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NASB | 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 5:14 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. |
Bible Question: Why don't I feel his presence in my prayers? Could I have done something wrong? |
Bible Answer: This is a most common experience and may or may not have anything to do with whether we have unconfessed sin in our lives. My first thought is this: have you told the Lord about this in your prayer time? Being my thought it may not be of the Lord, so here are some other considerations. First, you may be experiencing the presence of Christ constantly in your life and so do not notice a difference while in prayer, and yet you expect to feel more holy or connected at that time than when driving to work or going for milk at the store, or whatever you do. Second, you cannot expect to be better off than even some of the great evangelists of recent days: Charles Finney (a nineteenth evangelist) experienced a six year period in which he did not sense G-d's presence in his life, even though there were no fewer people coming to know Jesus during that time than when the presence of G-d was so obvious to him. Even the great man after G-d's own heart, King David, had such experiences: read through Psalms and you will see. And then there is our Saviour Jesus Christ who had a brief but heart-wrenching loss of His Father's presence while He hung on the cross (Matt 28:46) "My G-d, My G-d, why hast Thou forsaken Me?". Because Jesus experienced this for you, even for a moment, you never need to. Are you abandoned by G-d? Never! His love for you is complete and unwavering. "Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your house." (Paul to the jailer Acts 16:31). Here is the challenge to every Christian: to trust Jesus, even and especially when we do not feel His presence, each and every moment of our lives. As A. B. Simpson once said, "Christ is not a reservoir but a spring." May you draw deeply and well from that spring. I have given a brief prayer for you that you will be firmly convinced that Christ Jesus has said to you, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Next, this situation might give the devil an opportunity to lead you astray. Know this, that "No temptation has seized except that which is common to man, and G-d is faithful who will not allow you be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation give a way of escape." (I Cor 10:13). Ask the Lord to show you "the way of escape" so that you will not sin. Finally, be sure to thank G-d for His great love for you even though you do not sense His presence. Praise G-d for His incomparable Word! |