To Boldly Ask According to His Will | 1 John 5:14-15

Confidence and Boldness before Him

Okay, Beloved, let's turn once again in our Bibles to 1st John chapter 5, 1st John chapter 5. I'm going to read verses 14 through, actually 13 through 15. 1st John chapter 5, verses 13 through 15. God's Word speaks and says, Amen.

So you can see these two verses in verses 14 through 15, which is what the sermon is based on, are very closely tied together. They're pertaining to the same thing. And that subject is, as the sermon title says, to boldly ask according to His will.

It's the subject of prayer, of prayer. Now, just a brief recap from the previous Lord's Day, because it is tied to, it transitions over to this subject as well. Last Lord's Day, I covered Biblical ongoing assurance that 1st John describes.

Another way you can describe it is enduring assurance or perennial assurance. It's ongoing. It's ongoing. So that's the, it is like a well-watered tree with roots, a trunk and fruits. A well-watered tree.

And the roots of our ongoing assurance are internal. They're internal, namely maturing true belief, a maturing faith, a working conscience that is sensitive to sin, ongoing repentance in relation to sin, motivation to not sin and to kill sin, etc.

Self-awareness, in other words. The trunk of our ongoing assurance is external, namely good works. Good works, right? And the acronym COFS. So confession of sin, abstaining from sin, walking in the light, fellowshipping with God and His people and striving for obedience to God's will, to God's law.

Now, the fruits of our well-watered ongoing assurance are a growing, strengthened, fortified sanctification and Christian walk, which the Apostle John often describes as, using the word peripateo, our walk, ongoing walk.

Our assurance, our faith, our fellowship, love, good works, obedience, holiness, putting sin in the flesh to death, all of these things grow by virtue of our ongoing assurance. They are the fruits of our assurance.

In that respect. Now, the water of our ongoing assurance, which gives life and growth to our tree of ongoing assurance, roots, trunk and fruits and all, it makes everything grow, are primarily God's ordinary means of grace.

Namely, baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Day worship and God's word, especially the preached word, as well as prayer. I failed to mention that last time, but prayer is one of God's means of grace for us.

Take note of that, because obviously it's what the subject matter deals with today. And our ongoing assurance also equips us. It equips us, along with the armor of God in Ephesians 6 and of light from Romans 13, to walk according to God's will, to walk in the light of his will and to fight and resist the world, the flesh and the devil, that unholy trinity, the primary enemies of the Christian in this life.

Praying, praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the spirit, with request and request in the spirit. And to this end, to this purpose, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition requests for all the saints.

That's from Ephesians 6, 18. And our ongoing assurance grounds us. It grounds us with confidence to approach God and his throne of grace boldly. Not with timidity, not with doubt, but boldly. When we are assured by God and his means of grace, we have boldness to come before his throne of grace.

In prayer, in prayer, right? As Ephesians 4 and other places speak to us through God's word. Knowing that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And we know these things because we have confidence and are assured by God that he hears us.

So more on this confidence and boldness before him. Verses 14 through 15 once again say, and this is the confidence or boldness which we have before him or toward him. That if we ask, if we pray for anything according to his will, he hears us.

He hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask him, we know we are assured by him. In other words, that we have the requests which we have asked from him. We have answers from God, from our requests.

Now, these verses, beloved, we want to frequently ask ourselves when we read a passage. Like I've mentioned before, is this passage law or gospel? Is there a mixture, a combination, or is it primarily one or the other?

And you can see by the brunt of this passage is they are precious gospel promises to us. They are precious gospel promises and indicatives. And they guide our understanding of our assured confidence and status before God as believers.

And our intimate relationship with him. Why do I say intimate? Because he hears us. Amen? God hears our prayers when we ask according to his will. So then, it also obviously deals with how we relate to him in prayer.

How we relate to him in prayer. We have confident boldness before him in prayer. Beloved, confident boldness before him in prayer. That's a gospel guarantee indicative and promise. And I want to reread verses 14 through 15 once again in the amplified version.

It has some good comments that I'll also add a little bit to as well. This is the remarkable degree of confidence and boldness which we as believers are entitled to. We are entitled to as believers to have before him that if we ask anything according to his will, that is consistent with his plan and purpose, he hears us.

He hears us. And if we know for a fact, as indeed we do, that he hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know with a settled and absolute knowledge for certain assured confidence that we have granted to us the request which we have asked from him.

