Here is the lesson:
The gist is that you use le to refer back to a previously mentioned idea instead of a concrete noun. French is more picky about this than English, where you can often simply omit this reference. But it wouldn't be French when, mostly in everyday spoken French, it's omitted, too.
Here are a few choice examples:
Je le savais. -- I knew it! (In this case you have the "it" in the English as well.)
Je l'espère. -- I hope so. (literally: I hope it)
Tu le verras. -- You'll see.