God Pleasers – The Presidential Prayer Team

Whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. – 1 John 3:22

Salvation is by grace, not by works, but if you expect the Lord to answer your prayers, you should know there are conditions to be met. An example is found in today’s verse. You can be confident that whatever you ask you will receive when you keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.

The Jewish leaders of Jesus’s day were meticulous at teaching the commandments and Jewish law, yet Jesus said the prostitutes and tax collectors would go to God’s Kingdom before they did (Matthew 21:28-32). What did Jesus teach about keeping God’s commandments and pleasing Him? He taught that the two greatest commandments were loving God and others and that all the law and prophets were based on them (Matthew 22:34-40). He said the work of God was to believe in His Son (John 6:29). And “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10).

As you read the Bible, you learn what pleases God, things like nurturing the unity among brothers and sisters in Christ, having compassion and helping those in need, doing good works, praying, studying the Scripture, and yielding yourself to the Holy Spirit. In your prayer time, ask God to reveal to you how better to please Him. As you grow in Christ and please the Lord more and more, you can be confident that your prayers will be answered. Ask that the nation as a whole will be open to the gospel and to obeying God. Pray for His Spirit to move among His people to meet the needs of those around them.

Today’s Verse: 1 John 3:22

and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Recommended for further reading: Romans 12:1-13

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.