Verse of the Day
Saturday, May 2, 2026
1 John 5:14-15
“And this is the boldness we have in him, that 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 have obtained the requests made of him.”
Introduction
First John 5:14–15 speaks to one of the most tender and sometimes misunderstood parts of Christian life: prayer. Many believers know what it is to pray earnestly and wait anxiously. Some prayers seem to be answered quickly. Others appear to be delayed, reshaped, or met with silence. These verses do not offer a formula for getting whatever we want from God. Instead, they teach us how Christian confidence is formed when prayer is rooted in trust, communion, and the will of God.
John writes with pastoral assurance. He wants believers to know that they are not praying into emptiness. They are approaching the living God, the One revealed in Jesus Christ, who hears His children. The confidence John describes is not arrogance, presumption, or spiritual entitlement. It is the settled trust of those who know that God is faithful, wise, and good.
Commentary
John begins by speaking of “boldness” or confidence before God. This confidence is not based on the strength of our feelings, the eloquence of our words, or the intensity of our desire. It rests on the character of God and the relationship believers have with Him through Christ. Prayer is not presented as a desperate attempt to persuade a distant deity, but as the faithful turning of children toward their Father.
The key phrase is that God hears us when we ask “according to his will.” This is central to understanding the passage. John is not saying that God will grant every request exactly as we phrase it. Rather, Christian prayer is shaped by the purposes, wisdom, and holiness of God. To pray according to God’s will is to bring our desires into the presence of God with openness, humility, and trust. It means we seek not only what we want, but what God desires to do in us, through us, and around us.
This does not make prayer passive. John says believers may have confidence that God hears them. In Scripture, to be heard by God means more than sound reaching divine ears. It means God receives, attends, and responds. God is not indifferent. He is not unmoved. The believer’s prayer matters because God has graciously invited His people into relationship with Him.
John then says that if we know God hears us, we also know that “we have obtained the requests” made of Him. This does not mean every prayer is answered instantly or visibly. It means that prayer offered in faithful alignment with God’s will is never wasted. God receives it into His wise and loving purpose. The answer may come as provision, correction, patience, strength, transformation, or a door quietly closed. The promise is not that we control the outcome, but that God’s response is real, purposeful, and trustworthy.
Understanding the Context
First John was written to strengthen believers in the truth of Christ, especially in a setting where confusion, false teaching, and spiritual uncertainty had troubled the community. Throughout the letter, John emphasizes three marks of genuine faith: belief in Jesus Christ, love for one another, and obedience to God’s commandments.
By the time we reach 1 John 5, John is drawing his message toward assurance. He wants believers to know that eternal life is found in the Son of God. This assurance naturally leads into prayer. Those who belong to God through Christ can come before Him with confidence. Their confidence is not self-made; it flows from their life in Christ.
The surrounding verses also matter. John has just spoken about the testimony God has given concerning His Son and the life believers have in Him. Prayer, then, is not isolated from faith in Christ. It is part of the life of communion with God. We pray as those who have been brought into fellowship with the Father through the Son.
The phrase “according to his will” should also be read in light of the whole letter. God’s will is not hidden from us in every respect. John has already shown that God’s will includes faith in Christ, love for one another, obedience, truth, righteousness, and eternal life. Prayer according to God’s will is prayer shaped by that pattern of life.
Application for Today
For modern believers, this passage offers both comfort and correction.
It comforts us by reminding us that God hears. Many people carry unanswered prayers, long griefs, family burdens, health concerns, financial fears, and spiritual questions. John does not dismiss these struggles. He points us to the character of God. We may not always understand what God is doing, but we are not abandoned in our asking.
It corrects us by challenging the idea that prayer is mainly about securing our preferred outcomes. Christian prayer is not a transaction. It is not a spiritual technique. It is communion with God. Prayer forms us as much as it changes circumstances. As we pray, our desires are examined, our trust is deepened, and our hearts are gradually brought nearer to the heart of God.
This passage also teaches patience. If God hears us, then silence does not necessarily mean absence. Delay does not necessarily mean denial. A different answer does not mean God has failed to listen. Sometimes God answers by giving what we asked. Sometimes He gives what we would have asked if we could see as He sees. Sometimes He gives grace to endure what is not removed.
For Bible study groups and adult formation classes, this passage invites honest conversation. What does it mean to pray according to God’s will when we are hurting? How do we hold confidence and humility together? How do we avoid both shallow certainty and hopeless doubt? John’s answer is not to explain every mystery, but to anchor prayer in the faithful presence of God.
Reflection
1 John 5:14–15 invites us to approach prayer with mature confidence. We do not need to pretend that prayer is simple. We do not need to hide disappointment, grief, or uncertainty. But neither are we left with despair. The Christian life is lived before a God who hears.
The deepest gift in this passage may be the shift from anxious control to trusting communion. Prayer is not a way of bending God’s will to ours. It is a way of bringing our whole selves before God so that our lives may be shaped by His will. That does not make our requests unimportant. On the contrary, it gives them a sacred place. We are invited to ask, seek, and speak honestly before God, trusting that He receives our prayers with wisdom and love.
To pray according to God’s will is not to pray timidly. It is to pray faithfully. It is to say, “Lord, here is what I long for, here is what I fear, here is what I do not understand; shape this according to Your goodness.” Such prayer becomes an act of surrender, not resignation. It is the surrender of a child who knows the Father’s heart is trustworthy.
John’s words call us to a confidence deeper than immediate results. The believer can pray because God hears. The believer can wait because God is faithful. The believer can trust because God’s will is not cold fate, but holy love. In that assurance, prayer becomes less about getting our way and more about abiding in the One who has already given us life in His Son.
The Bible texts are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Verse of the Day is a daily inspirational and encouraging Bible verse, extracted from BibleGateway.com. Commentary by Kenny Sallee, ThM.
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