Good morning good morning good morning and welcome to the Believers Bible Assembly This is the day

that the Lord has made and we're gonna rejoice and be glad in it This morning I want

you to open your Bibles to 1 John chapter 5 verses 14 and 15 and it reads as follows And

this is the confidence that we have before him If we ask anything according to

his will he hears us And if we know that he hears us in whatever

we ask we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him Today we're going to connect the

word faith and prayer We're gonna talk about how the word and faith is required in order

for us to have an effective prayer life And that's what you want Many believers pray but lack confidence that

their prayers will be Heard and answered by God Some will say I hope God hears me Others will say

I'm not sure if I'm even praying right The apostle John tells us in our text this morning that

believers can have confidence when we pray There are 3 key things in the text that we need

to know and understand 1 we can have confidence in prayer 2 this confidence comes from knowing God's will knowing

God's word And the third thing is we can be confident when we pray that when we pray in accordance

with God's will God's word in faith God hears us And not only does he hear us he answers us

So the question is how do we know that when we pray that we're praying in faith according to God's

will How do we know How can we be confident when we pray The purpose of this

teaching today is to help us understand that the word of God is the foundation for praying

in faith Because the word reveals God's will for our lives And when we pray the

word of God we pray the will of God and that produces faith confidence when we

pray So let's get into it this morning The first thing I wanna share with you is that the

word reveals the will of God Confidence and prayer begins with knowing God's will knowing God's word John says

we must ask according to his will The question is where do we find his will We

find his will in his word Many times people's prayers aren't being answered because we don't understand the word

We don't understand God's will So they interpret that word anything in John chapter 5 verse 14 as meaning anything

but we know that that word anything means anything according to His will 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3

His divine power talking about God has given us everything we need for life and

godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and excellence God has

given us everything we need for life through the knowledge of Him and what He

has given us is only found in His word So when you pray you have to pray in accordance with

what God has said what God has given us in His word Not anything that you desire because

the thing that you desire might not be in accordance with God's word So you can pray

pray pray pray pray that request that petition will not be answered by God because that prayer that petition

is not in accordance with his word That's why it's important that's why it's imperative that we understand

the will of God when we pray Deuteronomy chapter 2929 says this the secret things belong to God but

the things revealed belongs to us and to our children forever so that we may follow all the words

of this law Listen there's some things God knows that we will never know You know why

Because he's God But the things that God has revealed in his word belongs to us God has not hidden

his will from his people There is no hidden secrets no hidden code God has not hidden his

will from his people He has revealed it to us in the word And once he has revealed

it to us now it's up to us to renew our minds to what it says in order to

understand God's will God's not trying to hide anything from you God's not trying to keep anything from

you So be aware of these false teachers that go around here promoting quote hidden secrets hidden

mysteries There is nothing hidden God has revealed everything we need to know for this life through

the knowledge of Him is revealed in the word And it's up to us to renew our minds to

that to understand God's will Now what do the scriptures reveal What has God revealed in

the scripture God has revealed in the scripture his character who he is God has

revealed in the scripture his promises what he said he will do That's the key Not

what others said God will do but what did God say he was gonna do

Because that is what we can pray for And the scripture reveal God's desire his will for our lives

what he expects of us And this is what we need to renew our minds

To who God is what he said he would do His will for our lives and we don't have to

beat our head against the wall because the Bible says in James chapter 1 verse 5 that

God gives wisdom generously to those who ask Him So we don't have to wonder if it's

