1 John 3:19-24

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Questions to consider:

• How do you respond to the fact that God knows everything about your love for your brother or sister?
• What characteristics are essential in your life to give you confidence before God and the assurance that your prayers will be answered?

Possibilities for prayer:

My guess is that we want to be living in God. According to John, the way that we can accomplish this is through the keeping of God’s commands. John clearly lays out what those commands are: to believe in the name of Jesus and to love one another (are you noticing that loving others is a pretty important thing?). Let’s ask God for continued courage and strength in loving one another (the good, the bad, and the ugly of each person) with God’s love. And as we did earlier this week, let’s boldly claim Jesus for ourselves, as we are commanded to do.