February 12, 2016
Scripture Reading: 1 John 5:13-15; John 20:30-31
13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Questions for Reflection:
John has moved into his concluding remarks. As he wraps up the letter, he has a clear mission in mind. Look at 1 John 5:13 and John 20:31. What parallels do you see between the passages? What differences do you notice? What do the parallels help reinforce about the authorship of the two books? What do the differences tell you about the purpose of the writings?
When words or phrases are repeated, they often give us a tip in interpreting the text. In 1 John, John is writing to the church so that they can have confidence in their faith. In fact, 1 John 5 contains the the words translated “to know” more often than nearly any other chapter in the New Testament. John wants his followers to know that they have eternal life.
This confidence bears itself out in the prayer life of John’s church. What does John teach about prayer in this passage? Do these verses mean that we can ask for anything and receive it? What lines does John draw on the prayer?
Pastor and author Tim Keller gets to the heart of the confidence we should have when he writes: “Prayer is the way to experience a powerful confidence that God is handling our lives well.” The goal of John’s writings is not so that we can pray for a Jeep. The goal of John’s writings is not so that we can pray for a promotion at work, a win on the soccer pitch or even for Peyton Manning to win the Super Bowl. The goal of prayer is to align our hearts to the will of God, trusting that the God who made us, shaped us and saved us is good enough to sustain us for each step of the path he has for us. Prayer has the ability to teach us to trust God more, for greater things, while also teaching us to trust God now, in the mundane things.
At One Life, we believe in spiritual power so we pray like it’s real. What big prayers are you praying right now for those around you? How are you praying that God would work in your life? Who are you praying for, begging God to help them come to faith?
For Further Study:
If you would like, take a couple of minutes to watch this short excerpt from one of David Platt’s sermons on the necessity of prayer in our lives.