1 John 5:14,15 “And this is the boldness which we have towards Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us; and if we know that He heareth us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him” God always answers prayers. The answer is either yes, no or not yet. Today’s passage focuses on the yes’s. It seems to allude to us being able to know if something is God’s will. And if we know it’s His will, we can be bold about Him answering it. How can we know His will? We know He wants us to love others and to avoid temptation. We can pray confidently that those prayers will be answered. We also know that He will provide for us. As long as we are working and not being careless in our spending, He’ll provide. There are other ways that scripture tells us about knowing His will. He opens and closes doors. Revelations tells us this: “I have put before you and open door that no man can shut.” Paul’s example about following the Lord’s guidance is another text. As we pray and move throughout life, He will open and close doors. Sometimes we try to force events to try to make them happen. At Paul’s conversion, Jesus said, “It’s hard for you to kick against the goads”. Paul was fighting God. Jacob also was fighting God in the wrestling match. God had to wound him to bring him under control. “Go with the flow” is a good concept to hold to when testing for God’s will. Fighting to hard against circumstances often isn’t His way. This is always in the confines of scripture. Another way that God guides is through peace in our hearts. The bible talks about “not quenching the Spirit.” This is referring to sin, but resisting His direction could also harden our hearts towards the Spirit. Another passage says to “let the peace of God rule and reign in our hearts.” If we lose our peace, then we need to pause and ask God if we are going in the right way. These are some subjective ways we can know His will. We can boldly pray for these things. We can get out of balance. There are plenty of stories in which people claim that God told me to… So, we need to be in balance. This is family business. The nonchristian would think we are looney. That’s ok. The bible warns us about that. Peter says, “And they are surprised that you don’t run with them in the same excess of dissipation.” However, we need to bounce these things off our friends in Christ. Is this boldness arrogant? I don’t think so. It actually demonstrates our faith in God’s goodness. Jesus said, “Which of you would give your child a stone instead of a fish. If you being evil know how to give good things, how much more your Heavenly Father.” Our confidence shows we believe in Him. Lord, thank You for Your answering our prayers