Amen? We have those requests that we have asked God according to his will. That doesn't mean that the answer is always yes, beloved. We have to keep that in mind. But God hears our prayers and he responds to us.

He grants us and he does grant us our requests because he loves us. Verse 15. So then let's let's break this down a little bit more. Verse 15 is an emphatic restatement of and deduction. It is a deduction from the previous verse.

Verse 14. I'll read it again in the in the Legacy Standard Version. And this is the confidence that which we have before him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. He hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask him, therefore, therefore we deduce we know deductively and deduce and are assured by him that we have.

We have the request which we have asked from him because he hears us. Because he hears us. When we ask according to his will, beloved, according to his will. Now, notice the phrase, the repeated phrase here.

He hears us. He hears us. Now, does God have ears, beloved? Does God have ears and eyes and a body? The scripture is clear that God is a spirit and we must worship him in spirit and in truth. God does not have a body.

Like the Children's Catechism says, God is a spirit and has not a body like men. The exception to that is, of course, Christ himself. Christ the God-man. But God is spirit. In his nature, in his essence, he is spirit.

But so this then is an it's called an anthropomorphism. It's a literary divisor's figure speech. Anthropomorphism, whereby God is expressing himself in human form. In human form. What does that mean then?

Think about this, beloved, that what does it mean that God hears us then? What is that expressing or telling us or teaching us? Think about that and we'll come back to that a little bit later on. Notice.

Notice also, beloved, the emphasis in these verses. Once again, a repeated recurring emphasis on certain things that the apostle is bringing to our attention over and over again. What is that? What would that be?

Notice the words that he uses. Notice the words. Knowledge, knowledge, confidence, which is based on the truth, our knowledge of the truth, belief. Knowledge of his word. We know, right? We know. We know what?

That God hears us. That is sound doctrine. When we pray according to his will. That is sound doctrine. We know. We know. And are assured by him that we have the request because he hears us. That we have asked from him.

Amen. And because we as believers know these things, we have an assured, bold confidence before him. That he hears us. And that we have those requests which we have asked from him. That's what this is all about.

The emphasis is applied to several different aspects of our walk before God. It's applied all over. To our salvation. To our sanctification. To our prayer. Our prayer life. Knowledge. Knowledge. Knowledge of the truth.

It is foundational to everything. Including our prayer. If you are praying falsehoods or with a misunderstanding, then you are not praying according to his will. We have to recognize that. And here we also see, once again, the essential definition of prayer.

In these verses. The essential core definition of prayer. What is that? It is to boldly ask God. To boldly ask God confidently. According to what? According to his will. According to his will. Not our will.

His will. Amen. Now, more specifically, what is prayer? Prayer, according to our Baptist larger catechism, is offering our desires to God. For things agreeable to his will. Notice that. For things that are agreeable to his will.

In the name of Christ, with the help of his spirit, praising him, confessing our sins, and thankfully recognizing his mercies. This is that guilt, grace, gratitude paradigm that I also touched on last week.

In the previous Lord's Day. But it is asking or offering up our desires to God for things that are agreeable to his will. Beloved, note that. And in the references, the scripture references of the catechism, they point to this very verse in 1 John 5, 14.

Because that's exactly what it says. It's simply a restatement summary of the teaching, the whole counsel of God on this matter. Now, so we have confidence before him. But before whom? Who might that be?

Who is him in this passage? Who do we pray to? Should we pray only to God? As the Baptist larger catechism also states. In question 176. God is the only one capable of searching human hearts. The only one who hears requests.

Who hears us, right? Who pardons sins. Who can fulfill the desires of all. And he is the only one to believe in and truly worship. Since prayer is an integral part, a vital part of religious worship. As well as a means of grace, of God's grace and spirit.

It is to be made by everyone only to him. And to no one else, beloved. Not to deceased saints. Not to Mother Mary. To no one else. The scriptures are very clear. And that's exactly. We know. That's what this is saying.

The passage in 1 John is teaching us. We know that the masculine pronouns. He, him. In the passage in 1 John. Refer to God alone. God alone and no one else. Which is why the apostle encourages us. He encourages us because we have the request.

Which we have asked from him. From him. That and because. If we ask him anything. According to his will. He listens. He hears us. He hears us, beloved. Now. However. Which person. Does this refer to in the Godhead?

Which person specifically? Is it God the Father? God the Son? God the Spirit? Who is this referring to specifically in this passage? Now previously. We've encountered a similar situation before in this letter.

