The Gospel of John: John 14.1-14

Read and meditate on John 14.13, 14.
As if the promise of “greater works than these” weren’t enough, Jesus offers one more astonishing promise, waiting to be claimed.

                                          ¹³“And
what you request in My Name, understand
that I will do it, that the Father may
be glorified in me. ¹⁴Again I say,
if you ask anything in My Name, I
will do it.”

- John 14.13, 14

Reflect
1.  Surveys have shown that most Christians do not pray very much. One sample of several thousand believers found that they pray, on average, three minutes per day, including prayers before meals. Why do you suppose we don’t pray any more than we do? Complete this prayer: Lord, I want to be a person of prayer, but I struggle with…

2.  Jesus had previously taught His disciples that we should always pray, and not lose heart or grow weary of it (Lk 18.1). Paul exhorted us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5.17). Is this possible? What might it look like if you were praying this way? What would be the content of your prayers? In our verses for today, Jesus provides two incentives for praying. Can you identify them? Lord, if I understood prayer better, and believed in it more than I do, I would…

3.  The first incentive is the privilege of praying in Jesus’ Name. Here’s what this is like: A father gives his son his credit card to buy himself a birthday present. He calls the merchant where the son will be using the card, and clears the purchase, within certain parameters – type of gift, amount, and so forth – acceptable to the father. Then he says to his son, “Get whatever you want, in my name.” It’s not carte blanche, but it’s a very significant gesture. What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ Name? Is this just a glib formula tacked on at the end of our prayers? Do we need to have certain information in mind when we pray in Jesus’ Name? Meditate on Matthew 6.33. Should this guide us in praying in Jesus’ Name? Lord, when I pray in Your Name, I…

4.  Whatever we ask in Jesus’ Name, He will do. Is He likely to do anything not consistent with the works and words we see Him doing in the gospels? Or with the sketches we saw of Him exalted in the psalms? Or what will conduce to God’s glory? So if we want Jesus to do something for, in, or through us, what do we need to do? Lord, like those Greeks of old, I would see You more clearly, so that when I pray…

5.  What if Jesus had written scripts for us to use in prayer – for the content of our prayers, to guide us in praying in His Name, or for the things He regards as important? Would that help you pray better? Pray more? Do you think the book of Psalms might be such a prayer book? Explain. Bring together into one your prayers from questions 1-4.

Summary
“Wake up then, believer, and note what is stated here: ‘In my name.’ That [name] is Christ Jesus. Christ signifies King, Jesus signifies Savior.… Therefore whatever we ask for that would hinder our salvation, we do not ask in our Savior’s name, and yet he is our Savior not only when he does what we ask but also when he does not. When he sees us ask anything to the disadvantage of our salvation, he shows himself our Savior by not doing it. The physician knows whether what the sick person asks for is to the advantage or disadvantage of his health. And [the physician] does not allow what would be harmful to him, though the sick person himself desires it. But the physician looks to his final cure.… And some things we may even ask in his name, and he will not grant them to us at the time, though he will some time. What we ask for is deferred, not denied.… He adds, ‘that the Father may be glorified in the Son.’ The Son does not do anything without the Father, inasmuch as he does it in order that the Father may be glorified in the Son, … for the Father and Son are one.” Augustine (354-430 AD)

Prayer is the greatest privilege, and the most characteristic activity, of a believer. How would you describe the condition of your prayer life at this time? Does Jesus’ promise concerning prayer excite you to want to pray more?

Closing Prayer
O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
Let them be confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.
But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

Psalm 71.12-17

Psalm 71.12-18, 3 (Solid Rock: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less)
O God be not too far from me; my ever-present Helper be!
Consume and shame my enemies; let them reproached and humbled be.
    A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
    My Rock and Fortress ever be!

But as for me my voice I raise to sing in hope and constant praise!
With saving grace my voice will swell Your never-ending grace to tell.
    A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
    My Rock and Fortress ever be!

O Lord, I praise Your righteousness, Who me from youth have taught and blessed.
Forsake me not when I am old, ‘til I Your mercies all have told!
    A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
    My Rock and Fortress ever be!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.