1 John 3:21-24

²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

²² And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

²⁴ Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

We have freedom in asking and likewise the assurance of the effectiveness of our prayers. The primary condition for this, then, is freedom from the consciousness of sin (v.21). … The present tense of the verbs in this and the preceding verses indicates a continuance of the conditions referred to. — Vine, pages 66-67.

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because we keep His commandments (v.21) — This presents a condition upon which our prayer is answered, and follows in line with verse 22. Obedience to God and conformity with His will are prerequisites to the reception of the answers to our prayers. … Doing the things that are pleasing in His sight is more than keeping His commandments. The latter is included in the former. The practice of God’s will is a higher standard than obedience to precepts, and the believer is to seek to do that in which God delights as well as to obey what He commands. — Vine, page 67.

There is application here for believers in the Dispensation of Grace. We obviously cannot pray if we don’t believe in Jesus Christ, and we can’t pray in our new nature if we harbor hate for others.

That faith (v.23) is put as the basis of conduct strikes a blow at the contention of those who would advocate that as long as one does what is right it does not matter what he believes. … The phrase rendered “believe in the name” has no preposition in the original, and is literally “believe the name,” which signifies to believe all that is implied in His Name, that is to say, Christ’s divine relationship, attributes, and functions, His character and operations. — Vine, page 68.

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This is the fourth evidence of the new life in the believer. They are as follows:

1. keeping God’s commandments (2:4) 

2. the doing of righteousness (2:29)

3. loving in deeds as well as words (3:18)

4. the possession of the Spirit (3:24) — Vine, page 69.