Louis XIV of France is considered to be one of the most magnificent kings who ever lived. He didn’t have servants dress him in the morning and undress him at night. No, that was a job for his nobles. You might think that kind of thing would be considered too lowly for noblemen. But no, they fought for the privilege. They paid for it. It was the highest honor.
That’s partly because of the mystique that Louis XIV built around himself. Some people are famous for being famous. But that wasn’t the only reason nobles wanted to help the king get dressed. This was also their chance to have the king’s ear. The king was a busy man with a lot of responsibilities on his mind. But for this short time, he might talk to you. He might listen to you.
The value of that is something I think we can all understand. But as great as it would be to have a magnificent king listen to your requests and your concerns, you have something far greater. Jesus teaches us that you have God’s ear. He lives so that we can pray.
All of the teachings of Jesus recorded in John 16 were spoken before Good Friday, but they were spoken in view of the resurrection. That’s true in general of all Scripture. Paul says that if Jesus did not rise then our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. But these teachings of Jesus specifically are things that only make sense if he said them as the one who is true God, who knew very well that he was about to die and then rise again on the third day. He tells his disciples that they will weep and wail but in a little while their sorrow will turn to joy. He says that he is going to the Father and will send the Holy Spirit. And then here in the verses we have for today he talks about prayer and how he enables us to pray.
Speaking of the time to come, Jesus said, “**23In that day you will not ask me anything. Amen, Amen, I tell you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 24**Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.”
Jesus’ disciples always had a lot of questions for him, but the day was coming when they wouldn’t be able to to see him face-to-face and ask those questions anymore. This seems like it would be a step backwards. We might think of our situation today and say that today we have pastors who are trained in God’s word and called to teach us and answer our questions, but back then they had it so much better because they could ask Jesus himself. Wouldn’t that be infinitely better?
But that’s not actually how it is. Do you think Jesus would leave his disciples in a worse situation? It’s only because of our weak faith that we might think we are worse off today. We think Jesus’ word, which he gave to us so graciously, is insufficient. We think, like Thomas, that he must be seen to be believed. We think that we are far away from God when the opposite couldn’t be more true. Jesus died for you and rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven to rule over all things. He lives so that we can pray. You have the Father’s ear!
Jesus made this great, sweeping promise “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.” In the days of King Louis XIV nobles couldn’t just ask for anything. There was protocol to follow. There were things you could and couldn’t talk about. If you offended or annoyed the king you might get the opposite of what you want, or he might just never talk to you again. Jesus is not here speaking of an earthly king, but God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And Jesus tells us to make our requests, to ask of him, and he places no restrictions on what those requests might be. “Whatever you ask.”
Are you concerned about big things? War and natural disaster? The machinations of the kingdoms of the world? Matters of life and death, great tribulations of the present and future days to come? “Ask,” Jesus says, “and whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”
And what about the small things, things you wouldn’t bother your closest friends with, much less a magnificent king with all the concerns and responsibilities of ruling a nation? These things too, the most minuscule of troubles, ask, and whatever you ask the Father in Jesus’ name he will give you.
This is a precious promise, a wonderful and high privilege unlike anything we have on earth. Louis XIV and all the court of Versailles couldn’t claim anything more magnificent. But why is it, we must ask, that so often it seems to be at odds with what we see? Why is it that we pray, asking for things big and things small and everything in-between, and yet contrary to Jesus’ promise our prayers go unanswered?
The reason is that we forget what it means to pray in Jesus’ name. Jesus told his disciples, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.”
What does Jesus mean by this? Had he not taught his disciples to pray? Were the prayers of the Old Testament believers ineffective, or effective somehow apart from Jesus? Certainly not. They also prayed in the hope of the promised Messiah, in faith in God’s promise and in the Savior he was sending into the world. But that’s the difference. Their faith was in the Savior to come. But now the disciples and all believers would be praying in the name of the one who had brought this promise to its fulfillment. Our faith is just like Abraham’s faith in that we cling to God’s promise as our only righteousness and salvation. It is different because we have seen that promised Son of Abraham. We know Jesus, his cross, his empty tomb, his glorious ascension to the Father. In our baptism we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, our Counselor and Guide.
To pray in Jesus’ name is to take shelter in, and lay claim to, the one who has broken death and lives forever. Before God we can say, “I approach you with my requests not by my own merit, but by my Lord Jesus, who has called me his brother and has so invited me to come boldly before your throne of grace.” To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in confident faith. God will surely hear us. He will surely answer our prayers.
To pray in Jesus’ name also means to pray in this manner, with a heart and mind that have been conformed to Jesus, that have been shaped by him. We sing those words from Psalm 51, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” What this means is that we know that God will answer our prayers, but he will always do it according to his good and gracious will. Can you imagine if he didn’t? Can you imagine if God simply gave us whatever we asked for without regard for what is in our eternal best interest, without putting first his own good and gracious will? Don’t loving parents need to say, “no” at times to their children? Do you give a knife to a toddler just because he asks for it? Certainly not! Jesus prayed that his cup of suffering might be taken away, but said “Thy will be done.” And then he went boldly to the cross and won our salvation.
Jesus says that the Father’s will is that our joy may be complete. And that is how he answers our prayers, prayed in Jesus’ name.
These things aren’t always so easily grasped. Jesus told his disciples that he’s been using figurative language to teach them. Some of the things that Jesus teaches are challenging to our minds, to our intellect. But more often the real challenge is to our heats, to our faith. The Devil, the world, and our own sinful natures all say, “God doesn’t love you. If he did, he would give you what you ask for. He wouldn’t make you suffer. He wouldn’t leave you with doubts. But look, he’s abandoned you! Your prayers are worthless. They fall on deaf ears.”
But the word of Jesus cuts through all that. The Father is not a distant king who is too busy for you. He is not a cold and unloving God. He is your dear Father in heaven. Jesus said, “The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.** 28**I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am going to leave the world and go to the Father.”
Jesus lives so that we can pray. His death and resurrection have reconciled us to God. The sin that once cut us off from God and cast us away from his presence is no more, forever done away with on the cross. The Holy Spirit works in your heart by the Means of Grace, by the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, so that you know how to pray and what to pray for. The Father loves your prayers and promises to answer them. And Jesus lives so that the door to heaven is open. He lives so that you have the Father’s ear. He lives so that we can pray. Amen.
— Pastor Seth Georgson