John 16:23-30

Asking in Jesus’ Name

Fifth Sunday of Easter/Rogate

May 21, 2017

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

It is unique to Christianity that we pray in the name of Jesus. This is for the simple fact that we believe, at St. Paul writes to Timothy that there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all…”  Because of Jesus, we have the right and privilege to bring our wants and desires before our heavenly
Father in prayer. We pray in Jesus’ name, that is with faith in Him as our Redeemer. We pray with confidence, that is with trust and faith that for Jesus’ sake our prayers will be answered. It takes faith to ask for faith, forgiveness to ask for forgiveness. No one confesses his sins to God without expected God to remove them. Notice the confession we make in Church each week. We flat out say we are sinners and we deserve God’s wrath.  But this is not the confession of a scared person. It is a confident request that expects God’s grace.

This seems pretty basic to our understanding of prayer. Jesus Christ is the victor over the world. He has overcome the world. He is alive out of the grave and promises to bring us to the Father’s side. Yet, the tribulation and hardship continues while God delays the final judgment in order to get all His children to safety.  But we need not lose hope or worry, for Christ has ascended into heaven and sits in authority over all of heaven and earth.

It is in this context that Jesus tells His disciples, “in that day you will ask nothing of Me.”  Until this time, the Disciples had asked questions, but they had not prayed to the Father in Jesus’ name.  But now, things have changed for all eternity.  After the resurrection and ascension, the disciples will pray directly to the Father but do so through Jesus.  This brings to light the fulfillment of the 2^nd Commandment: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.  Rather than misuse it, we are to use it correctly, to use Jesus’ name to call upon God for every prayer, praise, and giving thanks. Because of the God-man mediator, our prayers are shaped by the name of Jesus given to us in our baptism. It is shaped by the Triune God: we pray to the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

So let us not underestimate prayer.  We sometimes think our prayers will do little good when faced against the odds of the world.  What is my prayer that it would change national politics? What is my prayer that it would change wars and famine and sickness across the world? What is my prayer that it would change a diagnosis of terminal cancer?

The power does not come from you nor your sincerity or passion of faith. It comes from Christ. Jesus is the power in prayer because Jesus is God.  Out of the Father’s love for His fallen creation, He sent His Son to restore creation.  If Jesus is not God, if He is not sent by the Father to save us from our sins, then calling out to Him in prayer is meaningless at best, and blasphemy at worst. But since we believe, along with the disciples, that this Jesus is the true Son of God sent by the Father, then it is true that all our prayers, all the promises of God, find their “Yes” in Christ.  To which we add “Amen” as the great word of faith. Amen is the confession that God’s promises are true, reliable, trustworthy, that when we pray in Jesus’ name, we have the promised yes in His name.  For the word Amen simply means “Yes, yes it shall be so.” Or translated into Lutheranese is means, “This is most certainly true.”

So pray in Jesus’ name.  Make your petitions in the name of Jesus, make them with boldness and confidence and without fear.  By your prayer creation is spared, by your prayer the devil is driven back. Don’t worry about making your prayers worded exactly right. Pray for what you want. You want to lose some weight? Pray for it. You want a different job? Pray for it. You want some ice cream, a new toy, a new friend. Pray for it. You want healing for yourselves or others? Pray for it. You want your relationships better and stronger and less conflict? Pray for it.

Christ gives us the invitation and command to pray, which carries His promise, “ask, and you will receive.” It is handing over the content of our prayers to God, giving up the control and the worry and the doubt because God is our Father. So pray for yourselves and for your family and for your friends and for your enemies.  It does not annoy your Father in heaven to hear the voices of His children. It is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior to hear the voice of His children. Lay your wants and needs before God, not as though He doesn’t know them, but that by pouring out your cares to the Lord, you may unburden and comfort our souls

Much of what you ask for might be trivial. What else would you expect from children? He knows what you actually need. He provides even when you don’t ask. The Lord loves to hear your prayer and He loves to answer for Jesus’ sake. He may not give you what you want, but He will answer according to your need, and His will will be done. His will for you is good, for He is gracious and merciful. His will is done when He sends us His Holy Spirit and He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die (SC).

God’s Word is first heard. It enters you, then it comes out again. He speaks, and then You speak His Word back to Him. Because it is His Word, we have our Lord’s assurance that our prayer in His name will be heard. We will find the Father’s heart wide open praying in Jesus’ name, and the Holy Spirit will speak the truth plainly so that we might hear and believe that this Jesus came from God, and that He came to save us and bring us with Him to the Father’s side.