We have seen that the apostle John. Is not always explicit. About whom he refers to. In this God breathed letter. Sometimes he uses pronouns. Without immediately referring to. The person. The specific individual or person.

Okay well. What about the previous verses? What about the immediate antecedents? In the previous verses. So the immediate antecedent that him. Might refer to. We can find. In verses 12 through 13. In 1st John chapter 5.

Verses 12 through 13. God's words tells us. He the believer. Who has the Son. The Son. Has the life. He who does not have the Son of God. Does not have that life. These things I have written to you. Who believe in the name of.

The Son of God. So that you may know. That you have. Eternal life. So it appears that the immediate antecedent. Points to the Son. God the Son. Right. And then from. That passage. From those verses he then proceeds to.

This is the boldness the confidence. Which we have before him. Before him. So that looks like a possible. Understanding. That is pointing to Christ. And to correlate that with the analogy of Scripture.

Let's compare Scripture with Scripture. And turn by turning to Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. In verses. 14 through 16. Beloved. Hebrews chapter 4. Verses 14 through 16. God's word says. In as much then as we.

Believers. Have a great high priest. Who has already ascended. And passed through the heavens. Jesus the Son of God. Let us hold fast. Our confession of faith. And cling tenaciously. To our absolute trust.

Confidence. Assurance. In him. As Savior. As Lord. As Master. As Redeemer. As high priest. For we do not have a high priest. Who is unable to sympathize. And understand our weaknesses and temptations.

But one who has been tempted. Knowing exactly how it feels to be human. In every respect as we are. Yet without. Sin. Without committing any sin. Therefore. Let us. With privilege. With privilege. With boldness.

Approach the throne of grace. The throne of God's gracious favor. With confidence. Boldness and without fear. So that we may receive. Mercy for our failures. And find. His amazing grace. His amazing grace.

To help. In time of need. An appropriate blessing. Coming just at. The right moment. Beloved. Amen. Christ then is. The great high priest. And the cornerstone the foundation. Of our bold confidence before God.

Christ accomplished. That. High priestly. Role and mediation. As our mediator. It is Christ. Okay. However. Let's turn back a little bit further now. In 1st John chapter 5. In verse 10. We're going to find another antecedent here as well.

In 1st John chapter 5 verse 10. Here the apostle writes to us saying. The one who believes in the son of God. Has this witness. Witness of God. In himself. The one who does not believe. God. Has made him a liar.

Because he has not believed in the witness. Which God. Has borne witness about. His son. Ah. So this is referring to God the father then. And the witness is this. That God. Gave us eternal life. And this life is in.

His son. Because he has God the father. Okay. So now this is another. Preceding. Antecedent. This is pointing to God the father. And. And. Also by way of analogy. Of scripture. And of faith. We come across a parallel passage.

To verses 14 and 15. That is similar to this. As to who it's referring to. In 1st John chapter 3 verses 21 through 23. We will find a parallel passage that I've preached on. Before. If we turn over there.

We will find. Very similar. Phrases that the apostle uses. As in 1st John 5. 14 through 15. In chapter 3. Verse 21. God's word says. Beloved. If our heart does not condemn us. We have confidence. Before God.

Right. Confidence before God. Just as in 1st John. He says we have confidence. We have confidence. Before him. We have confidence. Beloved. Before him. Toward him. And he continues. Because we keep his commandments.

And do the things that are pleasing in his sight. Similarly. Because we ask according to his will. Like 1st John. In a parallel says. And this is his commandment. That we believe. In the name of his son.

Jesus Christ. It's referring to God the father once again. His son Jesus Christ. And love one another. And this is according to sound law. And gospel distinction and order. Beloved. Just as he gave a commandment to us.

Okay. So this is God the father. That the apostle is referring to. And I encourage you to go back and listen to that sermon. Asking God and receiving from him. Based on 1st John 3 .22. Where I dive a little bit more into this issue.

A topic of prayer. And cover different aspects of it. So then. Beloved. Verses 14 through 15. May refer primarily to God the father. But it is also appropriate to pray to God the son. It is appropriate to pray to both.

Because our Lord Jesus himself said. In John 14. Verse 13. Whatever you ask. In my name. This will I do. Remember what the baptist catechism taught us. That we offer our desires to God. In the name of Christ.

In the name of Christ. In my name. This will I do. So that the father may be glorified in the son. If you ask who? If you ask me anything. In my name. I will do it. I will do it. If you love me. You will keep my commandments.

