Thoughts on the Gospel of John (161) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.
John 16:26–28

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (161)
Children of God have free access to God, their Father. They know what value and what preciousness Jesus has in the eyes of God. In Him they are accepted by God and they are able to approach Him in this certainty. This means praying in His name. It is nothing to do with the prayer that the Lord taught His disciples, commonly called “the Lord’s Prayer”.

A father has the greatest interest in his children and knows their needs because he loves them dearly. It would be completely unnatural if a child’s petitions had to be first uttered before a mediator who would then pass them on to their father. The same applies to the children of God who have an intimate relationship of love with their heavenly Father. If even the Lord Jesus does not want to take on the role of mediator in this relationship, how much less are angels or men authorised to intercede for others.

The Lord concludes this part of the discourse with a remarkable statement. The disciples believed that He had come forth from God; they believed that He was the Christ of God and that He had been begotten as a man by God, the Holy Spirit. But here the Lord opens the disciples’ eyes to more: He had come forth from the Father and would return to the Father. This implies that Jesus has an eternal, divine glory as the Son of the Father. For this we worship Him!

Today’s reading: 2 Kings 19:25-37 · 1 John 5:13-21