John 16:23-24 “And in that day, you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. (24) Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
As with sin, there is another aspect of our prayer ministry that differs from that of our Lord Jesus, which is the use of His name. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus has taught us that under the new covenant when we petition our Heavenly Father, we are to do so in His name. The Old Testament saints did not have access to the name of Jesus, but the New Testament saints do.
Philippians 2:9 “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.”
The above quoted passage of scripture teaches us that when God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He gave Him the name which is above every name. And so we see that New Testament believers have been given the absolute privilege to use the name which is above all names when we petition the Father. Our Lord Jesus has taught us that our Heavenly Father hears our prayer when we petition Him in the name of Jesus. The reason that God the Father acknowledges the name of Jesus is because He is the one who gave it to our Lord.
Luke 11:5-10 “And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; (6) for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; (7) and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? (8) I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. (9) "So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (10) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Scripture is full of examples of those who had their prayers answered because they were persistent in their prayers. Our Lord Jesus on two separate occasions, taught on exactly this principle of being persistent in prayer. The first occasion is recorded in the above quoted passage of scripture. In Luke’s gospel when our Lord Jesus taught us the manner in which we should pray, He specifically linked it to being persistent in prayer (Luke 11:1-4). The above passage is the illustration that our Lord used to teach us the concept of being persistent in prayer. In this passage Jesus gave us the illustration of the man who went to his friend at an inopportune time to ask for assistance. Jesus taught us that it was not because of this man’s standing as a friend that he received his request, but rather it was because of this man’s persistence that his request was answered. We do not always understand why the answers to our prayers are delayed; nevertheless we have our Lord’s word that those who keep asking are the ones who eventually receive.
Luke 18:1-8 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, (2) saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. (3) Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' (4) And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, (5) yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' “(6) Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. (7) And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? (8) I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
In the above quoted parable Jesus taught us that even an unjust judge who feared neither God nor man, granted the request of the widow because of her persistence. The point of this parable is not to equate God with the unjust judge, but rather to show us that if even an unjust judge responds to persistent requests, then how much more will our heavenly Father give us our requests if we are persistent in our prayers.
Michael E.B. Maher
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