
So, as we pray, God may
answer “Yes”, “No” or “Wait.” That doesn’t mean that our prayers are not all
answered but that God may answer them in His own special way and time. We may
be surprised by how much better God’s options are for us than what we pray for at
first. God knows best. Keep on praying, and trust Him. Pray like this: “Lord Jesus, help me to want what You want
for me. Help me to find out Your will. Right now, it seems that <immediate
need> is the best option, but You know what is best for me. Thank You for
the promise that You hear and answer my prayers. You know me better than I know
myself. Thanks for what has been, and for what is yet to be. Amen.”
Friends, first “obey him and do
the things that please him,”
then "we will received from him whatever we ask.”
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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