John provides us with a strong motivation for obedience. The believer does not resent God’s commandments but gladly submits to them and recognises his right to command.
Answers are in response to prayer; prayers require confidence before God; confidence is dependent on sincere love; love and faith are commandments, and the keeping of commands ensures we abide in God and he in us. John goes on linking one practical truth after another, teaching us the close relation between these practical elements of the Christian life and what beautiful harmony these doctrines of Scripture have with each other.