God's will or not Well is it God's will or is not God No we don't have to do

that We just need to ask God God for wisdom Wisdom is the principal thing With all your getting

get understanding When we go to God He will give us the wisdom that we need in order

for us to pray in accordance with his word Then we can come to God and

make our request to Him confidently knowing that he hears us and knowing that he will answer our prayer But

here's the key the more we know the word the more confidently we can pray Because a lack of knowledge

of what the scripture says will lead to a weak prayer life That's why people don't pray because they lack

the knowledge of what the scripture says about how to pray and what to pray for So that leads

to a weak prayer life Number 2 we're talking about how the word and faith and prayer work together The

word produces faith Not only does the word reveal God's will not only does the word

instruct us and teach us the word produces faith and faith is necessary for an effective prayer life Hebrews chapter

can please God and without it it's impossible to please God because you're not praying in faith you're not

praying in accordance with His word Matthew 11:24 Jesus said this therefore I tell you whatever you ask for

in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours The prosperity preachers have a

field day with this because they want you to focus on the word whatever So they

got you praying about things That the Bible says that you can't have they got you praying about

things that the Bible says you can't do The reason why they're misleading people because they don't tell them the

biblical context of that word whatever Whatever you ask for in accordance to the word That's

what that word whatever means You got people out here praying for houses you got

people out here praying for money you got people out here praying for a husband

Um what's that in the scripture Do we have an example of that in the scripture Did Jesus tells us

to pray that way So that word whatever has a context whatever you ask in accordance with the word in

prayer Believe that you receive it What's the it Whatever you pray for In accordance

with the word and it will be yours That's why I said earlier we got to know who

God is We got to know what he promised he would do in His word So you

just can't make that word whatever means whatever you want it to mean We got the guarantee

we can have the confidence that when you pray in accordance with the word and

you believe that you received it it will be yours because God said it God promised it God's gonna fulfill

it James chapter 1 verse 6 says this but when you pray you must believe and not doubt

because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by

the wind Doubt prevents us from receiving what God wants to give us What's the devil's MO How does he

operate He deceives us with thoughts ideas and suggestions to create fear worry and doubt so you won't

believe the word So you will continue to be like the wave of Received blown and tossed by the

wind Never receiving anything from God because doubt has crept in fear has crept in worry has crept in I

know the word says this but I don't see how that can happen You know

why Because you're trying to understand it with your natural mind instead of believing what

the scripture says when you pray you must believe because if you believe you'll receive But if you

doubt you're out because you will never ever be able to receive the promises of God The word produces faith

faith to pray faith to believe what God has said in his word The word builds our

faith That's why you need the word because the word builds our faith The word reveals God's

promises in His word and His faithfulness to bring them to pass And one of

the things you'll see when you study the word of God is God's faithfulness throughout the word from Genesis

to Revelation Joshua chapter 21 verse 45 says this not one promise of God's word has ever failed

not one So knowing this should strengthen our faith when we pray Not one of God's promises has ever failed

So when you pray in accordance with the word and you know that not one

of God's promises ever failed that should strengthen our faith when we pray I know God's gonna

do this because his word said it Now I don't know how he's gonna do it I

don't know by what means he's gonna do it I don't even know when he's gonna do it

but you know what I know he's gonna do it because his word says so And

the word builds our faith as we continue to hear the word Romans chapter 10 verse

that's gonna build your faith We don't focus on the negativity that's going on in the world we keep

our minds On Jesus who's the author and the finish of our faith We keep our minds stayed on his

word And we hear the word over and over again faith is coming Our faith

is being built up We're growing in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ We're trusting in the word not the world We're believing what God said in this

word is true Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word Faith does not

come from wishing and hoping People don't know how to pray they're wishing and hoping They're just throwing something

up in the sky hoping God is gonna hear them wishing God is gonna hear them But John says this

is the confidence that we have in him when we pray So the Lord wants us to have confidence

when we pray and that confidence will only come by faith and faith can only

come by hearing the word over and over and over again The word builds our faith

and this is what it does It turns uncertainty fear worry and doubt into faith-filled prayer The word builds our

faith and it turns all the uncertainty in the world all the fear the worry

and the doubt What's gonna happen next into faith-filled prayer You're praying what the word says

instead of what you see what you hear Then the scriptures say we walk by faith not by sight We

pray the word not how we feel not what we see not what we fear not what we're worried about

A lot of us when we pray we're praying what we're worried about Lord I'm scared I'm

