Praying not prying
Then comes verse 15.
15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:13-15–NIV)
This verse is like a pot of gold. It is a verse errantly taken as the genie-in-a-bottle verse. Some talk about Christian-wine; what about a Christian lottery?
The first part of verse 15 connects back to verses 13 and 14 and quickly appends three words that are almost like temptations. Then it concludes with the magic beans. Shazam! My dad has told me of the faith he and his twin brother placed in verses like this one during their pre-teen quest for a BB-gun. On their Nebraska farm, many prayers were sent skyward, but the mailbox (or God) never delivered.
While we may smile in thinking of these two what have we done with it? First off, do we even consider prayers for things we want or need relevant, or are they more things of fantasy? Second, if we do pray and our BB-gun does not come is the Bible’s veracity diminished? Do we only pray when we can tell it “worked”?
I am not sure how you answered these questions. Crucial is that we do not discard God’s intentions for the world and ourselves. Maturity in the manner God provides is not cynical. Verses like the 15th are neither bogus nor pipe dreams. They are taken in error because of the wrong-headedness of our hearts. James added some context to these types of prayers by saying that people do not get what they ask for in prayer because they ask with wrong motives. They ask for things to boost their pleasures.
When we pray it needs to be according to God’s will not according to the hungers of immaturity. These three verses are not even about getting things of earth, temporary things. They are part of lifting our eyes to the heavens and knowing God. That God hears when we connect with him and answers the prayers that fit with his providence are two critically relevant bits of knowledge John imparts. He does this to underpin our confidence in several things: that we are in the family, that we are properly aligned with God, the one who made us. They are aiming at our maturity, rest, and peace, not a pleasure hunt.
A conclusion
The Bible is an earnest book which God has directed to us for our improvement. He has testified to us individually through his Spirit as well as through fellow Christians and the scripture. These are not about youthfulness. Paul said, “When I was a child I thought like a child.” Instant gratification is not the stuff of life, but the stuff of children.
In some way, knowing he will hear us is accompanied by propriety of the requests. Knowing he will hear and awareness of the types of things that accord with his will come hand-in-hand.
In youth, in immaturity, we want stuff. With age we want steadiness. John writes about steadiness, not “stuffiness.”
We must grow up and to do so requires a gaze shift to God. John’s recipients had gaze-shifted to God, but wicked men, false teachers, and life continued to flick the ears of their confidence. “No doubts are needed,” said John in his letter to the rescue. Confidence could be safely placed upon God’s reality and constant presence. Be there. Pray from maturity. Don’t pry from adolescence.
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