“Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth. This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be able to keep ourselves strong in his presence. If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God. Whatever we request we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is the confidence that we have in him: if we ask for anything according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that he listens to our requests, we can be sure that we have what we ask him for.” – 1 John 3:18-22; 5:14-15 (ISV). Prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have as children of God. The Hymn Writer – Joseph Medicott Scriven – in his hymn titled ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’ penned these two lines: “Oh what peace we often forfeit; oh what needless pain we bear All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer” In other words, whenever we fail to make use of this great privilege, we stand to miss out of so many good things that God has prepared for those that truly love HIM. According to Apostle Paul in his first letter to the church at Corinth, there are three things that are vital for every true believer – Faith, Hope and Love – and he said also that the most important is love and I am persuaded that Apostle John is also drawing from what Paul has said in his letter when he wrote this first Epistle to the entire church of God. Apostle John mentions the fact that love must go beyond words; love must be demonstrated by action; and in truth. This demonstration will give the believer a confidence that can only be described as supernatural. It is this confidence that fires the believer’s faith and gives the believer assurance that every issue brought before God, will receive the desired result. So Faith; Hope (or Expectation); and Love are all at work because love is the foundation. What the Beloved Apostle John is saying here is that when these three elements come together, we receive a key that will always unlock the heart of God to us at the place of prayer. When this happens, our prayers will be unselfish; they will change our character; and we will always pray for God’s will (“May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” – Matt. 6:10). Welcome to the month of Answered Prayers.