Asking with Confidence

Read 1 John 5:13-17.
In verse 13, what does John want his readers to know?

How does verse 13, having eternal life, relate to verse 14? How does having eternal life affect us?

Read 1 John 3:21-22. Because we have confidence before God, what happens?

What additional information does 1 John 5:14-15 give us about asking with confidence?

And if we’re asking according to His will, what do we know will happen?

What makes it possible for us to ask according to His will?

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3a. What is the will of God?

What does it mean to be sanctified or holy? Who are we to be like?

Remember that 1 John 3:2 said that we shall be like Him when He appears. What did 1 John 2:6 tell us?

So how does our becoming holy, sanctified or Christ-like relate to 1 John 5:14-15? What kinds of requests will God grant?

Verses 16 and 17 are ones that theologians like to discuss, wanting to know exactly what sin it is that leads to death. However, that’s not John’s big point in this verse. Who is it that John says we should be praying for in verse 16?

So, if our Christian brother or sister sins and doesn’t physically die as a result of that sin, we can pray for him or her because the brother or sister who sinned is still here on earth and has time to change the way he or she is living. And how would we pray, according to verse 14?

And what would God’s will be for our brother or sister?

So, what might be an example of that kind of prayer?

One of John’s major themes in this letter is that we should love one another. How would praying for a brother or sister who is sinning be an example of loving them?

Do you have a brother or sister in Christ for whom you could be praying in this way?