With Dale Ratzlaff
John 16:23-24
In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
We may ask, “what does Jesus mean by ‘in that day, ’?” In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus uses this term in the following ways: the day of judgment (Mt. 7:22-23); the destruction of Jerusalem and/or the Second Coming of Christ (Mt. 24-36); and When Jesus drinks of the new fruit of the vine (Mt. 26:29). In the Gospel of John, Jesus says,
In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you (Jn. 14:20).
Considering the wide usage of this term, we may say that “that day” refers to no one special day but to a future time when Jesus will be with His disciples, either in person or by the presence of the Holy Spirit. In any event, it looks forward to events after the resurrection of Christ.
The next phrase, “you will not question Me about anything”, can be interpreted in two ways. First, as listed above, in that day the disciples will not question Jesus. The second idea deals with what is requested in the asking. I believe the context supports the second idea for Jesus immediately says,
Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you (Jn. 16:23).
Previously, the disciples had asked Jesus many questions. Now, on the eve of His crucifixion and soon departure, Jesus wants to prepare them to stand alone in faith when He is absent. He has previously promised the Holy Spirit to be with them.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (Jn. 14:16-18).
The Holy Spirit will not only be with the disciples, but will guide them into all truth.
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come (Jn. 16:13).
Formerly, Jesus taught His disciples to pray what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer.” In that prayer outline, however, they were not taught to pray in Jesus’ name. The coming death and resurrection of Jesus will change the whole structure of their relationship with God. Therefore, Jesus explains the new relationship with both Himself and the Father.
Prayer is still to be offered to the Father. Now, however, effectual prayer is always to be in Christ’s name. Why is this? All the gifts of God, be they in answer to our prayers, our daily needs, or the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit, are based upon the merits of Christ. It is on the grounds of the doing and dying of our Lord Jesus Christ that we receive gifts from the Father.
Looking at the text again we note the certainty of the promise.
Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you (Jn. 16:23).
This is not an isolated statement. The assurance of answered prayer is repeated in all the Gospels.
Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven (Mt. 18:19).
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Mt. 21:21-22).
And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you (Mk. 11:22-24).
And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you” (Lk. 17:6).
Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son (Jn. 14:13).
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and (Jn. 15:7).
These promises in Scripture, it will be done for you, that in themselves seem to be so straight forward, may cause us to question if they come true.Who of us has not honestly and fervently prayed for something we felt was the will of God, but it did not happen? Here are several things we ought to consider. First, taking the whole of Scripture into account, we must pray according to God’s will, and there are times we may not always know God’s will for a specific situation.
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Rom. 8:26-27).
Second, we are to abide in God. Abide means to remain—every day, in all places. One of the blessings of the new covenant is that it removes the place and time aspects of service and worship present in the old covenant law and ritual. Now, as the title of Elce-Junior “Thunder” Lauriston’s book says, Every day is the Sabbath. Now we worship in spirit and truth.
But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23-24).
Therefore, when we read these powerful promises on prayer, let us ask ourselves, are we abiding in Christ?
Third, we may have the wrong motives in our asking.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures (Jam. 4:3).
Fourth, the timing may be wrong. Paul, while fulfilling his mission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, wanted to go to Bithynia. From his perspective, he believed this was God’s will and timing. However, it was not.
…and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:7-9).
Later, Peter was God’s instrument to proclaim the gospel to Bithynia. For these and other reasons beyond the scope of this study. We should not weaken the statements on answered prayer; however, we must consider the above and other factors that might change the way a prayer is answered and when.
Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
“Ask” is in the present continuous tense. In Luke, we find the same concept of continually asking.
And I say to you, [continually] ask, and it shall be given to you; [continually] seek, and you shall find; [continually] knock, and it shall be opened to you (Lk. 11:9).
There is a second nuance in the meaning of asking in Jesus’ name. “In Jesus name” may be associated with asking. It may also be associated with receiving. We don’t only ask in Jesus’ name, but we also receive His name. All the blessings of the Christian life flow from the Father through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
God is interested in our wellbeing. On the night of His passion, Jesus was interested in the joy of His disciples. Continually asking the prayer of faith in the name of Jesus is to be the source of our joy. This true joy will constantly be filling our hearts as we continually ask the Father in the name of Jesus.
We are invited to ask continually. The promise is broad. We can ask about anything that matters to us or others. We could list the many things we are directed to pray for in Scripture, and this would be a good topic for personal consideration and study.
As I was preparing a PowerPoint presentation for the recent Former Adventist Conference in Loma Linda, California, my laptop computer crashed. I restarted it over and over again, and it froze each time. I called a computer guru I had used before. Over the phone, he led me through some possible fixes. None worked. He thought there was some error in the Windows program and suggested that I might have to do a major repair to fix it. He was too busy to do that. Well, I needed it for the upcoming meetings. From our daily reading in the gospels, I remembered that many of the healings of Christ were given to people who had no other option. So, I prayed, reminding God—as if He did not know!—why I needed my computer and then calmly asked Him to fix it. I pressed the start button, and it started right up and suddenly started downloading something, I know not what. I did not touch it as it kept working. When it quieted down, it worked perfectly, including during my presentation at the conference. I believe this was a direct answer to prayer. Yes, I smiled in joy at the power of God. The point I am making is that we are to ask in the name of Jesus continually. No area of life is outside the parameters of prayer.
The joy Jesus speaks of, however, is not the joy of a working computer, but the joy, continuous joy, a believer can have even in the midst of trial, want, and persecution.
…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
…always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all (Phil. 1:4).
But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me (Phil. 2:17-18).
…so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory (1 Pet. 1:7-8).
Our joy is to be patterned after the joy of Christ. It is not based upon circumstances, but upon the abiding assurance that our future is secure in Christ.
…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2).
Application
In these two short verses, we learn much.
- The promises of Jesus that were to be fulfilled “in that day” are now available to us.
- We should feel comfortable to ask the Father in Jesus’ name for any physical or spiritual need we, or others, may have.
- Although the conditions for answered prayer may not always be listed in the promises of Jesus, we should allow the whole message of Scripture to modify our prayers and expectations.
- Both Jesus and the Father wish Christ’s joy for us. This is a joy that is consistent, yet growing as the years go by. It is a joy that is not based upon circumstances, but upon the abiding presence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the assurance we have “in Christ.”
Prayer
Father, thank you for the promise of answered prayer. Thank you for the many answers to prayer I have had over the years. Thank you that you are interested in every aspect of my life. Help me to always pray in your will as revealed in Scripture. At times I do not know how to pray; I trust the Holy Spirit to take my words and thoughts and conform them to your will. Give me the continual Joy Jesus promised.
I pray this all in the name of Jesus, all based upon the doing and dying of Christ.
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