I’m starting to sound like a broken record. [Wait! Is that a totally outdated expression now that the younger generation has no clue what that big black disc is that goes round and round inside that giant box?] Maybe I should say that I’m starting to sound like a CD that has a piece of lint on it and therefore keeps playing the same thing over and over!
Regardless of how I introduce it, I once again saw this repetitive, though minor, element that keeps showing up in these middle chapters of the Book of John in John 16: 23–24 today:
“In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:23-24, NASB)
This recurring theme of asking and receiving was apparently important for Jesus to convey in His final time of ministry on earth.
In my eagerness to understand why this came up in yet another chapter and in another setting within the book, I checked Barnes’ New Testament Notes
Barnes, in essence (i.e., not quoting him here, but I am instead paraphrasing in my own words) explained that the disciples were so used to having the physical Jesus right there, making all the right choices and providing for them, that they had to be taught about His role as Mediator. They would soon need to go to the Father in the name of Jesus, the One Who would mediate their requests to the almighty God.
That makes sense to me now.
But I firmly believe that Jesus also had John write this out in permanent ink for me to know that God will give it to me—it being what I ask for through the name of Jesus—”so that [my] joy may be made full.”
WOW! He fulfills my desires because He desires my joy!
But I must pause here and state what should be, but might not be, a “given”: The more I know of Him, the more those desires change and the more my prayers become about His glory instead of my wants!
Here’s a real-life illustration:
I confess: I still, after all these years alone, want a diamond so big and of such high quality that my friends say, “Aren’t you afraid to leave the house in that thing?” In fact, I’d like three or four of them! Call me shallow. But it’s true.
But the more I see Christ and observe His incomprehensible, unconditional love, I see that He uses “things” to further the kingdom and to show His love and mercy. The cost of a ring like the one I selfishly long for would feed hundreds of people and supply materials for several rooms at the Hospital of Hope in Togo, West Africa (see link below).
The joy of such a diamond (insert slight, honest, transparent sigh here at the mental picture of said diamond) ends when life ends. The impact made by using those same funds on furthering kingdom work is eternal.
Yes, He knows my wants, desires, and needs, and He longs to provide all of them that are in accordance with His plan for me. And that is what I think He meant by fulfilling my joy through giving me what I ask for.
And so I find that my prayers are changing from “give me” to “let them have.”
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