St John 16:23-33/James 1:22-27/Numbers 21:4-9
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, He will give it to you.
Prayer in Jesus’ Name is prayer that mirrors Gethsemane. There in the garden of betrayal, the garden of the traitorous kiss, our Lord’s perfect prayer is so intense that He sweats blood. His Father hears His prayer and conforms His Son’s will to His own. Set for the sacrifice ahead, the angels come and minister to Him one last time – that is, until they roll away the stone three days later.
Meanwhile, a stone’s throw away from that bloody prayer, the weak and sleepy disciples fail to pray. They did not watch even one hour. They did not call upon the Name of the Lord in every trouble. They did not plead to be delivered from this evil, nor even to be guarded against it. They succumb to temptation. They sleep.
Yet despite that, despite their sin, their failure, the Son’s prayer is answered. He is always heard. The Father’s will is done. They go free. He is arrested. They live. He dies.
This is all our life, all our prayer, in Him. For He is our atoning Sacrifice, the sweet aroma offered to God on our behalf, the Lamb consumed in the Father’s wrath, our holy Substitute. Jesus is our living serpent, having the likeness of sin upon Him, becoming Sin for us, He was suspended upon the Cross. Thus we look to Him; by Him we live and through Him we pray. How then, having given us even this, His own Son, will the Father who loves you, fail to give you all things?
That is prayer in Jesus’ Name. It is prayer that finds its voice and substance in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the One who came from the Father and has gone to the Father. Prayer in Jesus’ Name prays as Moses did on behalf of the Israelites, “Lord, have mercy,” and He does. It prays as the repentant King David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” and He does. It prays, as Jesus taught His disciples, “Our Father . . .” and He is.
We do not pray to obtain pleasures of the flesh, earthly lusts and desires; being hearers only, deceiving ourselves. But we pray to our God and Father who has saved us and has called us according to His purpose. We pray like Jesus in Gethsemane: Not my will, but Thine be done. We pray that God would conform our wills to His, that He would break us free from this house of doom and the trapping flesh that drags us down. It is written, Those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). The very image of the Bronze Serpent lifted up on the standard of the Cross!
Prayer in Jesus’ Name is prayer in accord with Jesus’ Word and will. And this prayer is always heard, always answered, for whatever you ask in Jesus’ Name the Father gives. On this faith creating promise, firmly spoken with a double oath, Amen, amen, I say to you, you confidently pray. The Father loves you. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
The President of the United States, the lowly governor of this state, probably even the state senators, will not return your calls. You are not important to them. Yeah, I know, the candidates came to your door in jeans and a polo shirt and gave you their cell phone numbers; but despite all the propaganda about being the people’s servants, they do not behave as though they were. But even though they are heads of state, when their children call, they answer.
And so it is that we pray to our Father in heaven as children. He cares for you. We pray with boldness and confidence, bounding up onto our Father’s lap, knowing He loves us. The people of Israel pleaded for Moses to intercede for them. People always ask their pastors to pray for them. And they do, even as you do for them.
But Jesus says, In that day you will ask in My Name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. The Almighty, the Ruler and Creator of all things, the One who is, the One who gave His only-begotten Son as a ransom to serve the unfaithful and faithless rebels, the Living God, He eagerly awaits and rejoices in your prayers. He hears you. He loves to hear you, to bless you, to feed and forgive you. He answers.
It is not only the Son who came to serve, but also the Father who spoke from heaven in His own voice, and the Spirit who bears witness of the Son and speaks the Truth, who love you. The blessed Holy Trinity is at work on your behalf. The Son is your Advocate. He rules on high at the right hand of His Father, judging all things. He has completed His purpose, obeyed the Father’s will, fulfilled His holy Office, and returned to the Father.
There He advocates for you. He mediates. He points to His wounds and says, “These pay for her debts. These cover his sin.” Your conscience is clean in Him so that you may pray with confidence. He Himself is religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father. And He visits you in your affliction by sending His Spirit.
And God the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who gave you birth through Holy Baptism, who nurtures you with the wholesome Word, has compassion for you. Dare I say, He loves you like a mother? She gave you life, nurtured you, frets and worries over you, prays for you.
Indeed God is your Father and the Church is your Mother, and the Helper knows you do not know what or how to pray. So He prays for you with perfect prayers, in perfect accordance with His Word and will, with unspeakable groans on your behalf. The Father hears the Spirit and the Son. And He loves you too. Lowly you, whom kings and presidents dismiss, have the privilege given in Holy Baptism to call Him “Father” and to pray. He hears and He answers.
In Him who died and rose again we pray and have peace. He has overcome the world for us. He gives you everything you need, not simply for this body and life, but even for eternal life. In Him our prayers are answered; for all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory. And it is God who establishes us in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Cor 1:20-22).
And so it is, just as He has promised, He delivers Himself to you in the Holy Eucharist. There, in that sacred meal, you know God as your Father. You are His, and what is His is yours.
There every petition of His prayer it fulfilled. His Name is holy. And His Name is your name. His good and gracious will is done to you and for you in the eating and the drinking. His kingdom comes to you and is placed into your mouth as you kneel before Him. You have your daily bread and you are given eternal bread, the Bread of Life. Your sins are forgiven. He goes with you through the valley of the shadow of death, guiding you by the Staff of His Cross, leading you out of temptation. And at the last, this deliverance will be complete. He will deliver you once and for all from the evil one who has been crushed by the Heel he bruised!
You are not alone. And soon we shall not need to ask Him for anything. In that day, your joy will be full. Take heart, your Jesus has overcome the world. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, He will give it to you.
