Talking Face to Face with God
All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
For years, whenever the disciples had a question they would look over, Jesus would look at them, and they’d say “Hey Jesus, _______?” Now Jesus is about to leave and He’s preparing them and encouraging them for a life without a visible Jesus in front of them. After a few chapters of trying to explain the Trinity and Jesus’ presence in the lives of every believer, Jesus explains here how that all relates to prayer.
Just like they asked Jesus face to face for answers and things, Jesus is trying to convince them that they can talk to God like that now. Think about that. They never asked God for anything in Jesus’ name because they were asking Jesus to His face. Now they can go directly before God. Now they can ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s will to them so that they don’t have to be afraid of asking for the wrong things. Paul says it throughout the New Testament: We have the Mind of Christ, we are the Body of Christ, and we are filled with the Spirit of Christ.
God loves you a whole lot and doesn’t want to make a complex riddle for you to solve. He wants you to know Him like you’d know your best friend. He wants to answer you, teach you, lead you, and empower you. All that Christ has from the Father is available to us, and He’ll give it as we grow up in Him.
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