Pray In Accordance With God's Will

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us (1 John 5;14).

To ask God according to his will does not mean that, before Christians can pray effectively, they need somehow to discover God’s secret plans for the future (sometimes called his “hidden will” or “will of decree”; cf. Deut. 29:29). Rather, it means they should ask according to what the Bible teaches about God’s will for his people (sometimes called God’s “revealed will” or “will of precept”). If Christians are praying in accordance with what pleases God as found in the teaching of Scripture, then they are praying according to his will (cf. Matt. 6:10; Eph. 5:17).

Adapted from the ESV Study Bible