In the Field of Play

“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.”—1 John 5:14 

The apostle John wrote about the confidence we have as believers in praying to God.  John wrote, “if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.”  What most people focus on is the words, “if we ask anything…He hears us.” But they miss the middle part, “according to His will.” What does it mean to “ask anything according to His will”?  It means asking in God’s field of play.  There are times we pray and God will not answer, no matter how sincere or persistent our prayers may be.

Consider the game of football for a moment.  The field is the will of God and God is the quarterback. We are God’s wide receivers.  We run our routes according to the playbook (which is the Word of God—the Bible).  And when we run the routes God has designed, He delights in throwing the ball to us.  We can run up and down the field and He will throw it to us.  But, what if we were to step out of bounds?  Will He throw it to us then?  Of course not.  We could run out of bounds, then turn around and ask Him to throw us the ball.  We can jump up and down on the sideline, waving our hands, saying, “I’m open, I’m open!” But God is not going to throw us the ball—why?  Because we are outside of the field of play, which is also outside the will of God.  How do we stay in the field of play? By following the plays within the Word of God.  Obedience to God’s playbook keeps us on the field.

God will only grant our requests based on Christ’s finished work.  He entered into the holy of holies by His flesh, tearing down the wall of hostility that kept us from the presence of God.  And by faith in Him, we enter into God’s presence, able to approach the throne of grace during our time of need, confident that if we ask anything according to His will (in the field of play as determined and decreed by the Word of God), then He will hear us.

The question we must ask ourselves is this: are we in the field of play ready to ask God?  Or are we busy waving our arms on the sidelines, begging Him to throw us a pass?  He will not answer us if we are not on the field, no matter how much we ask.  It is only when we step back onto the field that God will answer us.  And the only way to step back into God’s field of play is through confession and repentance.  If we confess our sins, He will forgive us, and allow us back on the field ready to answer anything we ask of Him to the delight and glory of His great and glorious name.  Amen.