The Gospel of John: John 16.16-33

Read and meditate on John 16.23, 24.
This promise is so huge, so all-embracing, that we might not believe the Lord meant it literally. But He did. We need to make sure we understand the promise, so that we can claim it daily.

          ²³“And in that day you will ask Me
for nothing. But I say assuredly,
whatever you may ask the Father in
My Name, He will give you. ²⁴Until now, in
My Name you have asked nothing. Ask, and you
will have it, and great joy will be unto
you.”

- John 16.23, 24

Reflect
1.  There’s nothing cryptic or equivocal about this promise. Jesus meant what He said. The challenge to us is to understand what He promised, and then to know how to claim that promise for ourselves. First, what is Jesus not promising here? Complete this prayer: Lord, not infrequently, what I want does not line up with what You want for me, so it’s not surprising that…

2.  Notice how Jesus made a connection between the disciples and the Father in verse 23. He indicates that the majority (though not all, of course) of our prayers ought to be made directly to the Father, rather than to Him. Why? And how has Jesus made this possible? It’s not that the Father is more powerful, or more truly God than Jesus. It’s just that He’s the Father, our Father, and it only makes sense to come to Him with our requests. Why? Father, thank You that in Jesus I can come to You, bring my requests to You, and know that…

3.  In this promise, “in My name” qualifies “whatever.” Explain. What would be some examples of asking in Jesus’ Name? Lord, the better I know You, and what You are seeking, the more my prayers…

4. Meditate on Matthew 7.7, 8, and Luke 18.1. In the light of these passages, how should we understand what is involved in “asking” the Father in Jesus’ Name? I confess, Father, that in my prayers I often…

5.  The real promise here is the promise of joy. According to Psalm 16.11, where do we find such joy? If what we’re seeking is joy, how do this qualify what we ask for in prayer? Is it possible that what we should be asking the Father in prayer is simply more of Jesus? Explain. Bring together into one prayer the prayers you wrote for questions 1-4.

Summary
“So what should we pray for? ‘Ask in my name.’ And he did not say what for, but in his words we can understand what we ought to ask for. ‘Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.’ Ask, and you will receive, in my name. But what? Not nothing. What though? ‘That your joy may be full,’ which means, ask for what can finally satisfy you. Because sometimes you ask for nothing. ‘Whoever drinks of this water will be thirsty again.’ You lower the bucket of greed into the well, you pull up something to drink, and you will again be thirsty. ‘Ask, so that your joy may be full,’ that is, so that you may be permanently satisfied, not just so as to enjoy yourselves for a time. Ask for what can satisfy you. Utter Philip’s words, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and that suffices us.’ The Lord says to you, ‘Have I been with you such a long time, and you do not know me? Philip, whoever sees me also sees the Father.’ So give thanks to Christ who took our humanity to himself for you in your weakness. And get your stomachs ready to be satisfied with Christ’s divinity.” Augustine (354-430 AD)

Think of all that Jesus is and does. What more could we want than Jesus? If we are filled with Jesus, and overflowing with Jesus, do we not have everything we need? What does it mean for you to seek more of Jesus in your prayers?

Closing Prayer
Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

Psalm 36.5-10

Psalm 36.5-9 (Landas: My Faith Has Found a Resting Place)
Your lovingkindness, Lord, is great, it reaches heav’n above;
Your faithfulness mounts to the skies, and keeps us in Your love.
Your righteousness like mountains high and judgment like the deep
Preserve Your creatures one and all and in Your mercy keep.

How precious is Your love, O Lord; we shelter in Your wings.
We drink refreshment to the full from Your abundant springs.
You give us freely of Your grace, we drink it with delight;
Life’s fountain is with You, O Lord, in Your light we see light.

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.