So you see lots of parallels here in this gospel passage. In John's gospel letter. I mean. I'm sorry. Gospel. In parallel to his letter. This first letter. You see. Asking Christ. Anything. In his name.

And he will do it for us. And notice he says. If you love me. You will keep my commandments. Again. There's a tie to obedience. If we keep his commandments. And do the things that are pleasing in his sight.

Whatever we ask we receive. When we. Because. We keep his commandments. And do the things that are pleasing in his sight. That's a gospel indicative. Beloved. The spirit of God equips and empowers us.

To walk. In obedience to God. To keep his commandments. Not perfectly. But in a humble spirit of repentance. And growing obedience. By God's spirit and means of grace. So. This is very important to understand.

Very basic doctrine. Sound doctrine. Of how we communicate to God. And to whom we communicate with. And likewise in 1st John 5. Verses 14 through 15. We ask according to his will. In agreement with his will.

Nevertheless. Christ himself. So in light of this. In spite of this. God. Christ himself. Also instructs us. To pray in his name. To who else? To our father. Right? To our father. He sums this up in John 16.

23 through 24. Where he says. And on that day. You will not question me. About anything. Truly truly I say to you. If you ask the father. If you ask the father for anything. In my name. He will give it to you.

He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive. So that your joy may be made complete. Amen. Again. Now does that sound familiar? Again there's a lot of parallels.

In John's gospel to John's letter. That harkens back to. The beginning of. The letter of 1st John. He writes these things to us. So that your joy may be complete. And again asking the father. Anything.

In his name. According to his will. God's will. And of course we understand beloved. That the father's will. The son's will. The spirit's will. Are one in the same. They have the same will. They are united in will.

Now. Again the analogy of scripture. Christ instructs us those things. Let us turn to. The gospel of Matthew. In chapter 6 verse 7. The gospel of Matthew chapter 6. Verse 7. The very. Important. Instruction that Christ gives concerning prayer.

The foundational. Instruction. On prayer. Our Lord Jesus. Once again. Teaches us these things. In Matthew 6 verse 7. And when you are praying. Do not use meaningless repetition. As the Gentiles do. For they suppose that they will be heard.

For their many words. Oh. So he's explaining to us. That is not according to God's will. That is not in accordance to God's will. So don't do those things. Therefore do not be like them. And do not do those things.

Do not pray that way. Because it is not according to God's will. Why? For your father. Knows what you need. Before you even ask him. Beloved. Amen. Pray then in this way. Our father. We are praying to God.

Our father. Who is in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Holy is your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Your. Notice that. Your will be done. We pray. We ask anything. To God. According to his will.

And we also pray. That his will be done. On earth. As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts. As we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation.

But deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom. And the power. And the glory. Forever. Amen. So here. This is the foundational teaching on prayer. And Christ also explains to us. If you caught this.

Christ also explains to us. What it means that God hears us. What it means that God hears us. What does it mean? He explains it right here. Because your father. Knows what you need. Before you ask him.

That's what it means. That God hears us. He knows already. What we need. And what we ask him. That is how God hears us. He doesn't hear us the way we hear. In that we. We didn't know or hear something.

Until we hear it. God already knows. That's why you don't have to do vain repetitions. Like pagans do. Thinking that they have to constantly repeat it. So that they can finally. So that hopefully. Their God will hear them.

Not so with God's people. Because we know. Again. Notice the emphasis. We know. And God knows. What we need. Before even asking him. Beloved. Why? Because God is omniscient. God is omniscient. He knows everything beforehand.

Amen. He knows everything beforehand. Absolutely everything. Does that mean. Then that we don't have to pray. No, that's not what that means. But what it does mean. Is that prayer. Is a form. Of gracious divine accommodation.

Or divine condescension. Beloved. Very important. Prayer is a form. Of gracious divine accommodation. And condescension. What does that mean? What that means. Biblically is that. It is. In one sense. The act of God.

Lowering himself. To connect and interact. With humanity. He lowers himself. He condescends to our level. It also means. The act of God. Lowering himself to engage with us. With man, humanity. Allowing a relationship.

Despite human imperfections. And sins and flaws. He still condescends to us. In a loving manner. It can also mean. The act of God. Lowering himself to our level. To meet us. To meet us. Which enhances our understanding of his majesty.

Which is exactly what Christ teaches us. In his prayer. In the Lord's prayer. And in an ultimate sense. God's condescension. Is the act of Jesus lowering himself. To human level. By becoming man. By humbling himself.

