Name It and Claim It

Pastor Chris Huff

I might begin by warning us not to take the sermon title too far, but I'm going to let it stand for now. There are certainly ministries which revolve around this idea. But more often than not, we don't fall victim to this way of thinking. Our problem is usually the other way around: we have not because we ask not. So I just want us to be encouraged this morning to pray. Pray for that which you think you need. Pray for that which you don't necessarily think that you need, but you just really really want. Just pray! âAnd 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. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life--to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.â (1 John 5:14-17) I'd like to address verses 16 and 17 first, as these two verses bring up a few difficult questions for us. How can one person's prayer life affect another person's position before God? What is this sin that leads to death? And is there ever a time that we should stop praying for someone? What is this sin that leads to death? This is actually an easier question that we might realize at first. It becomes clearer when we ask what kind of death this is referring to. Is it referring to a physical death? The Bible describes several occasions when a person or persons sinned and God killed them immediately: Herod (Acts 12:21-23), Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-5), and Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:6-7). But these seemed to be more a case by case basis, and it doesn't appear that John had these occasions in mind. No, it seems that John has a spiritual death in mind. John was contrasting this death with the life he mentioned in verse 13. The only sin that necessarily leads to death and eternal separation from God is unbelief. God will forgive every sin as long as you trust in Jesus as Savior. This doesn't give anyone a license to sin, however. If Jesus is your Savior, you will want to please Him out of the joy of knowing Him. But this raises a more difficult question: does the text tell us that we should not pray for those who do not believe in Christ? This is what the text seems to imply (v. 16b). However, we need to note a few things. 1. The sin which leads to death is not merely unbelief, but persistent unbelief which lasts a person's entire life. We cannot know whether a person will eventually call upon Christ as Savior. So there is always hope. So we should pray for them. 2. John did not command that we cannot pray for those who do not believe. Rather, he did not command that we must pray for them. But isn't this an odd thing? Shouldn't we continually pray for our unbelieving friends, that they would come to know Jesus as Savior. But by writing this way, John left it up to us. We may choose to pray for a specific individual our entire lives. Or we may pray for a specific person for a time, and then feel as though God is leading us to pray for a different individual instead. You still hope that the first would give their life to Christ. But God is pressing another person on your heart to pray for. And John is simply saying, âThat's okay.â We ought not feel the weight of the world on our shoulders when we pray as if everything depended upon us. And yet prayer does have eternal significance (v. 16a). This addresses the question I raised earlier: How can one person's prayer life affect another person's position before God? First, we should recognize that this, now, is talking about praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Secondly, notice that they are not committing the sin of unbelief. Yet their sins are still getting in the way of their relationship with God. Pray that they will turn back to God. God will hear your request, and will woo them back to Himself. God allows us to be part of the process of a person coming back to Christ. So pray! Pray for your believing as well as unbelieving friends! And you can be confident that God hears your prayers and will leap into action! Verse 14 tell us of the confidence that we can have toward God (v. 14). But where does this confidence come from? (v. 13) It comes from knowing Jesus as Savior. When we know Jesus, we know we have eternal life. We can be sure of it. We can be confident of this fact. Being confident that our relationship with Christ gives us a home in Heaven, we are also confident of what our relationship with Christ means for today. Among other things, it means that God hears our prayers. But God hears all prayers anyway, right? Sure, God knows everything, sees everything and hears everything. But God hearing the prayers of His children has a special meaning (v. 15). We can be confident that God will not only hear our prayers, but will give us what we ask for. But there's a stipulation in the text which us how we need to pray (v. 14). We need to pray according to the will of God. But how do we do that? Firstly, pray for things that God wants for you. Secondly, do not pray for things that God does not want for you. If we pray this way, then the Scripture says that God will give us what we ask for. But how can we tell the difference between these things? God's Word tells us what God's will is. It tells us what God wants for us. But it can't really be that simple, can it? Sometimes we pray for things that appear to be according to God's will, but we don't get them. Perhaps something else is hindering your prayer life. Do you have sin in your life that you're cherishing? (Psalm 66:18) Are you praying with wrong motives? (James 4:3) Are you seeking to obey and please God with your life? (1 John 3:21) Sometimes, as much as we want what we're praying for, we just need to accept that what we're praying for may not be what God wants for us. I heard this last week that God answers prayer in one of four ways: yes, no, wait, and you've got to be kidding me! When we pray, we ultimately need to trust that God will give us what we need, and that He is infinitely more wise than we are. God is not a genie in a bottle. He doesn't exist just to give you all the things you want. But if you know Jesus Christ as Savior, God is your Heavenly Father who desires to give good gifts to those who ask Him.

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