The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 John 5:12-15, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.

14 And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

Everything in Scripture is there for a purpose. “The life” of which John speaks here is Eternal Life. That’s why the word “the” precedes the word “life.” We all have life, but only those who have believed in the LORD Jesus Christ have Eternal Life. You may not be sure whether you have Eternal Life. Some in John’s day had that insecurity, too. That’s why he wrote the letter.

Those who do possess Eternal Life have that confidence in the LORD Jesus Christ. Furthermore, they have confidence that

“if (they) ask anything according to His will, He hears (them),” that is, He hears their prayers. Notice carefully, that the key to receiving answers to prayers is that we pray “according to His will.” How do we know the LORD’s will? Mostly, I believe, His will is revealed in Scripture, the Bible. The Holy Spirit lives within every true believer, and He often impresses us internally with that which is His will for us. One thing is certain: He always hears us, and His will is always right. He knows things we do not know.

I have experienced praying when what I hardly more than mentioned was answered by the LORD. I have also prayed extensively day after day for weeks and months, only to have the LORD respond as if He had not even heard my prayers. He ultimately answered, but not in the way I had asked. All of us, I am confident, have asked our parents for things that we wanted, but things that were not good for us. They heard what we asked, but gave us something different –something they knew was better for us. God is like that.

If all that I have said above is true, how can John then say, “And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him”? The only precise answer to the question is that the timing of our request is not God’s timing. Prayers of His children are not lost on God. He hears them all, and answers “according to His will.” We have to learn patience; and we have to remember that His will is always best. In time, we will learn this, as He wills to reveal it. It is all a matter of trust, of faith, of confidence in the One who gave us Eternal Life. May we always be found faithful, and may He always be praised!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”