This is the confidence which we have before him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.There are two ways to read this verse, and I think one tends to get more play than the other. The first is that if we pray with some kind of formula like "may such-and-such, according to Your will, happen," we expect that God will do what we ask. The problem with this is that it turns God into a vending machine, where we just have to have a coin that says "Your Will" and it'll spit out whatever we want.
The second, and I think correct, way is that we have to be praying in alignment with God and His plans for us. If we are truly seeking Him, we will want what He wants. So, even when we want something different, we make it clear that we are bending to His will, not expecting Him to bend to ours. By repetition and thought, our wills will be reshaped to match His more closely, and we'll find our prayers "being answered" more often.
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