Lord I'm afraid That's not faith Lord your word says this I'm standing on it Lord

your word says this I'm gonna believe it Regardless of what I see regardless of

what I feel your word is true I walk by faith not by feelings and emotions When you

got the word in you your prayers are different You got a confidence when you

pray This is not an arrogance but a confidence because your confidence is built on what God said he

would do And when we pray like this the word shapes what we ask and

this is critical to our understanding of how the word faith and prayer all work together The

word shapes what we ask Sometimes our prayers are ineffective because they are motivated by greed and

evil lustful desires God ain't answering that prayer because our prayers are motivated by greed and evil lustful

desires James chapter 4 verse 3 When you ask you do not receive because you ask

with wrong motives That you may spend what you get on your pleasures When you

ask you do not receive because you're asking with wrong motives with wrong intentions This is

the foundation of the prosperity gospel They got people praying with wrong motives wrong intentions Nobody's praying in the Bible

to get rich Nobody's praying in the Bible about money But yet that's what everybody's praying for now Lord

give me this Lord give me that Lord give me this Lord give me that The Lord ain't giving you

nothing You know why The Lord already know that your motives are wrong your intentions are wrong when

you're praying Remember now God knows everything He already knows what you're gonna do before you do it Your

prayers and your intentions are wrong because they're coming from a place of greed They're coming from a place

of selfishness You have no intentions of blessing nobody with what you're asking the Lord for

Your motives are wrong your intentions are wrong and you receive nothing from the Lord

Wrong motives hinders our prayer life So you gotta make sure your motives are right your

intentions are right when you pray Because God knows the heart of man God knows your reasons for

praying what you prayed That's why the Bible says in Psalm 37:4 to delight yourself in the Lord What

does that mean Delight yourself in His word delight yourself in his ways And when you do this he

will give you the desires and petitions of your heart You know why Because Because

your desires now your requests now are aligned with his word and with his ways And

when your desires are aligned with God and His word and his ways he will give you the desires

of your heart because they're not contrary to his But people praying with wrong motives wrong

intentions They're thinking God is some slot machine God give me this give me that give

me this give me that God knows if you are blessed with any financial resources you're

not gonna use it for the kingdom Listen how I know that You can't fool God You're gonna

get that house you're gonna get that car you're gonna be wearing some jewelry going around

bragging what you got He already know cause he knows you he knows your heart So we

gotta make sure that we delight ourselves in the Lord and His ways and His word

Then God will give us the desires of our heart This has to be consistent Again God knows your heart

God knows if you're coming at him for a one-time deal or if your heart is with Him

That's why John chapter 15 says this if you remain in me and my words remain

in you ask whatever you desire and it will be done for you Again we already talked about the

word whatever whatever in accordance with God's word But listen to what he said if you remain

in me and my words remain in you that's the kind of relationship God wants to have with

you and I that we're remaining in We're remaining in His word Now when we

ask things of God when we pray to God whatever we desire will be done for you

Again because your heart is aligned properly with God's word and his ways And when the word lives remains in

our heart it will correct our motives Our intentions become right now We're not gonna ask God for something

that's not going to please Him When the word lives remain in our heart it aligns our desires with

God's desires with his will and it shapes the way we pray We can confidently make requests

to Him now because what we're asking of Him aligns with his word Now Jesus said if you abide

in me and my words abide in you you may ask whatever you desire Why Because the word now is

shaping your request The word now is shaping your petitions You're not gonna ask God

for anything that's not in accordance with his will You're not gonna ask God for anything that's not gonna

be pleasing and acceptable to Him And when we saturate ourselves in the scripture our prayers

are aligned with God's promises instead of our selfish desires So that's number 2 I spent a moment there because

