Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Sabbath, February 20, 2016
This Week’s Devotional Focus is, “Prayer.”
“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13–14).
Will our real benefactor please stand up? Oftentimes people are confused about who actually answers our prayers. They have a misconception that Jesus came to earth to somehow jump in front of a bullet that has already left the chamber of the Father’s pistol, or to recommend us to God so He does not destroy us. What a sad commentary when the Bible says that God (the Father) so loved us that He gave His precious other self (the Son) so we could have eternal life. God our Father is our divine Benefactor. Yet at the same time, there is a mysterious eternal unity between the Father and the Son that makes them one in every vital way (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 10:30). Jesus is our divine Benefactor.
One way this beautiful point is illustrated is in the machinery of prayer. Not many realize that Jesus actually has the power and authority to answer our prayers. Remember, the misconception is that Jesus only pleads for us and has to lay by and await the Father’s doling out of gifts for those whom Jesus advocates. Notice that our theme text says that the Father is glorified when the Son answers prayers prayed in Jesus’ name. Jesus said, “If ye ask anything in my name I will do it.” The emphasis here is placed on Jesus’ authority. We must ask in His name (i.e. in a manner that respects His sacrifice and will in the matter). We must await His answer (i.e. the answer of Jesus Christ Himself). The Father is glorified when the Son can answer the sincere prayer of one of His children who gladly exchanges their own characters for that which comes through faith in Christ. And all this is not to mention the beneficence of the Holy Spirit who also bathes our sincere prayers in His heavenly groanings that are too deep for words.
So the next time you pray (hopefully soon), do so with the full assurance that the Father who loves you and loves to answer prayers has great company in the person of His Son who also has the power to answer sincere prayers. All of the powers of heaven are trained upon the earth to make it possible for all who have learned to love God to have our prayers answered according to God’s will, and in the precious name of Jesus.
