“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
– 1 John 5:14-15
There are many places in Scripture where it restates the idea: God hears us. God especially hears the righteous or those who call on Him in truth. The general thrust of this is that, if we are faithful to God, God will be faithful to us. 1 John 5:15, pushes this idea even further. Pay attention to the phrasing: “we have what we asked of him.” Both in the English and in the Greek, “we have” is present tense. “Ἔχομεν” means “we have.” It is Present Active Indicative 1st Person Plural. That is a very fancy way of saying that the word is happening in the present moment. It is not “we will have” or “we are having” or “we had.” It is “we have.” So there is no gap in time between our request to God and His answer. We have what we have requested in the moment of asking. And that is a very interesting thing to note. What is the thing granted in the immediate moment of asking? This isn’t Evan Almighty where suddenly God replies “Yes” to all emails and so everyone suddenly wins the lottery. So what is going on? What will God give us immediately if we only ask?
Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
When we cast our cares on Jesus, so often we are asking for something to bring us peace. Our health, our financial situation, the wellbeing of our loved ones, guidance for troubled times, all these things throw us into doubt and fear and darkness. And while God may indeed miraculously step in to resolve these situations, as He has in my own life, what I have experienced more than once is the immediate presence of that peace.
In my darkest moment, I threw myself at the feet of Jesus and He responded with His peace. In the course of time, my situation was resolved, but in that very moment, I felt His peace, His presence, the knowledge that God was with me.
God hears us. He really does. He really answers prayers, and will readily give us what we most desperately need at a moment’s notice. He will give us His presence. He will give us Himself. And in receiving His incredible gift, the things that consume us with worry seem to lose their power before His infinite grace.
Blessings,
Michael Kennedy