CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER

Learning to Trust the Heart of Our Father

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
—Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
—1 John 5:14 (NKJV)

Beloved, there are seasons when prayer feels like speaking into the dark.

You kneel.
You whisper.
You wait.

And the sky does not split open.

The situation does not shift.
The pain does not immediately lift.
The answer does not arrive wrapped in clarity.

In those quiet stretches, the heart can begin to ache with questions.

“Did I miss You, Lord?”
“Are You displeased with me?”
“Do You even hear?”

Some will never admit it aloud, but deep within, frustration begins to form. Not rebellion — just weariness. Not unbelief — just confusion.

We expected movement. We expected breakthrough. We expected a visible sign that something was happening.

But instead, there is silence.

And silence can feel like distance.

Yet silence is not absence.

When Jesus spoke the words, “Ask… seek… knock,” He was not giving us a formula. He was describing a rhythm of relationship.

The language He used carries a steady motion — keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Not as a frantic repetition, but as a posture of persistence.

A child does not stop speaking to his father because the answer did not come in five minutes.

He remains.

That is what confidence in prayer looks like.

It is not loud.
It is not dramatic.
It is steady.

Many of us were taught to pray quickly and move on. “Lord, fix this.” “Lord, open that door.” “Lord, remove this pain.” And when nothing shifts immediately, we quietly withdraw.

But prayer was never meant to be a drive-through request window.

It is communion.

Asking is the honest expression of need.
Seeking is leaning in to understand His heart.
Knocking is refusing to walk away from His presence.

Sometimes we are not waiting on God to move. Sometimes He is inviting us to remain.

And here is the sacred anchor of it all: He is your Father.

Not a distant force.
Not a reluctant ruler.
Father.

When Jesus said, “Your Father who is in heaven,” He was revealing intimacy. Confidence in prayer begins not with perfect faith, but with secure relationship.

A child who knows he is loved approaches differently.

Through Jesus, you have access. The blood of Christ did not merely forgive your sin; it opened the way. You are not shouting across a chasm. You are stepping into a throne room where you are already welcomed.

That changes how you pray.

Now, here is something that must be settled in the heart: every answer your Father gives is good.

Good does not always mean easy.
Good does not always mean immediate.
Good does not always mean what we imagined.

There are times we ask for what looks like bread, but the Father sees further than we do. He sees the unseen threads. He sees the future you cannot yet perceive. His wisdom is not reactionary; it is eternal.

Sometimes the most loving answer is delay.
Sometimes the most merciful answer is “not this.”
Sometimes the most protective answer is silence while He works beneath the surface.

First John tells us that our confidence rests in this — if we ask according to His will, He hears us.

He hears you.

Not when you get the wording perfect.
Not when your emotions are strong.
But when you come as His child.

Prayer shapes us. In the staying, our motives are sifted. In the waiting, our hearts are softened. In the returning, trust is built.

We begin to notice something changing within us.

We stop praying only for outcomes.
We start praying for alignment.

“Father, not just what I want — but what You desire.”

That is where peace enters.

If you have grown discouraged, do not interpret delay as neglect. The Father is not irritated with your repeated requests. He is not tired of your tears. He is not distracted by someone else’s louder need.

He is attentive.

Confidence in prayer is not confidence that I control the outcome. It is confidence that I am known.

And when you are known by your Father, you can rest even before the answer appears.

If you have stepped back from prayer because disappointment wounded your faith, today is the day to return.

Right where you are, speak honestly:

“Father, I have felt unheard. I have felt weary. But I come back to You — not because I understand everything, but because I belong to You. Teach me to trust Your heart when I cannot trace Your hand. Shape my desires to reflect Your will. Restore my confidence in prayer.”

Lay down the frustration. Lay down the quiet accusations. Lay down the timeline you created.

And step again into the place of communion.

Keep asking.
Keep seeking.
Keep knocking.

Not to force a door — but to remain near His heart.

You are not ignored.
You are not forgotten.
You are a child before a Father who gives what is good.

And in time — in His perfect wisdom — you will see that even the waiting was mercy.

With Love,
Steve Porter
www.morningglorydevo.com

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