How to Pray with Absolute Confidence, Part 1

If you have your Bible with you, open to Mark chapter 11, and we’re going to look at verses 22 through 24. The context of this is pretty interesting. It’s very near the end of Jesus’ ministry, and He’s going into the feasts, and the festivals. And as He goes in one morning, there’s a fig tree that doesn’t have any fruit on it.

And so, in the morning, Jesus curses this fig tree. And that afternoon, they’re coming back, and the roots are up out of the ground, and it’s withered just like that. And Peter, basically, says, “Hey, Lord, not bad, huh? Pretty powerful; when You speak, things happen.”

And in response to that, with His disciples, in this private encounter, Jesus said, as though they were surprised, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth…” Basically, “If you think that was something…” “I tell you the truth, disciples, followers of Mine, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself in the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.’”

Pretty outrageous, isn’t it?

But now, He pushes it to the next level, because the word therefore He generalizes, and begins to explain, “This isn’t just an instance. It’s not just for you, disciples.” But notice the next line: “Therefore I tell you” – here’s the principle – “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it” – notice the result – “and it will be yours.” Look at it again.

Now, is this outrageous? Is this a great promise? Did Jesus maybe just go over the edge? Flu, virus, having a bad day, didn’t really mean to say this? “I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Is He really saying that if we can muster up inside, I believe, I believe, I believe – give me a Mercedes. I believe, I believe, I believe – okay, a Cadillac. Is that what this is all about? Somehow, you can conjure up, and if you believe it, and can think it, then it’ll come true? I don’t think so.

I think it’s one of the biggest and most misunderstood promises in all of Scripture.

I think He’s saying something very important here, but, often, it’s not what we think.

In the early days of my Christian life – and I’d like to say, not recently, but pretty recently – I think, a lot of times, when this passage would come up, I’d try and change the topic. How do you explain this one?

I remember having a good friend who – I was probably a couple of years old in Christ, a sophomore in college and he was in an accident, and he ended up paralyzed. We prayed and fasted, as a young college group. God spared his life. And he was one of these Stryker frames, where they sandwich you together, with a spinal cord injury. He was now a quadriplegic, at the time, didn’t even know if he was going to use his arms.

And I remember coming across this verse: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” And I didn’t have much background, as I’ve shared with you. I’d never read the Bible much.

But you know what? Whatever it meant to believe, I spent all day mustering up as much faith as I could get. Praying, and reading, and then reading, and praying, and trying to visualize God healing Frank, and trying to believe God was big enough to do it, and trying to somehow conjure up, I wonder what this kind of faith looks like?

By 11:30 that night, I snuck in the hospital. Looked this way, that way – the nurses aren’t looking. Get around one corner, here comes an orderly – face this way – went up the back stairs. Finally, I get in his room, and he’s in this bed. And I got down on my knees, and so I went up underneath, and, “Hey, Frank, how you doing?” He’s awake. I said, “Frank, I’ve been praying all day, and I came across this passage.” I quoted it to him.

We talked for a while, and I said, “Frank, I want to pray for you. I want to believe, because it says that if I believe, that I’ve received, that God’s going to do it.” And with all the zeal and sincerity I could muster, “Oh, God, heal Frank right now!” And I prayed a lot of stuff.

Then, I opened my eyes, hoping that he’d say, “Chip! Chip! I felt something warm and powerful go all over my body! Get that nurse! Let me out of here!” It didn’t happen. Well, maybe it’ll happen tomorrow. It didn’t happen. Maybe next week – it didn’t happen. Maybe next month – it didn’t happen. He’s still in a wheelchair.

So, what’s this mean? Is this true, or not true, or did I so completely misunderstand what this is all about that I wasn’t praying the way God wanted me to? Any of you have this? You ever prayed some of these prayers, like, Hey, God, it says in Your Word, and I’ve tried it, and this one doesn’t work, at least for me. Well, I’d like to suggest that, probably, the problem is getting back to: what’s it mean?

Because here’s one obvious observation about this passage.

Regardless of what it does mean, we can all agree – look at verse 22: “Have faith in God.” Verse 23: “If you do not doubt.” Later in verse 23: “…but believes.” “That you ask for and believe.” If there’s one thing we can all agree on, whatever Jesus is communicating, it has a lot to do with faith, right?

It has something to do with believing, whatever that means. So, let’s go, before we even look at the main text, and find out what the Scripture teaches faith is.

What is it? And, believe it or not, in Hebrews 11:1 – I’ve put it in your notes – He gives a definition for faith. “Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” Faith is not subjective. Faith isn’t conjuring something up. Notice what it says. The operative words: being sure and certain.

Faith is having absolute confidence that something that hasn’t happened yet will happen, and that something that you can’t see will come to be. That’s what faith is.

See, for there to be biblical faith, you have to have a word from God. Faith boils down to: God says this. Do you trust that what He said is true, or not? If you don’t have a word from God, you can’t have biblical faith.

I didn’t have any word from God. I didn’t have a promise from God that said He would heal my buddy. Sometimes God chooses to heal people; sometimes He chooses not to. You can’t put God in a box, and tell Him what to do. But any time God gives us a promise, any time we know what He says, He says if you’ll act on that, that’s biblical faith.

In fact, look at verse 6 of Hebrews. The author goes on, and develops not only the definition of faith, but how important it is. He says without faith, without trusting in what God has said, and acting on it, it’s impossible to please God. He says you can go to church, you can pray, you can give to the United Way, you can be morally pure, but if you don’t believe God, you don’t please Him. What He wants from you and me, more than anything else, is faith.

