1 John 5: 14-15 – This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his 
will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
Are you confident approaching God?
I know that the word confidence might throw some people off here. I have been told by several people that they are not confident in praying. Not about their confidence in God, but in their ability to pray. I don’t believe that there is any right way or wrong way to pray. Jesus did give us an example of how to pray. in the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen.
Another good tool is to use a structure something like this: Praise (Saying who God is), confession (asking God for forgiveness for your sins), Thanksgiving (Thanking Him for all He’s done for you), and Supplication (Any requests you have on behalf of yourself or others).
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Have you ever walked into a room, started talking to someone, then suddenly realize they can’t hear you because they’re wearing ear buds Maybe you’re like me and when you’re working on your computer or watching TV, you’re so über focused, that you don’t hear your children when they ask you a question. Most humans have a little work to do on their listening skills. Not God. Not only does God listen to you, he hears you. He understands your full meaning. When I’m talking to my friend, we often say, “I hear ya”. We don’t just mean we’re listening (as it might be if my kids are talking loudly to me), we mean, I get it. We understand each other. Why do my friend and I feel like we understand each other? Because we’ve spent time together. We are in relationship with one another. We share our feelings, hopes and dreams with each other. We also talk about our problems and what our plans are. God wants to be in relationship with us as well. He wants us to talk to Him, through prayer about all of those things. He wants us to ask Him about anything and for anything. He understands us. God hears us. You can be confident that when you’re speaking to God, it’s not a futile task. There are no busy lines (most kids don’t even know what that is, do they?) or voice mail You’ve got a direct line through prayer to the One who can handle all of your problems.
And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
What an amazing promise this is! I must confess, I find it hard to wrap my head around sometimes. Because of this promise, we can be confident in our prayers, assured that He’s listening, hearing and acting on what we pray. God is fully engaged in His relationship with you. He is ready to listen at the drop of a hat. He’s waiting for you to talk with Him, to turn to Him, to trust Him, to believe Him.
Are you confident approaching God?
God is... 