Prayer in Jesus’ Name is prayer that mirrors Gethsemane. There in the garden of betrayal, the garden of the traitorous kiss, our Lord’s perfect prayer is so intense that He sweats blood. His Father hears His prayer and conforms His Son’s will to His own. Set for the sacrifice ahead, the angels come and minister to Him one last time – that is, until they roll away the stone three days later.
Meanwhile, a stone’s throw away from that bloody prayer, the weak and sleepy disciples fail to pray. They did not watch even one hour. They did not call upon the Name of the Lord in every trouble. They did not plead to be delivered from this evil, nor even to be guarded against it. They succumb to temptation. They sleep.
Yet despite that, despite their sin, their failure, the Son’s prayer is answered. He is always heard. The Father’s will is done. They go free. He is arrested. They live. He dies.
This is all our life, all our prayer, in Him. For He is our atoning Sacrifice, the sweet aroma offered to God on our behalf, the Lamb consumed in the Father’s wrath, our holy Substitute. Jesus is our living serpent, having the likeness of sin upon Him, becoming Sin for us, He was suspended upon the Cross. Thus we look to Him; by Him we live and through Him we pray. How then, having given us even this, His own Son, will the Father who loves you, fail to give you all things?
That is prayer in Jesus’ Name. It is prayer that finds its voice and substance in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the One who came from the Father and has gone to the Father. Prayer in Jesus’ Name prays as Moses did on behalf of the Israelites, “Lord, have mercy,” and He does. It prays as the repentant King David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” and He does. It prays, as Jesus taught His disciples, “Our Father . . .” and He is.
We do not pray to obtain pleasures of the flesh, earthly lusts and desires; being hearers only, deceiving ourselves. But we pray to our God and Father who has saved us and has called us according to His purpose. We pray like Jesus in Gethsemane: Not my will, but Thine be done. We pray that God would conform our wills to His, that He would break us free from this house of doom and the trapping flesh that drags us down. It is written, Those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). The very image of the Bronze Serpent lifted up on the standard of the Cross!
Prayer in Jesus’ Name is prayer in accord with Jesus’ Word and will. And this prayer is always heard, always answered, for whatever you ask in Jesus’ Name the Father gives. On this faith creating promise, firmly spoken with a double oath, Amen, amen, I say to you, you confidently pray. The Father loves you. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
The President of the United States, the lowly governor of this state, probably even the state senators, will not return your calls. You are not important to them. Yeah, I know, the candidates came to your door in jeans and a polo shirt and gave you their cell phone numbers; but despite all the propaganda about being the people’s servants, they do not behave as though they were. But even though they are heads of state, when their children call, they answer.
And so it is that we pray to our Father in heaven as children. He cares for you. We pray with boldness and confidence, bounding up onto our Father’s lap, knowing He loves us. The people of Israel pleaded for Moses to intercede for them. People always ask their pastors to pray for them. And they do, even as you do for them.
But Jesus says, In that day you will ask in My Name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. The Almighty, the Ruler and Creator of all things, the One who is, the One who gave His only-begotten Son as a ransom to serve the unfaithful and faithless rebels, the Living God, He eagerly awaits and rejoices in your prayers. He hears you. He loves to hear you, to bless you, to feed and forgive you. He answers.
It is not only the Son who came to serve, but also the Father who spoke from heaven in His own voice, and the Spirit who bears witness of the Son and speaks the Truth, who love you. The blessed Holy Trinity is at work on your behalf. The Son is your Advocate. He rules on high at the right hand of His Father, judging all things. He has completed His purpose, obeyed the Father’s will, fulfilled His holy Office, and returned to the Father.
There He advocates for you. He mediates. He points to His wounds and says, “These pay for her debts. These cover his sin.” Your conscience is clean in Him so that you may pray with confidence. He Himself is religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father. And He visits you in your affliction by sending His Spirit.
And God the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who gave you birth through Holy Baptism, who nurtures you with the wholesome Word, has compassion for you. Dare I say, He loves you like a mother? She gave you life, nurtured you, frets and worries over you, prays for you.
Indeed God is your Father and the Church is your Mother, and the Helper knows you do not know what or how to pray. So He prays for you with perfect prayers, in perfect accordance with His Word and will, with unspeakable groans on your behalf. The Father hears the Spirit and the Son. And He loves you too. Lowly you, whom kings and presidents dismiss, have the privilege given in Holy Baptism to call Him “Father” and to pray. He hears and He answers.
In Him who died and rose again we pray and have peace. He has overcome the world for us. He gives you everything you need, not simply for this body and life, but even for eternal life. In Him our prayers are answered; for all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory. And it is God who establishes us in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Cor 1:20-22).
And so it is, just as He has promised, He delivers Himself to you in the Holy Eucharist. There, in that sacred meal, you know God as your Father. You are His, and what is His is yours.
There every petition of His prayer it fulfilled. His Name is holy. And His Name is your name. His good and gracious will is done to you and for you in the eating and the drinking. His kingdom comes to you and is placed into your mouth as you kneel before Him. You have your daily bread and you are given eternal bread, the Bread of Life. Your sins are forgiven. He goes with you through the valley of the shadow of death, guiding you by the Staff of His Cross, leading you out of temptation. And at the last, this deliverance will be complete. He will deliver you once and for all from the evil one who has been crushed by the Heel he bruised!
You are not alone. And soon we shall not need to ask Him for anything. In that day, your joy will be full. Take heart, your Jesus has overcome the world. Amen.
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