“Whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” I Jn 3:22 (ESV). This promise appears in the middle of a discussion about loving one another, which John says is the main commandment. So the promise and encouragement in this verse is that our commitment to actually loving others and to pleasing God leads to answered prayer. God blesses those who follow him in Christ by giving the good things they ask for. We know that sometimes devout Christians don’t receive what they pray for; John partly explains this later in Jn. 5:14 where he says that we should pray according to God’s will. But when an obedient Christians prays for what God promises they can be confident that God will say yes.
