Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 John 5:14

"And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us:" — 1 John 5:14 (ASV)

The “confidence” (GK 4244) we have in our life with Christ belongs not only in the future time of his coming (2:28) and of judgment (4:17) but also in the present and especially in the fellowship of prayer. We know that we have access to him (3:21) and that “he hears us.” “Hearing” does not mean simply to be listened to but to be heard favorably (cf. Jn 11:41-42). The expectation is, of course, linked to the qualifying clause, “if we ask according to his will” (cf. Matthew 6:10; Mark 14:36).

It is not any prayer that is answered but the confident prayer of the disciple who is in fellowship with the Father, who asks in Jesus’ name (15:16), who “remains” in him , and who obeys his commands . This is not meant to dampen the expectation we may have in prayer, but the condition for addressing God is to know he will hear and act. Prayer becomes not only a time for petitioning but of yielding one’s life to the will and work of God. Prayer made in these circumstances is always heard because it is God’s will that is being done and his intention for humankind that is being met.