by DION

Created on: March 25, 2008

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hearth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (I John 5:14,15)

In order for one to understand the significance of prayer as it relates to the believer, there are two concepts that must be respected in a Godly relationship. One is trust, and the other is God's omniscience. For the sake of comparison, in any natural relationship, there must first reside the element of trust as well. I trust you because I know that you have my best interest at heart. No, there are no guarantees with trust, I simply trust you because I CHOOSE to do so. This choice, if wavered upon, will then become doubt! Doubt then can sabotage the entire relationship, due to its ability to question whether the others motives are genuine or not. This doubt is precisely what the Lord has attacked through out the Bible, and in our individual lives. Over and over, and over again He proves Himself to be all that we could possibly need in any situation, thus, providing a stable platform of trust. Moreover, it is this platform that allows us the confidence to ask any thing of Him; and through relationship EXPECT him to answer!

Secondly, in a natural relationship, there is only so much that can be know about a person. The rest is left up to trust and confidence in the word that one has given. I mean, we are finite creatures, with a limited knowledge and understanding. On the contrary, God is omniscience. That simply means that He knows everything there is to know about anything at any particular time. The bible says that, "His ways are above our ways, His thoughts are above our thoughts! Therefore, for the child of God to go to God, seems somewhat logical based on His demonstrated ability to know the subject matter... whatever the situation or circumstance may be! As I write this article, I am penning something that I know oh too much about. Where my knowledge ends, His has just begun.

Prayer simply goes to the one that I trust; the one that knows the result BEFORE I go to him. One may ask, if He knows what your going to say before you ask, then why ask? The answer is simply, I go to the Lord in prayer simply because I am in a relationship with Him.

In this particular text, St. John says, 'I know, He hears me". How do you know that someone is there, or rather going to be there for you? Simply, because they love me and I am in an intimate relationship with them! That word KNOW, comes from the Hebrew word 'genosko', which means an intimate relationship. Prayer then is my relating to God my need for Him; my conversation with Him then is based upon my ability to trust Him, and my confidence in His knowledge and ability.

So, in order for me to make a decision at all, I must go to the one that knows all. That someone is the Lord! If I do it on my own, I am sure to decide upon the wrong thing because I am missing some information. My knowledge can only go so far in the equation of my situation, however, God knows the outcome and can definitely help me, through prayer , make a more clear and adequate decision in my life.

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