1 John 3:19-24

v19-22: We can have confidence that when we pray and bring our requests to God, they will be listened to, and we will receive the good things that we ask for, if we are living in obedience to God’s commands. Why? Because the requests we bring will be for “the honour and glory” of God and for our own spiritual good. However, “those who commit things displeasing to God cannot expect that he will please them by hearing and answering their prayers.”

v23a: Obedience to God’s command “to believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ” is “necessary for those who want to have their requests answered by God, because it is through the Son that we must come to the Father,” and it is “through his grace and righteousness we must be accepted or brought into favour with the Father,” and it is “through the salvation he has purchased must come all our desired blessings, and through his intercession our prayers must be heard and answered.”

v23b: Love for one another must be present when we go to God in prayer, which is why it is important to remember “to forgive those who offend us” and “to reconcile ourselves with those we have offended.”

v24: “Those who are obedient enjoy fellowship with God,” that is, we enjoy “a happy relationship with him and spiritual union with him through his Son.” If we have faith in Christ and have love for God for one another, this shows that God dwells in us, because this can only come from Him by the work of His Spirit.