The Will of God & Sin | 1 John 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:15–17

1 John 5:13–16 and the Confidence of Praying According to God’s Will

Beloved, let's go ahead and turn in our Bibles together and to 1st John chapter 5 verse 13. 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 the verses are going to focus on our 14 through 16. But I want to back up and get a little bit more of the context first the letter of 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 God's Word speaks to us and says.

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 and This is the confidence which we have before 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 the request which we have asked from him.

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death He shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I do not say you should make requests for this all.

Unrighteousness is sin and there is a sin not leading to death. This is God's Holy Word. Amen so As you can tell today Beloved the subject the focus for today's sermon. You can see in the sermon title the will of God and sin the will of God and sin.

The Will of God as a Doctrine Christians Struggle to Accept

Now I have to confess I'm going to probably focus more on God's will than on sin but it will segue into the next few verses that I read at the end and These are very profound very deep Doctrines and subjects in God's Word and a lot of them.

These are also highly misunderstood and confused. So it's important that we get a good grasp of these major Doctrines from Scripture and how they relate to each other. How does God's will relate to sin?

Very important questions that we're going to seek to dive into today. Now on the on the previous Lord's Day We saw that our ongoing assurance our ongoing assurance grounds us with confidence to approach God and his throne of grace boldly in Prayer we ask God in prayer knowing and being assured that if we ask according to his will God's will in this case the Father's will he hears us.

He hears us. We also saw that prayer is a form of gracious and divine accommodation or condescension. Accommodation or condescension. Because God comes down to us. He brings himself down to us. Makes himself available to us always.

He hears us. He hears us and knows what we need before we even ask him. He already knows and also that the very sum and substance of the sacred scriptures for God's people specifically for God's people is the sovereign condescension and accommodation of God whereby He chooses to create us Redeem us and interact with us particularly through guided confident bold prayer that accords with his will that agrees with his will as.

The passage that we read tells us and prayer that agrees with God's will includes asking for the right things in the right way and with the right motives. The right things the right way right motives.

That's what God's Word instructs us regarding prayer among other things now. The will of God the will of God. I Have to confess something because on the previous Lord's Day. I Defined the will of God in this way.

That to ask according to his will Means that we should pray to God according to his word. We pray to God according to his word we pray prayers that agree with his word the sum of his his word the Bible Old and New Testaments.

Which is often referred to as his revealed will his revelation his revealed will. Now part of the reason why I wanted to focus on the will of God for today is because this definition of God's will is Incomplete it's not sufficient.

It doesn't give the full picture. So and because the Apostle Paul strongly exhorts us numerous times the Apostles as well Numerous times exhort us with God-breathed words to therefore look carefully how you walk not as unwise but as wise as sensible rational intelligent discerning believers.

Redeeming the time because the days are evil on account of this do not be foolish. But understand what? Understand what the will of the Lord is. Understand what the will of the Lord is that's in Ephesians 5 15 through 17 and It's it's no surprise here in this passage We see the same exact emphasis on the same things that we see in 1st John as we see throughout scripture on Not only on knowing on knowing on wisdom on understanding God and his will the truth of God.

But also going further with a contrasting Admonition to not be unwise and to not be foolish. Right, it's very clear. The emphasis in God's Word is very clear undeniably clear. So consequently If we if we are going to live as Christians in this last and evil world We must know we must know and discern what the will of the Lord is.

Amen. We must know his will now. I'm going to preface this by Saying that I'm going to quote from different sources today in order to help us make good and proper biblical sense of God's will and to also highlight much of the mainstream confusion and Unbiblical teaching that surrounds these important doctrines of God's will and how relates to sin now.

God’s Decree, Revelation, and the Difference Between Commands and Will

This brings me to my first public service announcement that is that the will of God is a doctrine that is not so difficult to understand or comprehend in one sense. Although certain aspects of it are complex.

But it is difficult for many to accept. It's difficult for many to accept. Not so difficult to understand but for many it is difficult to accept. So then what exactly is the will of God. Then if it's not quite his revealed will the Word of God then what exactly is it.

