The Bible exhorts us to pray. Prayer is the heart’s humble and sincere conversation with God. Prayer has been given a great promise. Jesus said: “Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 16:23)
What does pray in Jesus’ name mean? It means believing and trusting in Jesus’ mercy and grace while at the same time accepting God’s will. Every person can speak to God in Jesus’ name; He has promised to be a support for them.
Jesus taught about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in St. Matthew chapters 5 through 7. His teaching gives a picture of a praying person who trusts in God. The prayer does not include unnecessary wordiness; for prayer is not a way to gain one’s own goodness before God or other people. Jesus said:
“This, then, is how you should pray.” (Matthew 6:9)
Then He taught the Lord’s Prayer, which teaches us to ask for and seek that which is most important in our life.
Prayer is a part of life
Often a prayer may be about one’s distress and difficulties, along with hopes and requests that arise from them. This is true; one can ask God for whatever is needed. However, in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus puts those requests into the order of importance according to God’s will: “Thy will be done.” It is not always easy to accept God’s will. This requires trust in God, as Jesus taught.
Prayer is not intended only for difficult situations. One can talk to God about all kinds of situations. Prayer may include thankfulness when one remembers what has been received from God. Prayer is not only about oneself. It can be on behalf of other people, just as the prayers of others have carried one through all kinds of situations in life. It is good to remember the homeland and its leaders in the prayer.
Ask and you will receive
When Jesus taught to ask in His name and promised that God would give it, He also said “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:24) Jesus also said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Jesus gave His reason for saying this: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)
There is one objective in all of Jesus’s teachings: man’s salvation, which brings one to eternal life in heaven. He encourages to pray that God in His love and mercy would lead a seeking one to find His kingdom here on earth. Finding this results in experiencing the complete joy of faith, which belongs to one that has received the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name and blood. This forgiveness is preached in God’s kingdom here on earth by those who have already heard and believed this heavenly message.
By faith, all pardoned sinners will experience perfect joy in heaven at the end of life. Prayers will no longer be needed there. Only love, thanks, and praises to God remain. The most important request of the prayer today is to be a believer in God’s kingdom here on earth. Ask in Jesus’ name and you will receive.
Text: Teri Hiltunen
Published in the Finnish Päivämies newspaper on 22 May 2019
Translation: K.K.
Image: SRK
