The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ
John 16:23
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Sometimes teachers and preachers get bogged down to the point of missing the principle. It’s the proverbial forest for the trees kind of thing. Let’s not do that today. This Verily, verily teaching is quite clear. Pray in Jesus’ name and His Father will give it to you. Yes, the surrounding verses teach much, but don’t miss this twenty-fourth Verily, verily lesson. Do not let this one slip by.
Does this mean that anybody can pray for anything invoking the name of Jesus and obtain it from God? Even sinful things? Well, if a person does pray for something and does not receive it perhaps James 4:2-3 has taken place. Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Evidently praying in Jesus’ name necessitates praying within His, and the Father’s will.
Another aspect to not receiving that for which is asked is that our prayer is sometimes misdirected. Notice carefully Jesus said Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father. Direct the prayer to the Father through the name of Jesus. That is the prescription found in this verse.
A third nuance of this verse is when is that day? It is the day in which we live. The day in which Jesus is in heaven with the Father. Hebrews 7:25 speaks of that day: Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
So, here it is, today, pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus. He will give you that which you ask, even if that which He gives you is not the exact thing you desire. He very often improves upon that which we ask even to the point that we don’t readily understand that which He is doing. But make no doubt, He is still in the prayer answering business.
Until next time,
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
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