1 John 5:13-15
What is written? (ESV)
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And 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.
What does it say?
I [John] am writing these things to those that already believe in the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. Our confidence in God allows us to know He hears our prayers, and if we ask according to His will our requests are granted.
What is its immediate context?
John is defining one’s love of God as the obedience (doing) of His word (vs 3). Opposed to this is “the world” which stands in the way of a “victory” made possible by Jesus Christ (vss 4ff). John wants to remind brethren to remain strong and remember to pray to God for help (vs 13-16). The pronoun “he” in vss 14-15 is qualified in vs 16 as God the father.
How 1 John 5:13-15 is applied across Bible answers
Do we pray to Jesus or God?
John confirms that God hears our prayers and grants our requests that are "according to His will."
What does it mean to pray in the Spirit?
There is no explicit mention of the Holy Spirit here, but John's qualification that prayer requests be made "according to his will" certainly would qualify as "praying in the Spirit".