And We ought to pray with the psalmist. We ought to pray with the psalmist teach me to do your will Oh God for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on level ground psalm 143 10. And We likewise ought to pray with Epaphras Who is one of your number a slave of Christ Jesus sends you his greetings Always striving for you in his prayers that you Believers may stand complete and fully assured in All the will of God all of it all the will of God.

Colossians 4 12. The will of God. The will of God is also referred to in Scripture as the decree of God God's decree the Council the Council the plan the end the end the purpose of God the good pleasure and Desire of God and take note of that take very careful note of these words.

For I did not shrink from declaring to you. The Apostle Paul says to the Ephesian elders though in church the whole purpose of God the whole purpose of God acts 2027. Now turn with me beloved to Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7.

We will find that this passage actually uses most of these terms to describe the will of God. A Powerful chapter from a powerful letter God breathe letter Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7 in him in Christ.

We have redemption Through his blood the forgiveness of our transgressions. Amen. According to the riches of his grace. Which he the father? Caused by his will. He caused by his will to abound to us in all wisdom and insight.

Notice the emphasis again making known to us the mystery of his will of his will according to what his good pleasure. Which he what? purposed in him in Christ for the administration of the fullness of times.

That is the summing up of all things in Christ things in the heavens and things on the earth in him in him we we Also have been made in inheritance having been predestined. That's another one. I didn't mention predestined according to the purpose.

The purpose of him who works all things according to what? The counsel of his will His will to the end to the end His end that we who first have hoped in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. Amen.

This is a powerful Very powerful passage from the Word of God very very exact and very descriptive of the will of God in all these different words and expressions. Now, what does this mean? In other words What the Apostle is saying is that?

Everything that happens Good bad ugly indifferent or otherwise. Everything that happens happens. Why? Because God works all things All things according to the counsel of his will beloved. Everything that happens is God's will.

It is according to God's will. It is caused by God's will. It is predestined by God's will. Everything now to bring all of this together a little bit further. I want to I want to read the best definition of God's will that sumarily comprehends What the Word of God teaches us about?

The will of God. I'm going to read from our 1689 Baptist confession of faith chapter 3 which is of God's decree. God has decreed all things all things that occur that happen that take place and This he has done in himself From all eternity.

He predestined them by the perfectly wise and holy counsel of his own will. Freely and unchangeably. Unchangeably. Yet he has done this in such a way that God is neither the author of sin. Nor does he share with anyone in sinning?

Nor does this violate the will of the creature? Nor is the free or working or contingency of second causes? Taken away, which means means Second causes me means in other words also including human means and choices but rather established in all this.

God's wisdom is displayed in directing all things as Is his power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree his decree. Amen. Notice the singular term decree not decrees decree. Take note of that take note of this just take careful note of this definition beloved.

Now this brings me to another public service announcement. I Needed to clarify something from the previous Lord's Day as well and That is that the Word of God the Bible the sacred scriptures only includes a part of God's will a part of God's will in both a universal big-picture sense and in a part in particular senses or particular examples.

Particular examples or specific examples. But the Bible does not include all of God's exhaustive will. Okay. The Bible includes only a part of God's will. It does not include all of God's will exhaustively.

We don't know all of God's will. We don't know all of it. But it does include part of God's will in both a universal big-picture sense like the purpose of God to redeem his people and so on and In particular senses and how he interacts with individuals like Abraham Isaac Jacob Mary all of the people of God in the Old Testament in the New Testament.

But the Bible does not include all of God's exhaustive will and Furthermore All of God's Word is not necessarily God's will. Not all of God's Word Necessarily is God's will. Beloved is a wait a minute.

What did I just say? What what does that make me a notorious heretic? Have I just driven us off a ledge or what happened here? Why would I say that? Why would I say that? All of God's Word is not necessarily God's will because in part the Bible is a complex the Bible is a complex or a combination that includes God's will and Of includes other matters other legal matters Such as God's law as we will see later on.

So chew on that for a minute and we'll revisit that shortly. Now I want to focus on The crux of the issue here, there's a major issue here that we need to address. Due to the many and diverse aspects which scripture teaches us about God's will.

