Weekly "Call To Worship" Encouragement

Good morning, for this morning’s call to worship, we will be reading from John chapter 14:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

In Jesus’ name.  We pray this frequently.

Why?  So I get what I ask for?  Is it that simple?  Do we understand what it means to pray, “In Jesus’ name?”

One of the authors I read said that Jesus did not intend for this phrase to be used as a magical charm, like an Aladdin’s lamp.  He said the phrase is an endorsement but also a limitation because God will only grant petitions that are consistent with Jesus’ character and purpose.  As the scripture says, “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

I agree with this but I think that in sorting all of this out, we miss one of Jesus’ main points.  And that is, HE WANTS US TO ASK!  Prayer is an important part of worship and ASKING is an important part of prayer.

I would like to read something that I think helps to understand what it means to ask, to pray, in Jesus’ name.  This was written by Paul Miller:

“Imagine that your prayer is a poorly dressed beggar reeking of alcohol and body odor, stumbling toward the palace of the great king.  You have become your prayer.  As you shuffle toward the barred gate, the guards stiffen.  Your smell has preceded you.  You stammer out a message for the great king; “I want to see the king.”  Your words are barely intelligible, but you whisper one final word, “Jesus.  I come in the name of Jesus.”  At the name of Jesus, as if by magic, the palace comes alive.  The guards snap to attention, bowing low in front of you.  Lights come on, the door flies open.  You are ushered into the palace and down a long hallway into the throne room of the great king, who comes running to you and wraps you in his arms.” 

The name of Jesus gives my prayers royal access.  They get through.  Jesus isn’t just the Savior of my soul.  He’s also the Savior of my prayers.  My prayers come before the throne of God as the prayers of Jesus.  “Asking in Jesus’ name” isn’t another thing I have to get right so my prayers are perfect.  It is one more gift of God because my prayers are so imperfect.

Let’s pray together.

Father in heaven, we do pray in Jesus’ name.  And we are so thankful that we can.  We are so thankful that you came Lord to show us the Father.  We are so thankful you came to show us the way, and the truth, and the life.

And Father, we are thankful that we can ask, that you want us to ask for what is on our hearts.  That you even want to know what is on our hearts.

Father, even though we live in a pretty safe place, we still cry out for the war-torn places like the Ukraine, and Israel/Palestine, and Haiti, and other places.  Father we pray for peace.  Father it is such a dark world, we pray for your light.  And we pray that you will help us to shine your light.

Father, we pray for our families, our friends, our loved ones, the people we work with, the people that we know in our communities.  Father we pray that they may know you and know your salvation.  Father, we pray that this congregation, the Body of Christ in Bellevue can do you will, and can share your gospel, and that we can grow in all the ways that you want us to grow: in faith, in fellowship, in love for one another, in service, and in the number of people we share the good news with.

Father, thank you that we can ask.

We pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.