John 14:8-17, 25-27 (NRSV)
Read John 14:8-17, 25-27 on biblegateway.com
Verse 8Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Verse 9Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Verse 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Verse 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
Verse 12Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Verse 13I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Verse 14If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
Verse 15"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Verse 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. Verse 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
Verse 25"I have said these things to you while I am still with you. Verse 26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Verse 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Devotion
Asking God “in Jesus’ name” is not a fail-safe formula for successful prayer, as if to append the magic words to our grocery list for divine intervention. When Jesus teaches his disciples that he will do whatever they ask in his name, he clearly directs their attention to the fullness of God’s holy will. Eugene Peterson’s Bible translation The Message gets at the deeper meaning: “Whatever you request along the line of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it.”
Asking in Jesus’ name is to be fully aligned with the sovereign will of God, so that the disciple intuitively knows the Father’s heart. This is possible only through the grace of God and our obedient response. Jesus is seeking obedient apprentices, not reluctant wanna-be’s. I wonder: has the spirituality of my prayer life grown toward obedience? Has yours?
Prayer
Lord, pour out your spirit and renew the face of the earth. Craft in me the fire of your holy will, that I might be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.