Does this mean that God has more than one will? Does it mean that God has more than one will. Does God have many wills? Two or three or four or more. If so, how many and what are they? Beloved, this is one of the big questions that we need to tackle.

I want to explore some definitions offered by very prominent and popular Bible teachers and I'm willing to bet that most if not, all of you have probably heard this before that God has many wills because Many would say yes.

And various Christian traditions. Whether that's Lutheran Arminian Calvinist Methodist many traditions claim that God has more than one will Including those who profess the reformed faith like we do. I want to Introduce this by reading a quote from John Piper.

He says affirming the will of God to save all. While also affirming the unconditional election of some implies that there are at least two wills in God or two ways of willing it implies that God decrees one state of affairs while also willing and Teaching that a different state of affairs should come to pass but doesn't.

Notice how he separates God's decreeing from God's willing take careful note of that beloved. He is separating separating the decree of God from the willing or desiring of God this distinction in the way God in.

The way God's will has been expressed in various ways throughout the centuries for example theologians have spoken of Sovereign will and moral will. Efficient will and permissive will secret will and revealed will will of decree and will of command decreed of will and preceptive will.

Will of sign and will of good pleasure. You can see there's all kinds. There's all kinds of combinations of this understanding of God's will or wills. Now I Want to clarify something here as well. The revealed will of God is a term that I actually don't like and don't really agree with.

The revealed will of God is More inclusive and that includes other things besides his law but it's frequently referred to the revealed will as Including also his moral his imperative his preceptive or prescriptive will or God's commands these are God's commands what God commands us to do like the Ten Commandments and You can see the words preceptive or prescriptive in similar words like precepts precepts instructions commands directives and so on and Then the sovereign or efficient or secret or hidden or Decretive will refers frequently to God's decrees whereby God has decreed all things that occur and He this he has done in himself from all eternity by the perfectly wise and holy counsel of his own will Freely and unchangeably.

That's from the quote from the Baptist Confession that I just read from. So you can this can get pretty confusing and even contradictory as we will see shortly and Many will use this verse to justify two distinct wills and God to men.

And that's a bit of a of a word pun there from John Milton's famous poem Who sought to justify the ways of God to men? But many will use this verse to justify two distinct wills in God to men and That is in Deuteronomy 29 29.

So let's turn there beloved and find out what God's Word says there Deuteronomy 29 29. Here we see God's Word speaking to us thus the secret things. The secret things notice that belong to Yahweh our God.

But the things revealed the things revealed Belong to us and to our sons forever that we may do all the words of this law. That we may do all the words of this law. Amen, so. Okay, this is where people sometimes try to get two wills in God.

Now I want to read a particularly bad example of somebody trying to make sense of this. He says we must certainly distinguish between what God would like to see happen or things revealed and what he actually does will to happen or things hidden the secret things and Both of these things can be spoken of as God's will as God's will this is a quote from John Piper and This is Really really bad Theology but and Piper has worse problems than this but this is a particularly bad example of trying to reconcile these things.

Now to clarify the verse. There is a distinction in the verse, obviously there's things hidden there's things revealed. But it is not of two different wills. It is not of two different wills. The secret things are God's actual will.

Referred to as his decree or his hidden or his unpublished will. The things revealed are God's objective. Published revelation his word His commands his law and his gospel. Those are the things revealed.

Okay, so that was that was pretty bad. But let's let's try another example this other Gentleman says we must conclude. Notice the word the language we must necessarily Conclude that there is a sense in which God's decrees do not always reflect his desires.

God's decrees do not always reflect his desires. His purposes are not necessarily accomplished in accord with his preferences. Oh boy. That was pretty painful and that was a quote from none other than John MacArthur himself in the love of God his book these.

These quotes beloved I must say are cringeworthy. Because they are false they are contradictory and illogical. Why do I say that. Because it would mean that God has internal conflicting and contradictory contradictory wills and desires.

That he has desires which conflict with other desires that oppose or contradict his own will and decree. Such that God's will and desires are frustrated and thwarted By God's other will to decree the opposite of what he desires.

This is very problematic beloved and Unfortunately, it's a very common opinion today. But we cannot beloved we cannot make God appear to contradict himself in this way for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace as In all the churches of the Saints.

