ASK!
“… Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” – John 16:24
“Lord, you know what I need. I will receive anything you have for me. Amen.” Sounds like a humble, good prayer, right?
But notice that Jesus repeats this tip — this secret — to us many times.
Ask. Ask. Ask.
He even assures us that we will receive.
“Ask… so that your happiness may be complete.”
“Ask in my name… and it shall be done.”
Notice, too, that Jesus would even specifically ask those whom He would heal, “What do you want me to do for you? Do you want to get healed?”
And what would you answer if Jesus asks you these questions? “No, thank you. Thanks for your offer but I’m OK.” Wow! You must be a candidate for the mental institution if you answer this way.
I have a son and I regularly ask him what he wants. If it is good for him, I give it. I love him. I want his happiness to be complete. Now what are you waiting for?
REFLECTION:
Do you tell Jesus specifically what you want Him to do for you? Tell Him now. He is waiting.
Lord Jesus, I ask (say your specific need). Thank You for making my happiness complete. In Your name. Amen.
NOTHING YET IN HIS NAME
Anything we ask the Father in Jesus’ name the Father will grant us, Jesus said. Anything? Yes, anything on which the name of Jesus can be invoked. That rules out every evil thing because anything evil cannot be positively related to Jesus. It is very disturbing, therefore, when Jesus said in the Gospel today, “Until now you have not asked for anything in My name.” But, have we not been praying in His name ever since we learned how to pray? Or did we really learn how to pray? Better yet, do we really pray the way we should?
It is understandable that when Jesus first uttered that disturbing statement, He might have literally meant that His disciples were not yet praying in His name. They gradually had to grow in the faith that Jesus is the Son of God whose mediation is unique and unparallel. But what about us? Can it be true that we have not asked anything in His name?
The answer to this disturbing question lies in what we pray for as well as in how we pray. What do we really pray for? It is not that we pray for bad things. It is rather that indeed we pray for good things, but the good is never the better and the better is not yet the best. The best is what the Father wishes to give us even as we pray only for the good. Thus, sometimes the Father does not grant us what we pray for – even if it is prayed in Jesus’ name – so that our desire may grow until we learn to ask for the best.
Let us pray with Jesus, not only through and in the name of Jesus. When we learn the spiritual art of praying with Jesus, we learn to ask for the best. And when all is said and done, there is only one best: the Father’s will.Fr. Bobby Titco
Reflection Question:
Asking the Father in Jesus’ name is praying with Jesus, not only through and in the name of Jesus.
Lord Jesus, teach us to pray to the Father in Your name. Pray with us and make Your prayer ours. Amen.
St. Hallvard, pray for us.
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