While returning home yesterday, I came across a familiar scripture, but it felt as though I was experiencing it as new. John 16:24 reads, “[Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.]” I was taken aback! I checked another translation, which said, “[You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.]”
Typically, when I stumble upon a passage like this, I would switch into prayer mode, listing out all my requests. Yet, this time, I felt frustration. I questioned God, demanding what did He mean by that? Haven’t I been asking in His name for numerous things?
Once I collected myself, I felt the impulse to ask God for something different. Suddenly, the realization dawned on me—it wasn’t asking that was the issue but invoking His name correctly.
I then appealed to God….Please guide me about Your essence! What is Your name? How do I correctly ask in Your name?
I’m aware that this quest to understand His name may span over years, or even a lifetime. Yet, I’m beginning to understand what it means to ask in His name—not in mine, not in a priest’s, but His. It isn’t about deserving a response because I’ve behaved virtuously, or I’ve fasted for 40 days and nights, or because I have a band of prayer warriors interceding for me.
Instead, it’s about being deserving because I ask in His name. It’s His name that gives me the authority to approach the throne of grace. His name hears my pleas. His name assures an answer. His name proclaims me righteous, not my endeavors.
A fresh understanding dawned on me that one sure way to my prayers being ignored is to approach him covered in my self-righteousness. I’m reminded again, that the crucifixion surmounts everything. It’s due to His sacrifice on the cross that I am heard!
#JetlagDiaries
Wells of Wonder 