And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Parallel translations
- WEB This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us.
- KJV And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
- NKJV Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- NASB This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- NLT And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
We have confidence that when we ask anything according to God's will, he hears us. Prayer aligned with God's will is heard by him.
Overview
John applies the believer's assurance to prayer, promising that God attentively hears requests made in line with his will. This 'boldness' flows from our relationship with God through Christ and from praying for what he himself desires. Far from limiting prayer, submission to God's will is the very condition of confident, effective asking.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- John 14:13And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
- Jer 29:12–13Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Jer 33:3Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- 1 Jn 3:21–22Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God,
- John 15:7If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- Matt 7:7–11Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Matt 21:22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
- Ps 34:17The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
- John 9:31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
- Jas 4:3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- Eph 3:12In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
- John 16:24Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
- Jas 1:5–6Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Prov 15:29The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- 1 Jn 2:28And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
- Heb 10:35So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.
- Jas 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Ps 69:33For the LORD listens to the needy and does not despise His captive people.
- Ps 31:22In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.
- Heb 3:14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.
- John 11:42I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”
- Heb 3:6But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.
- Job 34:28They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.
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Christ at the center
Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'
How 1 John 5:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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