God Listens - 1 John 5:11-21


Sermon Notes; God Listens 1 John 5:11-21

When you know for sure that God listens to you and to your prayers, you can pray with so much more confidence and conviction, knowing He will answer you, 1 John 5:13-15.

Did you know that God listens? It’s such an incredible truth if you really stop to think about what we’re saying. We are talking about a God who keeps galaxies in motion, who organizes and upholds our entire Universe. Who gives life to every one of the 7.5 billion people alive, on planet earth. That this God has time for you! This God listens to you! This God cares about you! That is incredible!

Psalm 3 – 4 - 5: ‘When I pray You answer me, You encourage me by giving me the strength I need.’ ‘I prayed to the Lord and He answered me, freeing me from all my fears. I cried out to the Lord in my suffering and He heard me. He has set me free from all my fears. The Lord hears when His people call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.’

‘Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God for to you I pray. In the morning O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.’

What an encouragement to pray, and yet the truth is, that if you scrap below the surface, many of us have so many doubts which rob us of the confidence in prayer, rob us of our joy in prayer.

God loves it when we pray! Our God answers prayer and changes us and changes situations, because we’re praying about them! Prayer is so powerful – because God is so powerful.

1: God wants us to be absolutely sure and certain that we are His precious children and we have a living, loving relationship with Him,v13. ‘I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.’

Most people think of eternal life as something you receive after you die, and that you go on living with God in heaven. That’s not what the Bible means by eternal life! John 17:3, ‘Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’

John is saying that I want you to be absolutely sure and certain as Christians, that you are God’s precious, deeply loved sons and daughters, forgiven, brought into this real relationship with God. That He loves you in the most precious kind of way, as His sons and daughters.

Question: Have you grasped just how much you are loved and welcomed in your Heavenly Father’s Presence?

2: God wants us to be absolutely sure and certain that when we come into His Presence and pray, that He listens and hears when we pray in line with His will.

John is writing with words of strength, words of encouragement, words to lift you up and give you a whole new confidence and boldness, when you come into God’s presence and open your heart in prayer. It thrills Him and delights Him to see you come into His Presence and pray, and talk to Him about the things that are going on in your heart and life. To share with Him your joys – the struggles – the ups and downs.

V14, ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.’

God loves you and He loves to listen to your prayers! He hears you, He hears exactly what you’re saying. He hears what you’re saying with words, and you know something, He hears what’s behind those words, He knows what’s behind the requests, the fears that can be behind the request. That is such a powerful reminder that God hears the cries of your heart!

God says, open your heart to me in prayer, talk it through with me, your hopes, your fears, your longings, your joys, your desires.

Question; Will you come to the place where you will say to God, ‘Lord, at the end of the day I only want what you want for my life!’

When you really engage with God in prayer, he changes you, he changes you more and more, so that more and more you will begin to want what He wants for you. More and more you begin to ask for things that are aligned with His plans and purposes for you.

Question; Do you really believe that your Heavenly Father delights, smiles to see you coming into His Presence in prayer?

And do you want His will for your life and the things that you are praying about right now?

3: God wants us to be absolutely sure and certain, that when He hears our prayers, He answers them and we receive what we have asked Him for.

V15, ‘And this we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.’

God really listens when you pray! He really answers you when you pray! He hears exactly what you’re saying! BUT He doesn’t give us everything we ask for! He knows exactly what we need and He does care, but He wants to bring our will into line with His, and when we do so we can stand back and see the answers and the changes!

Question; How does that make you feel?