Vital Signs: Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Confidence for the Journey

“Thousands of prayers have been strangled in their infancy by unbelief.” — Charles Spurgeon

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” - 1 John 5:14–15 NKJV

Maybe you find this a strange verse after reading Spurgeon’s quote. I believe that word confidence has everything to do with our believing or not believing. We often pray like the children of Israel, asking the Father to meet our needs or to speak to us, and sometimes His answer comes quickly and sometimes it is delayed.

When prayers are answered quickly, it would benefit us greatly to journal those moments so we can look back with confidence that God has and always will answer prayer—not always how we want, but always with purpose.

Far too often we forget the many times God has answered, especially during seasons when we need to hear Him and yet feel silence. It’s in those moments that our faith begins to weaken.

Keli and I spoke yesterday on an afternoon walk about the countless times God has come through and answered our prayers in amazing ways. But even still, there are times when my heart cries out, “God, are you listening?”

Today, begin journaling your prayers so that you can remind yourself daily of the faithfulness of God. This simple act will strengthen your confidence and faith for the journey.

And may we always remember—our prayer should be for His will, not ours.