Amen. He is not a God of confusion or of contradiction or of nonsense but of peace. 1st Corinthians 1433. Now let's revise let's attempt to revise what these men said in biblical terms. What a scripture say about this biblically.

God's decree Singular does not always reflect his commands. God's decree does not always reflect what he commands. Yet his purposes are Always and necessarily accomplished in accordance with in agreement with his will and preferences.

Without exception and without fail beloved. There is no contradiction in God. Because God's decree is ultimately God's will. God's purpose God's desire without odds or contradiction. Everything that happens beloved happens because God willed it to happen.

Not because he decreed it and somehow opposed his own decree. That's nonsense. That's not what scripture teaches us now in light of this and I this Hopefully explains a little bit better. Why is said that God's Word does not include does not always.

All of God's Word is not necessarily his will. Because God decrees sin to happen which contradicts his commands. Right, so we have to account for that biblically. Now in light of that then does God have a permissive will?

Sin, the Cross, and God’s Decree Over All Things

Does God have a permissive will and what is that many of y 'all might have heard this before as well, especially in more Arminian understandings in circles and churches. God's permissive will is the belief that all occurrences including persecution happen by God's permission by God.

Allowing it to happen for his purpose or purposes. Now does anyone have a problem with that beloved based on what we've already read? What's wrong with that picture? Does God allow? Things to happen. Does he allow anything to happen or does God?

Decree and predestined everything to happen. Everything to happen declaring the end from the what from the beginning and From ancient times things which have not been done. Saying my counsel my decree.

Will be established. Not Contradicted will be established and I will accomplish. Some of my good pleasure. No, all my good pleasure all of it. Not some all my good pleasure. Calling a bird of prey from the east the man of my counsel from a far country.

Truly I have spoken. Truly I will bring it to pass. Without fail without question. I have formed it. Surely I will do it all my good pleasure beloved. Amen, that was from Isaiah 46 verses 10 through 11 a powerful passage from God's Word and You can see why oftentimes many have a hard time accepting this that God decreed everything to happen.

The good the bad and the ugly. Because God has a purpose for it beloved. Did God say some or did he say all his good pleasure. Remember the story of Joseph. His brothers meant it for evil, but who meant it and purposed it for good beloved.

God purposed it for good. He decreed it for good even though it was evil and sin and disobedience to God. Therefore beloved. Everything that has happened. Everything that happens that is happening. Everything that will happen.

Ultimately is God's will and for God's good pleasure. All of it is for God's good purpose. All of it is his decree all of it. Then Job remember Job. Then Job answered and said answered Yahweh and said I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours.

Can be thwarted. Can be stopped can be interrupted. It is impossible none of God's purpose. None of God's will none of God's desire can be thwarted. Period. Period. None. I want to read. Let's try reading a better a better theologian this time from Jonathan Edwards the The theologian from the Great Awakening one of the one of the most prominent American theologians that this country has produced.

What did he have to say about this matter? Here is Jonathan Edwards in his treatise concerning the divine decrees in general and election in particular. He says. God decrees all things and even all sins.

God decrees all things beloved and even all sins. He continues Acts 2 23. Him Christ being delivered by the determinate Counsel and for knowledge of God. That's another word for God's will for knowledge his decree Ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

What? God predetermined Christ to be delivered over to wicked men by wicked hands. To be crucified and slain. Acts 4 28 continues. For to do whatsoever. Thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Whatsoever He determined beforehand to be done if the thing meant. Edwards says. Be only that Christ's sufferings should come to pass by some means or other. I answer they could not come to pass except by sin.

But by sin were it not for sin. The cross could not have happened apart from sin happening first. That's what he's saying. The cross happened because God predetermined sin to happen first. That's why there was a cross beloved.

Which brings me to my next question speaking of the question of God's will and how it relates to sin. Ask yourselves this beloved. Was there a cross? Because of the fall because of sin. Or. Was there a fall.

Was there sin? Because of the cross. Which one is it? Was there a fall. Was there was there a cross because of the fall. Or was there a fall because of the cross. Remember what we read earlier in Ephesians 1 9.

