May 28, 2025
Ask in My Name - Part 3
John 16:23-24
05/28/2025
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly,
truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the
Father in my name, he will give it to you.
24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask,
and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
(ESV)
[Jesus said:] In that day you will ask nothing of me.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the
Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now
you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will
receive, that your joy may be full.
In this week's Gospel, Jesus gives us instructions on how to
pray, how to be certain our prayer is heard. First, we must
trust in God's promise to hear our prayer. Faith is knowledge,
agreement, and trust. Therefore, the second part of true prayer
is faith, that we do not doubt that God will give us what He
promises.
When we pray for temporal blessings, we do so by saying,
``Your will be done.'' As children of the heavenly Father, we
know that our desires are not always in our best interests.
Because we admit that we do not know all the implications and
unintended consequences of our prayer, we defer to God's wisdom.
We are willing to accept an answer of ``no'' or ``wait.''
When praying for spiritual blessings such as the forgiveness
of our sins, for wisdom, for a stronger faith, we already know
those are according to God's holy will. For God has said in His
Word that He does not delight in the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked turn from his sin and live. God desires that all
people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
Therefore we are bold to pray, ``forgive me, Lord, for I have
sinned,'' knowing that for the sake of the death and resurrection
of Jesus we have the gift of everlasting life.
May our Lord grant us faith to believe His promises, to come
to Him with both our temporal and spiritual prayers. Amen.