John 15:9-25
Dear RTB’ers,
…whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you. (v. 16b) We read similar verses yesterday: Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do … If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (vv. 14:13-14) Those three words, in My name. So often we end our prayers with “in Jesus’ name”. Now you know why. Do we really think about those words when we end our prayers that way? Here is an interesting item I found in reasonabletheology.org: “If a servant claims to speak in the name of the king, and then acts or speaks in a way that is not according to the king’s will, he is outside the authority that has been granted to him. So it is with our position in Christ. We are approaching God in the name of our King, and we dare not request things that Jesus Himself would not desire.” Or, spoken more positively (same source), “While we have any number of requests that we might bring before God, we recognize that when we approach Him in prayer we ought to seek the same things that our Savior seeks. We are positioning our desires behind His. When we pray “in Jesus’ name” it means that we would pray in a way that is consistent to Jesus’ will.” Let’s think those things the next time we pray.
Another word from Jesus worth additional consideration: You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide… (v. 16a) If you are reading this, you are among the chosen. Jesus chose you, personally, to His ends. Let that sink in!
The word “love” appears ten times in today’s 17 verses. Questions, comments…?
Blessings!
See also: November 4 (2019) / John 15:9-17.