Beloved. What does it have to say? Not to mention what we just read in Acts 223. The father is making known to us the mystery of his will. According to his good pleasure. Which he purposed in him for an administration of the fullness of times that is the summing up of what?

The summing up of all things in Christ. All things does that include sin. Does all things include sin? Yes, and amen things in the heavens and things on the earth in him in him. For Christ beloved is all.

Christ is the end. He is the end. The end of God's will is to glorify himself and his Son most prominently through the cross. That is why sin had to happen beloved. There had to be a fall because God's plan the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.

Ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain these wicked men by their own will and choices fulfilled God's will in their own sin to accomplish God's glory and redemption for his people.

Only a sovereign God Can do such things beloved. That is a sovereign all-powerful omnipotent God. Amen. Now I Have another public service announcement to make beloved. As far as I know in my study of this doctrine the Bible always and only describes God's will as singular as singular not as plural as God's decree his counsel his purpose his plan his will it's always singular.

Always singular. Because God has only one will. One will and that is what is frequently referred to as his hidden will. His decreed of will his decree. Yet we saw many theologians continue Historically claimed and continue to claim that God has more than one will now.

This is kind of hitting the crux of the issue once again. But is not murder is not all sin contrary to the will of God. That's what we always that's how most people try to rationalize or explain it is not sin contrary to God's will.

How then could God will it to happen? Now here I want to read from a very excellent Reformed theologian a good friend of mine. I've never met before but he by the name of Gordon Clark. He says and explains.

Very easily. He says the term will is ambiguous. The term will has a double meaning. The Ten Commandments are God's preceptive will. Quote-unquote. They command men to do this and to refrain from that they state what ought to be done.

But they neither state nor cause what is actually done. God's decreed of will. His only will his secret will however as contrasted with his precepts his commands. Causes every event his decreed of will causes everything to happen.

We should not apply the term will to the precepts or the commands beloved. That is not properly described as God's will. That is God's law God's commands. They are distinct. Because if God's law was his will then everybody would obey perfectly all the time.

Right. We have to make sense of this biblically and logically and consistently in light of the whole counsel and purpose of God so call the requirements of morality commands precepts laws, etc and Reserve the term will for the divine decree of God alone.

These are two different things. Beloved they are two different things. They are not two conflicting wills. Okay, one is his law one is his actual will beloved. Now that being said what about passages like?

Ezekiel 33 Verses 10 through 11. Let's turn there now beloved to find out. To wrestle with what God has to say in this particular passage. Ezekiel chapter 33 verse 10. Let's let's look together God's Word and what it has what he has to say.

Now as for you Ezekiel son of man the prophet say to the house of Israel to the Jews in Babylonian captivity. Thus you have spoken saying surely our Israel's transgressions and our sins are upon us and we are rotting away in them.

How then can we live? Say to them as I live declares the Lord Yahweh. I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back turn back from your evil ways.

Why then will you die? Oh house of Israel? Okay. Okay, so did we hit a stump there? Did I just contradict God's Word by what I said earlier? Let's find out here. God Takes says he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and commands him to turn back to his wit to his law.

Even though he still decreed some of the wicked to die. Okay. Now another thing is that we cannot ignore the Old Testament context here. Because God who is God addressing? God is specifically addressing the house of Israel.

His chosen corporate nation of Israel not chosen necessarily for salvation. Because as Paul says not all of Israel is God's Israel true Israel, but nevertheless he is talking to God's nation of Israel.

Specifically the house of Israel and uses Anthropomorphic or anthropopathic language here. Similar to what we saw in 1st John 5 verse 14 and 15. He hears us. God hears us. And similarly God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

So then because of these things we cannot Necessarily apply this verse universally to everyone. At least not in the same way We can extract the principle. But not to the extent that it contradicts God's Word in other places.

Right because also. Consider with me. 1st Samuel chapter 2 verse 25. Turn with me to fast. 1st Samuel chapter 2 verse 25. Beloved. We'll see what else God has to say on a related matter. 1st Samuel chapter 2 verse 25.

