Different Kinds Of Prayer (Part 7)

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Wednesday August 5, 2009

Jesus told the disciples when He was about to go to the cross that from now on they would not ask HIM anything, but they would ask the Father instead, in Jesus' Name:

John 16:23,24 (NIV)
23. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

It may seem trivial, but if the Bible tells us to follow a particular pattern in prayer, we should do it. In the same way that if we don't ask in faith we can expect to receive nothing, if we don't follow the other guidelines when we know to do them, we can't expect to receive anything then either. The Bible tells us to ask the Father in Jesus' Name; that means we don't make requests of Jesus, we make requests to God the Father.

Some say it makes no difference since Jesus and the Father are one, but if we consider more carefully, we can see that God the Father and Jesus the Son are two different persons. Why would Jesus tell us in the above passage NOT to pray to Him, but to pray to the Father? Jesus Himself prayed to the Father, proving that God the Father and Jesus the Son are two separate beings:

John 17:1 (NIV)
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

Was Jesus praying to Himself? Of course not! There are three different persons in the Godhead that the Bible clearly separates as three separate beings; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is no mystery to it; they are three separate beings completely united in purpose and of like mind:

John 16:13 (NIV)
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit as a separate being who had not yet come, yet Jesus was there, so Jesus couldn't possibly BE the Holy Spirit.

The main confusion on this subject comes from misinterpretation of John 14:8-12:

John 14:8-12 (NIV)
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 are not just my own. 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 miracles themselves. 12. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Jesus ends these statements by verifying that He Himself is NOT the Father; He said, "because I am going to the Father." In order to go to someone, you have to be away from them! What throws people off is that Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." The Bible explains this idea in Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Jesus is the exact REPRESENTATION of the Father's being! A representative of someone else is NOT that person; they are a representative OF that person. Jesus rightfully said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" because He was the EXACT representation of the Father's being!

Verse 10 has caused confusion too:

John 14:10 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work."

If you think about it, this is the exact same way the church is mentioned in relation to Jesus:

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
Now you ARE the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are IN Christ Jesus

Romans 12:5 (NIV)
so IN CHRIST we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

John 15:4 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

If I am "In Christ" and He is in me, does that mean I am Him? Of course not; I am part of His body on the earth, but Jesus is a separate being who walked the earth in a different time. Therefore we should understand that when Jesus said He was in the Father and the Father was in Him, He did not mean that He WAS the Father!

All that being said, if the Bible tells us to ask the Father in Jesus' Name, we should not make requests of Jesus, we should ask the Father.

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word that tells me so much about You. Thank You for living in me by Your Holy Spirit. Help me understand Your Word better so I can allow You to govern my life in every way.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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