I wanna let you know that it's the word that's gonna produce the faith to pray in accordance

with the word And when we pray in accordance with the word God hears us and

He's gonna answer us cause His word says it and that's gonna bring us to number 3 praying the

word produces confidence Again let's go back to our text John wrote And this is

the confidence that we have before him Confidence comes from praying what God has already said We don't have

to make up a prayer just pray what God has already said in his word But in order for

you to do that you got to know what God has said in his word That

means you got to study His word you got to read his word you gotta meditate

On the word in order to pray what God has already promised in His word Listen to what

the word says Hebrews 4:16 says that we can come boldly to the throne of grace

and make our request known to God You know why We can come boldly Because what we're praying to

God for is the promise that he's already made Jeremiah chapter 33 verse 3 says call to

me and I will answer you You know why Because what you're asking of the

Lord is based on the promise that he's made in the word So we can have the confidence

that when we call God ain't gonna put us on hold Scripture says he will answer Think

about this when you're praying If I pray in accordance with the word God the

Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in it will hear me and answer me That's

amazing that God will make such a promise like this but you will only know

if it's true if you do it Matthew 7:7-8 ask seek and not and the

door will be open What's the door Whatever you're praying for whatever you're asking God for that's

in accordance with His will When you ask you seek and you're not the door what you're praying

for will be open and we can have confidence faith when we pray because God said it

He promised it in his word The word gives us confidence and assurance when we pray And the last thing

I want to share with you this morning is we did all the asking in

accordance with God's word We did all the praying in accordance to his promises But number 4 you have

to believe what God has promised You know what the word says Now you have

to believe what he has promised 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20 All of the promises how many All of

the promises of God are yes in Christ All of them You can't doubt one all of them are yes

in Christ 2 Corinthians chapter 4:13 says it is written I believed therefore I have spoken

I've asked and I've prayed Since we have the same spirit of faith we also

believe and therefore speak make our request known to God Now this is a quote from Psalm

when times are going well or do you believe God and trust God and express your faith

in his word in the middle of trouble in the middle of affliction He believed

God would deliver him and he did And we have that same spirit of faith as David had And

we also believe and therefore we speak we make our request known to God And after we have made

our request known to God we thank Him for the answer Because we believed what

he has promised in the word So we thank Him for the answer We don't

pray Lord if it be Thy will We know it's Ty will because we pray in accordance with

his word which is his will So now we just make our requests known to God and

we thank Him for the answer Philippians chapter 4 verse 6 says be anxious be worried about nothing

but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving with a thankful heart present your request to God

We're thanking God That's how you pray in accordance with scripture You don't beg God you don't

plead with God God will be thy will Lord if you see fit Thank you

Lord for fulfilling your word Thank you Lord for the promise in your word Lord I

receive it I believe it I stand on it Lord God Your word is true Thank you Lord for fulfilling

your promise in my life That's how you Pray with confidence faith That's how you pray with thanksgiving

When you do this verse 7 of Philippians 4 says and the peace of God which

surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus The peace of God the assurance and

knowing that God is going to answer your prayer because your prayer was made in

accordance with His word You can have peace No more worry no more fear no more doubt

but you can have peace Why Because your prayer your request was made in accordance with God's will God

said he's gonna do this We receive it we believe it and we thank Him for bringing it to

pass Now you're gonna have a peace about it Whatever you pray for you're gonna have

a peace about it A peace which surpasses all understanding Your mind is not in

the way now Your mind is not trying to mess up what God said You'll

have a peace a peace that surpasses all understanding Now this peace will guard your heart and it will

guard your mind in Christ Jesus All because you prayed in accordance with the word You had faith you

believed what God said and you prayed accordingly You received it you believed it and you

now have a piece about it and have given thanks for it in advance before it

even comes to pass That's called praying in faith What have we learned this morning The

word of God reveals God's will and builds our faith And because of this we can have confidence when we

pray because what we're praying is aligned with God's word that's in the scripture And when

we find God's word God promised us in the scripture we pray it back to him

And when we do this our confidence in what God says is gonna do is gonna grow

The most powerful prayer isn't in your own words It's God's word being prayed back to him in

faith That's how the word faith and prayer work together for your good Amen