"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him." I John 5:14-15 (NKJV)
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your own pleasures." James 4:3 (NKJV) This particular text applies to many of us who seek the Lord daily and consistently in prayer as we place our petitions before the throne of grace. We ask, but we don't receive. Then when we don't receive we really don't know exactly why. Could it be that there are times when we simply "miss" the will of God concerning our request because our own personal desires outweigh God's perfect will for our lives? One thing is sure; God will never intrude or violate our freedom of volition and impose His will on us.
The confidence of answered prayer is brought to bear when we pray according to the will of God. The will of God is found in the word of God. A simple test is to determine if what we are asking God for can be found in the word of God. If God's word does not confirm the manner and motive of our prayer then it is safe to say that we are not praying according to the will of God. God's word is His will. The only time that believer's are to pray to God "if it be your will" is when the will of God which is in His word, is unknown to us or if we are praying for someone, and we are not clear on what their personal motive or desires may be concerning their circumstances.
When we pray according to the will of God which is His word, we are assured that He "hears" our request. When we pray in this manner our petition is actually announced in the presence of God. This is so very important because there are times when God will not hear us. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." Psalm 66:18 (NKJV) The word "hear" in this particular passage means "to hear with attention or interest." When we pray according to the will of God and without iniquity and unconfessed sin, we can be confident that God will incline His ear towards us and be totally interested in our request. (See Psalm 40:1)
Once we have established our confidence by praying according to His will, which is His word; and He has given our request His undivided attention. We can have continued confidence that we will receive the petitions that we have asked of Him. It is extremely important to understand that our confidence is in Him. When that is firmly understood, God will answer us according to His perfect will for our lives and not according to our human will and desires that can be quite selfish at times. If He were going to answer us according to our human will, then there would be no need to pray. The reason that this is important is that we must trust His answer by faith. It may not be the answer that we want to hear, but it is His answer according to the perfect purpose and plan that He has for our lives. In this you can be confident.
