1 John 5:14 - who hears prayers?

by leaving_quietly 21 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  leaving_quietly

  The last talk on the School this week was about Jehovah being the 'hearer of prayer.' One of the proof texts used was 1 John 5:14. "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that, no matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us."

  I am now in the habit of reading surrounding verses for context and found that this verse follows a discussion regarding having faith in the Son of God, and that God provided his Son as a witness. Immediately preceding verse 14, it is talking about putting faith in the name of the Son of God.

  vs. 9-14:

  9 If we receive the witness men give, the witness God gives is greater, because this is the witness God gives, the fact that he has borne witness concerning his Son. 10 The [person] putting his faith in the Son of God has the witness given in his own case. The [person] not having faith in God has made him a liar, because he has not put his faith in the witness given, which God as witness has given concerning his Son. 11 And this is the witness given, that God gave us everlasting life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that has the Son has this life; he that does not have the Son of God does not have this life.
  13 I write YOU these things that YOU may know that YOU have life everlasting, YOU who put YOUR faith in the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that, no matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us.

  So, who is the "him", "his", and "he" talking about in verse 14? Jehovah or Jesus? By context, to me it seems like it's talking about the Son of God, not God.
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  Jeffro

  The context of the passage suggests that it's Jesus who hears your wish.

  Back in reality, no one hears it, except if someone else is in the room while you're making your wish and you say your wish out loud.
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  Kojack57

  Well, God's will must have been that I suffer for 29 years of marriage because he never answered any of my prayers to help me end that travesty.

  Thank you God!! I ended it myself!!!!

  Kojack
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  fakesmile

  in my reading i believe it is all power of suggestion. it makes you feel a relief of your moral connundrums by apollogising to an invisible friend instead of the person you have tresspassed. or asking forgiveness of YOURSELF for a mistake instead of the affected person.

  in summation, you are offering prayers to an imaginary friend for your mistakes instead of apologizing to the people you might have transgressed.

  and to smart assedly answer the question. who hears prayers, well the dog, perhaps a cat, a loved one, how far do you want to go with this? maybe you have roaches or termites. do you pray for the termites? god kept them alive during the flood. who are you to question the almighty?
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  leaving_quietly

  Y'all are too funny.
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  punkofnice

  Hearer of prayers. Answerer of none.

  There is always the 'according to his will' get out clause.

  I used to believe in god but am now.................whatever!
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  unstopableravens

  unbelievable ,always making comments atheist. lol back to reality the context is jesus. only a issue for ppl that dont realize that jesus is god. look at the kingdom int at john 14:14 they take the first me out!
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  Bobcat

  Most commentaries view 5:13 - 21 as a sort of summary conclusion. Thus, they take auton ("he") in verse 14 as an echo of 3:21 which specifically refers to praying to "God." The NIV inserts "God" into the text of 5:14, showing that the translators understood "he" to be "God," as opposed to "the Son." The translation in the NICNT commentary also inserts "God" to make the point clear (as he understands it).

  I can see where the immediate context could lead to a different conclusion.

  Take Care
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  fakesmile

  ravens, didnt you see the latest episode of southpark? your savior was high on tranquilzers. he didnt suffer for your sins. he was infact, very high. in seriousness tho,i believe a man named jesus lived. he might have even been from nazeria. but he could have only been human even if he taught good lessons. hitchens quoted someone when he asked..."which is more likely, a jewish minx lied about an affair? or that all laws of nature were suspended when god had sex with his mom to concieve himself so he could allow himself to be tortured?"
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  Jeffro

  unstopableravens:

  unbelievable ,always making comments atheist.

  How dare they?!

  lol back to reality the context is jesus.

  Yes, the context does suggest Jesus.

  only a issue for ppl that dont realize that jesus is god.

  This statement assumes a great deal. Though no one has ever demonstrated that any god exists, it's accepted by fiat that not only is there a god, but it's the Abrahamic god, who we are to 'realise' is also Jesus, though there is very little evidence that Jesus existed either, and no evidence that Jesus, if he did exist, did anything attributed to him in the Bible, much of which is from earlier pagan stories anyway. Accepting all of that, we are also to understand that speech and thoughts are both transmitted through unstated means, without any medium to carry sound and no mechanism to carry thought, to a deity of unknown location or formation, who lets children starve to death but helps white middle-aged people find their keys.

  But no, of course he hears you.

  look at the kingdom int at john 14:14 they take the first me out!

  Not all manuscripts include "me" in the original text of John 14:14, so this is not conclusive.