1 John 5:14

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.

VOICE We live in the bold confidence that God hears our voices when we ask for things
that fit His plan.

Our Confidence in God

The confidence that John describes here is the boldness and assurance that we have through our relationship with God. It’s rooted in our faith and the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, who gave us direct access to our Heavenly Creator and Father. We have a personal and direct relationship with God. What we pray to God should be aligned with God’s will. This involves understanding His character and purposes shown in scripture. As our prayers are shaped by God’s will, we can trust that God listens to us. This gives us comfort that our prayers are not frivolous, but important to God. It’s not just hearing us, but God attends to us and responds to our prayers. Our confidence that God listens to us is based on HIs faithfulness and our relationship with Him through Christ.  

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How confident are you that God hears your prayers? What has shifted your confidence, both positively or negatively?

God’s Characteristics

One of things that sticks out to me is focusing on God’s character and purposes. Our role as God’s creation is to reflect His character to the world, but it’s hard to do that when we may not understand who God truly is. We may have had a distorted version of God taught to us in church. We may have left the faith and are slowly rebuilding our relationship with God. The character of God may feel like a mystery, so let’s talk about that. 

The core of God’s character has always been taught to me through Exodus 34:6: 

6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy. I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

God is compassionate and merciful. God is slow to get angry. God is filled with unfailing love and filled with faithfulness. Does that sound like the God you know? Does that sound like the God you grew up with? If not, I hope that this devotional introduces you to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I hope that this devotional introduces you to the God that was the Father to Jesus. Let’s go deeper into these characteristics. 

Compassion is the Hebrew word rachum. It describes a deep, tender mercy, akin to a parent’s love for a child. I may have lost some of you already. Your relationship with your parents may not exist currently, or may be strained, or may be rocky. If God loves me like my parents did, I don’t want that relationship. If that’s you, I am sorry that your parents were not there for you in the way that you needed them to be. God’s deep and tender mercy shares a gentleness and kindness that goes above everything that any person can give you. God’s not quick-tempered, but one that manages justice with love, gentleness, and guidance. He meets you with comfort, grace, and mercy because you are a human and His creation. 

Grace is the Hebrew word chanun. It involves unmerited favor. God chose you. God loves you dearly. God wants you to be one to carry forward His Kingdom to the world. There’s nothing that you have to do to receive His favor. He gifts it to you out of his love and kindness. You may not understand this. What do you mean I don’t have to do anything to receive this love? I always had to work for love and validation before. Unfortunately, the world views our reception of love out of what we can provide for others. You may be the favorite child because you care for the home or your sibling without being asked. You may be the favorite student because you do your work on time all the time, ask questions in class, and participate without being prodded. You may be the favorite friend because you are always there to listen to their problems, provide help whenever needed, and can drop everything to care for them. God says that I love you, because you are my child. 

Being slow to anger is the Hebrew term erek apayim. It literally translates to mean “long of nostrils.” This was a Hebrew metaphor that describes being slow to wrath. In God’s dealings with Israel and managing their disobedience and idolatry, God never gave up on them. God wants to work towards a place of repentance and reconciliation instead of judgment. God is a patient god. This may be completely radical to you, for a lot of preachers tend to preach God as a soldier, fighter, and warrior. God is a servant, shown through the physical embodiment of God in Jesus. God is a patient person. God wants us to acknowledge how we fall short of His standards. God wants us to become more godly each and every day. God wants us to love Him and others each and every day. That involves understanding who God is and honoring Him with everything we say and do. Plus, we treat others with the same love and respect that God gives to us. This involves reconciling relationships that are safe and allowing the space for forgiveness within yourself to close off the harmful relationships that exist. 

God’s loving devotion is the Hebrew word chesed. It encompasses steadfast love, mercy, and loyalty. It’s a covenantal love that God consistently shows to us, despite our shortcomings. This is a unique word because there is not one English word that can properly describe it. It’s a love for us that never wavers. It sticks around through thick and thin. God could easily punish us for our disobedience and give up on us given how humanity acts nowadays, but He chooses not to. He makes that choice to show us compassion and forgiveness instead. To allow us a second chance to get it right, over and over again. God supports us at all times, knowing how He created us according to His will and His purpose. God stays faithful to His creation despite us falling short of His standard. God wants us to become more like Him, more like His son Jesus, each and every day. It’s not about being perfect, but it’s about progressing to be more like Christ daily. None of us can be Christ, but we can be like Christ. 

God’s faithfulness is the Hebrew word emet. This describes truth, reliability, and trustworthiness. When combined, we know that God is committed to uphold the promises that He made with us. God’s word is true at all times. We must remember that the Bible was written in ancient contexts, yet it continues to speak to us today. The stories that we read about in Scripture are unique to the culture and historical time period, but the principles and teaching can carry from generation to generation. It can show us how teachings and principles have carried over throughout many generations. The principles shown are reliable, used to help us understand our own situations, emotions, and stressors. I’ve learned that while my situation is unique for me, it’s not new for God. God has seen it all, especially through the life and death of His son Jesus. We see the many ways that God responds to the hurts of His chosen people, and all people within the Bible. We must hold faithfully tight that God will also respond to us, regardless of our situation. God is the same god yesterday, today, and forever. 

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Which characteristic of God that I mentioned is something that you know you need to work better on?