We began our prayer guide in October by claiming that the Bible tells us how to pray and we’ve focused on adoration, asking, and this month, we focus on anticipation. We believe the Bible tells us what we can anticipate when we pray.

1 John 5:14 says this: Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 

He hears us. How beautiful and comforting to know that our Creator and King hears us. The Bible is filled with examples of God hearing his people. Here are just a few examples from the book of Psalms:

In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. – Psalm 18:16

 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He reached down to me and heard my cry.  

– Psalm 40:1

But God has heard; He has given attention to the sound of my prayer. – Psalm 66:19

1 John 5 says he hears us if we pray according to his will.  Christ himself modeled this for us while he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26 tells us that 3 times Jesus prayed the same prayer, each time ending with “not as I will, but as you will.” How do we know God’s will? Paul writes in Colossians 1:9 “…we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  The first place to look is his Word. This year may we encourage one another to pursue a greater understanding of God’s Word, that we might know and seek the will of God. 

This month we pray for our future pastor. We may know nothing about him, where he’s from, how old he is, or if he has a family. But together we pray with confidence, knowing God hears the prayers of those who seek his will. 

Download the full prayer guide here!