God's Word says if one man sins against another God will mediate for him. But if a man sins against Yahweh Who can pray for him? But they the sons of Eli. Eli the judge and the priest. The wicked sons of Eli who were priests as well Would not listen to the voice of their father.

But why? What does it tell us beloved? For because Yahweh desire to put them to death. Because Yahweh desire to put them to death He prevented them from listening to the voice of their father. Wow, if you can't say amen, you ought to say ouch beloved.

Does God control all things or some things? God control. Amen. God controls all things beloved and Even though in The one sense in Ezekiel where he addresses the corporate nation of Israel He says I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked yet.

Nevertheless, he desired the sons of Eli. Were they a part of Israel? Were they part of God's nation of Israel the household of Israel? Yes indeed. Yet he desired for them to die and they did. God judged them.

What's the lesson here beloved. What's the takeaway. The only time the only time God appears to have frustrated desires or Thwarted desires is when he expresses himself with human emotions. With human emotions.

Anthropopathically, that's what it means. To express himself in human ways and emotions. So it should not be taken literally beloved. We should not take those passages literally. Does God have ears? Does God himself has have ears?

No. What does God say John 4 24. God is spirit. Now yes, Christ has a body but he is the exception to the persons of the Godhead. But God is spirit and has not a body like men like the Children's Catechism tells us so and God likewise in our confession says has is without body parts or passions.

God has no passions. He doesn't have emotions. Not in the human sense. Christ accepted, of course but God Does not change. Beloved I am the Lord. I change not. He's not a fickle God who becomes irascible and emotional.

He's not a human in that sense. Just as he hears us as an anthropomorphism. Because God doesn't have physical ears to hear he doesn't need them. He's omniscient. He already knows what happened because he already caused he caused everything to happen.

By his will by his decree. That is what we must understand beloved and I want to finish out with this and I hope this has been a blessing to you. I would like to finish out with this this food for thought for you all.

How Christians Know God’s Will for Their Lives Through the Local Church

How then beloved can we know the will of God? For our specific lives. How do we know what the will of God is? How do we know what God wants us to do or not do? Because the Bible doesn't speak to everything right?

It doesn't speak to what job we should get necessarily or specifically or who we should marry specifically. It gives us principles, of course but. According to best-selling author. Dr. Emerson Egorix author of love and respect and the four wills of God.

God has not one but four universal wills. Specifically for all believers as well as a unique will for every individual believer. Now his four wills according to Egorix is. To believe in Jesus Christ abstain from sexual sin give thanks in everything and submit in doing right.

And he bases these things on certain passages. Believing Jesus Christ based on John 6 40 for this is the will of my father. Right. This is the will of my father. That everyone who sees the son and believes in him will have eternal life and I myself will raise him up at the last day.

Okay, so then he says abstain from sexual sin based on first Thessalonians 4 3 for this is the will of God. Your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality sexual sin, right. And then he says give thanks in everything to God first Thessalonians 5 18 in Everything give thanks for why this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

And finally to submit in doing right. 1st Peter 2 13 through 15 be subject. Be submissive subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution. Submit to human authorities whether to a king as the one in authority or to governor sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and.

The praise of those who do good for this is the will of God. That by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. So then according to Egorix to get God's unique will for your life in particular.

You must first follow the four universal wills of God. Now, let's ask ourselves here. Let's do a little exercise here are the four wills of God that he explains a Satisfactory definition of God's will or wills.

Is this satisfactory? Now in light of what I've previously stated from Scripture, I think not it falls quite short here. But how why is there anything missing? Is there anything important missing anything foundational?

Missing from God's will and what it is. So first of all notice this beloved. Every single verse that got that Egorix quotes says God's will. Singular one. God's will not not plural not wills it is singular and.

Maybe we can say. Oh, well, he's using a literary device God's wills it's like well, that's not very that's not very helpful and it's it's confusing because the Bible says God only has one will and His one will includes all of those things to abstain from sexual sin.

To believe in Jesus Christ to submit in doing right. And the third one was to To Abstain from sexual sin and to give thanks and everything so. But it's not wills it's one will always and Not surprisingly the passage today in 1st John 5 14 likewise says God's will if we Singular not plural for if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.