And becoming a man. To address the issue of sin. Once and for all. And demonstrate his love for us. Amen. Beloved. This is a very important biblical teaching. So then prayer. Is a form of this gracious divine accommodation.

And condescension. That we have as a benefit from God. Because God comes down to us. He makes himself. Available to us. Always. In prayer. As we ask. According to his will. As we ask. According to his will.

Amen. He hears our prayers. And responds to them. As a loving father. Who is attentive. To his children. He is attentive to us. He listens to us. He hears us. And answers all our questions. All our petitions.

All our requests. And he instructs us. To pray to him without ceasing. He loves when we pray to him. He loves interacting with us in prayer. It is a blessing. And a form of divine condescension. To participate in prayer.

Beloved. And I know that in our society. We get so distracted. Prayer is usually one of the first things. That falls by the wayside. In our Christian life. But it is a vital means of assurance. And of God's grace.

Whereby we are strengthened. And growing in the truth. And sanctification and holiness. Because God condescends to us. And he blesses us. And answers our prayers. It is very important. To pray. To God.

On a daily basis. Beloved. And it is as we read in our call to worship. Today. In Psalm 125. Psalm 125 verse 2. As the mountains surround Jerusalem. So Yahweh does what? Surrounds his people. Beloved.

From now until forever. Amen. That is divine condescension. God surrounds us. Forever. Always. And he hears us. God inhabits the praises of his people. Like it says in another Psalm. Similarly, turn with me now to Psalm 113.

In Psalm 113. We see a very similar. Expression. And revelation. Of God's condescension to man. In this precious Psalm. Psalm. Psalm 113. From the beginning. God's word says. Praise Yah. Praise oh slaves of Yahweh.

Praise the name of Yahweh. May the name of Yahweh be blessed. From now until forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting. The name of Yahweh is to be praised. Yahweh is high. He is high above all nations.

His glory is above the heavens. Who is like Yahweh our God. The one who sits on high. Notice the contrast. He is high and lifted up. High above everything. And yet. Verse 6. The one who brings himself low.

The one who brings himself low. Who condescends. To see the things in heaven. And on the earth. Who raises the poor. He condescends to raise the poor. From the dust. And lifts the high. The needy from the ash heap.

Amen. To make them sit with nobles. With the nobles of his people. And ultimately with him in the heavenly places. He makes the barren woman of the house. Sit as a glad mother of children. Praise Yah.

Praise Yah. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. And how does this happen beloved? Primarily. It is through prayer. It is through praying. According to God's will. Through those means. God uses the means. Of prayer.

To advance. And unravel. His providential will. On the earth. He uses. You have to grasp the amazing privilege. Of this. Blessing and benefit beloved. God uses our prayers. To accomplish. His purpose and will.

Here on the earth. He uses them to accomplish. These things. To lift up the poor and the needy. And to bless the mother. The barren woman. To become a mother. And there is a very. There is consequently beloved.

A very real sense. In which the sum and substance. Of the entire Bible. Is a profound. It is a profound. Reflection of the sovereign. Condescension. And accommodation. Of God to man. That's what the Bible is all about.

Whereby. He chooses to create us. And. To interact with us. But how? Particularly. Through guided prayer. Through guided prayer. That is according to his will. Amen. According to his will. Not through misguided prayer.

But through guided prayer. In the truth. In sound doctrine. In knowledge of the truth. It is to ask boldly. According to his will. Now. So back in 1 John. Chapter 5. Verses 14 through 15. In light of all of this.

This passage now. It ties a lot of things together for us. Because. And this is the confidence. The boldness which we have before him. That if we ask. Pray for anything. According to his will. He hears us.

He condescends to us. He accommodates us. By hearing our prayers. And if we know. That he hears us in whatever we ask. We know that we have the request. Which we have asked from him. Amen. Now then beloved.

We need to focus on this phrase. In particular. What does it mean exactly. To ask God. According to his will. What exactly does that mean? Not surprisingly. Scripture has a great deal. To say about this.

Topic. And it is sad because. So many people pray wrong. Wrongly. In the wrong spirit. And in the wrong way. In falsehood. And yet the Bible is very explicit. Very explicit and specific. About how we are to pray.

According to his will. For one. For one thing. It means that we should ask. For the right things. For the right things. And with the right motives. We ask. For the right things. And for the right motives.

