Scripture: John 14:14
If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
Thought for the Day: This is part of our sermon text for today. These are the words of Jesus according to the Gospel of John. Over the years, I have found myself in some odd conversations around these words. Shortly after I was diagnosed with MS, I was told by another pastor (not from our denomination) that the continued weakness I was experiencing was because I was not praying correctly. This clergy person suggested that to get the full benefit of God’s healing, I needed to conclude my prayers with the words, “I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.” Without those three names (Jesus – Christ – Lord), according to this pastor, my prayers would not be heard or responded to by God.
Let’s take a step back for a moment and look carefully at what that minister suggested. What would it say about God if the One we describe as being full of grace and mercy and love would withhold something because we did not have the right formula? Would a good parent (not a perfect parent) say to a child, “I’m sorry, I am not going to feed you because I wanted you to say, ‘Please, O perfect and wonderful mother.’ You forgot ‘wonderful’ and thus I cannot feed you.” We’d call that child abuse.
This is where we need to understand these words in their larger context. As you will hear in the sermon, to say in my name is to speak about the purpose of Jesus/God. If we ask for something to achieve the purpose of God in the world, God will do what God can do to help. Of course, God is still dealing with the freewill of others. The Spirit of God can be working, but the people being called to the task can always say, “NO!”
I understand the desire to make it all very simple, but the fact of the matter is that I even prayed in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, and for more than two months, I got worse. I didn’t really expect it to be the magical phrase, but it was a good experiment. With that said, I did discover through all my prayers – no matter how I worded them – a love that would not let me go. For me, that is the great gift that God promises to us.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for continuing to find ways of revealing the truth of your unconditional love. And thanks for being gracious and not requiring any special formulas by which such a gift could be accessed. Amen. Oh wait, I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.
See You In Worship This Morning
We will be finishing our discussion
on Conflcit Resolution.
