1 John 5:14-15
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.
1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV)
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.
1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
1 John 5:14-15 (KJV)
And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
1 John 5:14-15 (NLT)
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15 (ESV)
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 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.
1 John 5:14-15 (NASB)Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.
1 John 5:14-15 (AMP)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
1 John 5:14-15 (AMPC)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he's listening. And if we're confident that he's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours.
1 John 5:14-15 (MSG)Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
New Covenant Meaning
Parresia: The Boldness of a Child Before a Father
The word parresia, translated "confidence" or "boldness," is a Greek word that combines pas (all) and rhesis (speech). Literally: freedom to say everything, the boldness to speak openly without holding back. In classical Greek it described the free speech of the citizen who could speak openly in the assembly. In the New Testament, it describes the boldness of prayer from the position of one who knows they are welcome before God. John uses this word in 1 John 2:28, 3:21, 4:17, and 5:14. The confidence of New Covenant prayer is not presumption. It is the relational confidence of a child before a father who is genuinely listening.
The Logic of the Two Verses
The argument of verses 14-15 has a clear logical structure. Verse 14: if we ask according to His will, He hears us. Verse 15: if He hears us in whatever we ask, then we have what we asked. The logic is a chain: according to will leads to hearing, and hearing leads to having. The conclusion is present-tense certainty: "we know that we have." Not "we hope we will have" or "we trust we might have." We know we have. The certainty rests on the reliability of the chain: God's will is the foundation, God's hearing is the guarantee, and God's character as a faithful giver is the assurance of the outcome.
The phrase "according to His will" is not a retreat from the boldness of prayer into vague uncertainty. It is the very ground of the confidence. If my request is according to His will, I am asking for what He has already decided to give. The will of God is not a mysterious obstacle I have to guess at and might fail to hit. It is revealed in His word, His character, and the person of His Son. A believer who is soaking in Scripture, walking in relationship with God, and praying from that place of alignment is not guessing about God's will. They are asking from within it. And asking from within His will produces the certainty described in verse 15.
Application for Your Life
Confidence in Prayer Is Not Arrogance, It Is Relationship
The confidence John describes is not the attitude of someone demanding from a vending machine. It is the confidence of someone who knows the one they are talking to: knows His character, knows His willingness, knows His love, and knows His word. This confidence grows as the relationship deepens. A person who has been walking with God for years and has seen His faithfulness in prayer after prayer approaches prayer differently than a new believer still learning who God is. Both are welcome, but the seasoned relationship produces a settled confidence that transforms how prayer is offered and how answers are received.
You Can Know You Have Received, Not Just Hope
Verse 15 uses the perfect tense: "we know that we have the requests we have asked." The present possession language parallels Mark 11:24 (believe that you have received). 1 John 5:14-15 provides the theological grounding for that kind of bold receiving: when the prayer is according to His will, you do not need to wait with uncertainty about whether it was heard. You can know. Not presume, not demand, but know, from the stable ground of a life aligned with His will and a prayer made in that alignment. That knowing is the fruit of relationship.
Prayer Based on This Verse
Father, I come before You with the boldness You invite. I am not approaching You cautiously, uncertain of whether You are listening. You are listening. I ask according to Your will: aligned with Your word, shaped by Your character, directed toward Your purposes. And because I ask according to Your will, I know You hear me. And because I know You hear me, I know that I have what I have asked. I receive with settled knowledge. I do not wait in uncertainty. I bring everything to You with the parresia of a child before a Father who is genuinely for me. In Jesus name. Amen.