Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, October 9th.

Fear can be debilitating, but for believers, it can hinder our ability to hear from God.

Let's learn to recognize when that's happening and gain confidence in prayer.

If you'll turn to 1 John chapter 5, and let's look at the 14th and 15th verses of that chapter,

and let's answer some questions about coming to the Lord with confidence and boldness in our praying.

Chapter 5, verse 14 and 15, and he says, and this is the confidence, the boldness, the assurance,

which we have before him, that if we ask anything

according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us and whatever we ask,

we know that we have the request which we have asked of Him. Now, that is a simple promise that

God has given to us concerning our prayer life, that if we ask

anything according to His will, he hears us, and if we know that he hears us, and whatever

we ask, we know that we have the petition that we desired of him or the request.

But you say, well, now, I believe that, but the problem is, how do I know that I'm asking

the right thing when I come to him?

Because so often I'm not sure that I'm asking the right thing when I come to him because so often I'm not sure

that I am asking the right thing as I bring my petition of my desires to God. All of us at

times struggle with that. That is, Lord, here's what I'm asking, but I'm not really sure it is

your will. So it is natural and normal for us to struggle at times to know if what we're asking is really in keeping with what God wants for our life.

So I want to mention two things to you.

The second part has three parts to it.

And the first one is this.

When we come to this whole matter of confidence in prayer, I want to say,

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