Whereas some. Ask and do not receive. Why? Because you ask with wrong motives. And you ask for the wrong things. So that you may spend it. On your own lusts and pleasures. Like James 4. 3 teaches us. Right?

So that is why it has to be guided prayer. According to his will. Now. On the flip side of that. Therefore. Confess your sins to one another. And pray for one another. So that you may be healed. And the effective prayer.

Of a righteous man. Not a misguided man. Who prays with wrong prayers. Motives. Or for the wrong things. But the effective prayer of a righteous man. Can accomplish. Much. Availeth much. Like the King James says.

Accomplishes much. Because. Did you hear that beloved? It accomplishes God's will on the earth. When a righteous man prays. When righteous. Believers pray. Rightly. Because it is according to God's will.

And God's will. Is what is going to become. Is a reality. And will be a reality. In our lives. And in the earth. As James also teaches us later on. In chapter 5. So then. Okay. So what then is God's will?

What is God's will? Beloved. This is a fundamental. Biblical axiom. That we need to internalize. Because to ask. According to His will. Means to pray to God. According to His word. According to His word.

That's really what it means. It is prayer. That agrees with. Is in conformity to. His word. Which is often referred to as. His revealed will. Or His. Preceptive will. Or His prescriptive will. It's His word.

His precepts. His instructions. Such as His instructions on how to pray. Correctly. Rightly. His commands and so on. It's His word. That's what His will is. That's exactly what His will is. It is the word of God.

I love how. The Baptist Catechism. Explains to us this very thing. What rule has God given us. Given for our direction in prayer. The answer is. The whole word of God. The whole counsel of God. Is of use to direct us in prayer.

But the special rule. Of direction. Is that prayer which Christ taught His disciples. Commonly called. The Lord's Prayer. Which we just read earlier. The Lord's Prayer in the Gospel of Matthew. And in the Gospel of Luke.

Amen. This is. What it means. What God's will means. Beloved. You cannot know God's will if you don't know God's word. And you cannot pray according to His will. If you don't know. What His word says.

So that being said. For what should we pray for then? According to His will. Like the Baptist. Larger Catechism also explains to us. In question 181. We should pray. For things that promote. The glory of God.

The welfare of the church. The well-being of the church. The edification of the church. And our own. And others good. But not for anything. That is unlawful. Or sinful. Amen. That in essence is a sum of what the Bible says.

What we should pray for. That is His will. To pray for these things. Beloved. And also to not pray for sinful things. Or unlawful things. I remember one time. When we were in college. We were ministering.

And counseling. A believer. Who was young in the faith. And kind of misguided. And we had counseled her. To be careful with her boyfriend. To be careful. I'm sorry. I got that mixed up. But. I've often heard people.

I've often heard people say. You know. They pray for things that they shouldn't even pray for. They pray. They pray about whether they should commit adultery or not. Or whether they should steal or not.

That's not something that you pray for. Beloved. That's praying in ignorance. We don't pray for things. That God has clearly told us. To not do. Because that's not praying according to His will. Amen.

That is what we have to bear in mind. That is a fundamental doctrine. And principle. In the sum of scripture. Regarding prayer. So. This gives us a picture of what we should pray for. Now. For whom should we pray then?

According to His will. For whom should we pray for? According to God's will. Like the larger catechism also says. We should pray. For the entire church of Christ on earth. For civil authorities. And ministers.

For ourselves. And fellow believers. And for our enemies. For our enemies. Remember that? The Beatitudes. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. And despitefully attack you. We should pray.

For all people who are alive. And those who are going to live in the future. But. We should not pray for the dead. Or for those who are known to have sin. The sin that leads to death. Okay. That's who we don't pray to.

That's who we pray for. And who we do not pray for. Beloved. This is praying according to God's will. Beloved. This is the sum and substance of what the Bible teaches us about praying according to God's will.

Very important for us to understand. These basic doctrines in the word. Beloved. And I encourage you, I hope you see how vitally important it also is for us. And how instructive and useful the reformed standards and catechisms and confessions are.

In understanding these things. Some of the best direction and guidance on prayer that you will find are the reformed confessions and catechisms. They're all there. There are numerous questions and sections dedicated to the subject of prayer.

How to pray. What to pray for, as you can see. This is just a small sample of what they teach. And the final questions in the catechisms. They have a breakdown of every single petition of the Lord's prayer.

In depth, expounding the Lord's prayer, verse by verse. So I encourage you, beloved, to look at those things deeper. As they help us to understand God, His word, and His will. His revealed will. As it's often called.