When you really need help as a Christian, who are you going to call? God the Father? Christ Jesus? the Holy Spirit?
Who does God's Word say we are supposed to call?
John 16:23.
23 _ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you.
Jesus is speaking in this verse. Here he says quite clearly that "in that day" we will ask him nothing. Instead, he instructs us to ask the Father in his name.
What day is Jesus talking about?
John 16:16-23.
16 _ A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then said [some] of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
23 _ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you.
He's talking about today! When we have a need or a problem, who are we supposed to call? Jesus? Is that what he instructed us? Or are we to call the Father in Jesus' name?
John 14:11-14.
11 Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
12 _ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].
If you don't look carefully here, it might appear that Jesus has instructed us to ask him here. But Jesus doesn't say that, and, in light of what we read in John 16, we have no right to read that into the verse. All we are told here is that when we do ask, we are to ask in Jesus' name. We are also told that when we ask in Jesus' name, Jesus will do it.
John 11:22.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give [it] thee.
Who did Jesus call when he had a need? He called God, his Father. Did he instruct us to go to a source different from the one he relied on?
John 14:13.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
When we ask in Jesus' name, and he does it for us, who gets the glory? The Father gets the glory by means of His Son.
John 15:7-16.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Here again we are instructed to ask in Jesus' name; but who are we instructed to ask? Again, we are specifically and clearly instructed to ask the Father.
If we're asking the Father, why is it so important to ask in Jesus' name? What is the significance of that?
John 14:6.
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
We have no access to God, the Father, except through His Son Jesus Christ. Without Christ, we cannot get to God. Everything that comes to us from God comes through, and by means of, Jesus Christ. And everything that goes from us to God must go through, and by means of, Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 3:14-21.
14 _ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
This is one of the greatest prayers in the Bible. To whom is Paul praying? Verse 14 gives us the answer: "...the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." Jesus Christ is specifically omitted as the object of his prayer, as is the holy spirit. To some, this might seem like a serious omission or oversight; but it is completely in agreement with how Jesus instructed his disciples to pray.
Who does Paul say, in verse 16, is able to "grant you... to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man?" Clearly, it is "...the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." who does this, even though He does it "...by his Spirit..."
In verse 20, who is it that Paul says "...is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us..."? Again, it is "...the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
And in verse 21, who is it who is glorified in the church by Christ Jesus? Once again, it is "...the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...", even though Christ Jesus is the means by which He receives this glory.
I John 3:18-24.
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 _ For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 _ And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
In verse 22, who are we instructed to direct our petitions to? Clearly, we are to ask God. Because verse 23 refers to "his Son Jesus Christ," it is clear that "God" in verse 22 is referring to the Father of Jesus Christ.
I John 5:10-15.
10 _ He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
14 _ And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
If we were just to read verses 12 through 15, it might appear that we are being instructed to ask Jesus Christ, and to ask according to his will. However, in verse 11 God is the subject, and it is He that verses 14 and 15 refer back to. If we read it in context, this passage agrees with every other passage we have read about addressing our petitions and prayers: we are to ask God the Father, according to His will, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ.
My concern is that we not be just satisfied with praying to someone "up there," but that we pray in accordance with God's Word, which is His will, and that we maintain a right relationship with God, the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. We cannot govern our prayer life by the traditions of men and be sure of walking in obedience to God; we must make the Word of God the foundation and guidebook for our prayer life.
James 1:5-7.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
When you have a need, when you have a problem, "Who ya gonna call?"
Please don't say, "Ghostbusters!"
John 16:26-28.
26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
28 _ I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.