And then, He gives the reason why: “because anyone who comes to God…” If you want to have a relationship with God, you’ve got to believe two things. You “must believe that He exists” – know Him for who He really is – but you also have to believe a second thing. Often we believe the first, but not the second: “and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly or diligently seek Him.”

God is on the edge of His chair, if you will forgive the little picture, longing to bless you, longing to draw you close, longing to reveal Himself, longing for you to take any kind of step, in response to His Word, so that He can say, “All right.” Like a father watching a little baby, or a toddler, take a few little steps, God’s arms are out. That’s the kind of God He is. Faith is believing that He exists, and that He’s a rewarder.

And so, if you wanted to summarize it all: faith, therefore, is having absolute confidence that whatever God says, He will do. That’s all faith is. You can feel close to God exercising faith. You can have flu and exercise faith. You can feel distant from God and exercise faith. But any time you have absolute confidence that God said this, and you believe it, to the point of acting on it – that is what the Bible is talking about, in terms of faith.

Now, I want to ask you a question – it’s a little personal – and the question I have, when we get, now, back to praying, is: when you pray, when you close your eyes, and you decide, I want to spend good time with the God of the universe, are you coming to God with absolute certainty, and confidence, that what you’re asking for will be given?

Have you ever thought of praying that way? When you bow your head, are you certain that the things that you’re going to ask for, God is going to answer – specifically, what you’re praying for?

And some of you are looking at me like, I don’t know if you can pray that way. Chip, where are you going with this one? Is this one of those trick questions?

No, it’s not a trick question.

I’d like to suggest that God wants you, in the great majority of your prayer time, to have one hundred percent, absolute confidence before Him, and pray specific things in such a way that you will know He will answer that specific thing.

Where do I get that? Here’s our text for the day. Follow along, if you will, as I read 1 John chapter 5, verses 13 through 15. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God” – he’s writing to his children – “so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

And the context is, he said, “Whoever has the Son,” in verse 11 and 12, “has life. Those who don’t have the Son don’t have life.” So, he’s writing these things to assure them, all those people that are really in God’s family.

Now, notice verse 14: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything” – and notice this phrase – “according to His will, He hears us.” Now, let’s stop and do a little analysis. “This,” he says, “is the confidence.” The word for confidence means “boldness; assurance; openness; absolute certainty.” When you come before the very throne of God, he says, “This is the absolute confidence, the certainty, that we possess before Him.”

And what is that confidence? “That if we ask anything,” and it lines up with His will, it’s “according to His will, He hears us.” And that little word, “He hears us,” literally means His ears are open to us; our request has gained audience before the King of the universe. Now, look at the next verse. It gets even more radical.

Verse 15: “And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have” – or possess – “what we’ve asked for.” Have you had times like that, in prayer? Have you had times when you have prayed, and you know, since you’re praying according to God’s will, that the very thing you’re asking for, God guarantees He’s going to answer for you?

And by the way, notice, the word know is repeated twice. There are two words in the Greek New Testament for know. One is a knowledge that comes by way of experience. There’s another word that means know. It’s a historical or a verifiable, objective fact like, “I know that gravity exists.” If I believe in gravity, fine. If I don’t believe in gravity, fine. Jump off a three-, four-story building. Whether you believe it or not, you have, basically, the same result.

That’s this word. It’s absolute certainty, historical fact. We know that God hears us. And if you pray according to His will, and He hears us, then you know that you’re going to get whatever you ask.

Is that a radical thought for some of you this morning? You’re looking at me like, Oooh, boy, I’ve never heard this before! Did you know this passage was in the Bible?

Well, let’s talk about how it works.

How can you pray with confidence, and certainty?

Well, the first question we need to ask is: to whom is this promise made? It’s a radical promise, but it’s not for everybody. Notice, in verse 13, “These things are written to those who believe in the name of the Son of God.”

This is reserved for people who are God’s children. A lot of people can pray, and God does different things, but this promise is reserved for people that have personally asked Christ to come into their life. Their sins have been forgiven. The Holy Spirit has come and taken dwelling inside of them, and it bears witness with their spirit that they’re the child of God. This promise is for anyone that’s in God’s family this way.

Now, the second question we might want to ask is, well, then, how must we pray to know that God hears our prayers? That’s in verse 14. Chip, you’re telling me that this passage guarantees that God’s going to hear my prayer. But how do I know that for certain? Look at the little phrase “if we pray” – how? You look. What does it say? “…according to the will of God.” If you or I pray anything “according to His will” – and that phrase means that it’s God’s intention; it’s His highest desire; it’s His authorized plan to be fulfilled.

The next question, as this passage opens up, is not only how to pray according to God’s will, but how do you know God’s will?

See, at this point, I hope your mind is saying – let me just have a quick aside – I hope your mind is saying, in your heart of hearts, I pray a lot of vague prayers. I’m not sure I pray real specifically.

I think I, instead of having faith, you know what I find in my life, and probably with many of you? I find, instead of praying in faith, I’m usually praying in hope. Oh, God, I hope this happens. Oh, God, this is a good desire. Oh, God, this would be nice, if You did it.

That’s not what Jesus said. Jesus said, “When you come, asking in faith, believe that you’ve received it, and it’ll be given to you.” I don’t think He’s joking, people. I don’t think He just threw that one out to impress Peter and the boys. I think He was saying, “If you can know what the will of God is, once you understand My will, then you can ask for it, and I will deliver, and you can take it to the bank. I want you to pray specifically, and with certainty, and with confidence, and I will answer.”

Now, the question is how do you know God’s will so you ask the right stuff, right?

There are two ways.

The first is by the promises of God in Scripture.

The second is by the ministry of the Holy Spirit leading you in prayer, and showing you that God can give a personal word for you in how to pray.