Rogate—Persistent Prayer and the Father's Love: Praying in Jesus' Name
Transcribed by TurboScribe.
(0:00) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (0:04) Normally, the Sundays of the church year are named after the first few words of the Introit. (0:11) It means entrance in Latin, the entrance into the Divine Service. (0:16) Last week was Cantate Sunday as an example, and cantate means y'all sing; it's second person (0:22) plural, the verb to sing.
And the Introit began with oh sing unto the Lord a new song, so it's in there. (0:30) This Sunday is one of the exceptions to that rule. This Sunday is called Rogate, (0:35) which means y'all ask.
But the entrance into divine service this morning, the Introit, (0:40) it began with the words with a voice of singing, declare ye and tell this. (0:46) Rather than coming from the first few words of the Introit at this Sunday's name came from (0:51) the words of Jesus in our gospel this morning. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask (0:57) the Father in my name, he will give you.
Until now you have asked nothing in my name, (1:02) ask, and you will receive that your joy may be full. Today begins a series of three days. Today, (1:13) Rogation Monday, Rogation Tuesday, leading up to Ascension or Wednesday, the vigil of the (1:19) Ascension.
And it's like the ember days you've heard me talk about before. There's four times (1:24) in the year where there's a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday that kind of loosely line up to (1:29) times of harvest. And there's these divine services and appointed readings for those days.
(1:34) And normally you would fast or do things you would do during Lent on those days. And you'd be (1:39) praying for farmers and harvest and for the word, the ministry of the word, for the ministers of (1:45) the church, and that people would be brought in like a harvest to God's church. The same thing (1:50) goes for these Rogation days that we're praying, especially for farmers and the harvest.
We're (1:57) praying also for the ministers and that the unbelievers will be gathered into the church, (2:03) converted and gathered in like a harvest. And so today begins that series of praying (2:11) leading up to Ascension. The readings have to do with this theme of asking the Father in Jesus' (2:18) name.
It had the theme of prayer, just like the ember days readings do. The readings talk about (2:24) things like, what does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? What does God's word say about prayer in (2:32) general? Why do we pray? How prayer works? Why some prayers seem to be answered while others don't? (2:40) On Rogation Monday and Tuesday, there are several more passages on prayer that we would hear. (2:46) James giving the example of Elijah praying for the rain to stop, and it stopped, and then praying (2:53) for the rain to come back, and it comes back, and then there's a harvest.
And then James says this (2:58) of Elijah and us in general and encouragement. He says, the effective fervent prayer of a righteous (3:04) man avails much. The effective fervent prayer of a person made righteous, so a saint, avails much.
(3:14) Jesus' story about us getting woken up by a friend in the middle of the night also comes up (3:18) in these readings, where the friend comes and is knocking on the door in the middle of the night (3:22) and wants to borrow. He asks for him to lend him three loaves of bread. Like when I ask if I can (3:27) borrow, you know, a cinnamon roll, I'm not going to give it back.
But the guy comes and knocks on (3:33) the door in the middle of the night and, you know, asks for the to borrow these three loaves of (3:37) bread. And then Jesus says, I say to you though, he will not rise to give him because he is his (3:42) friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. So I say to (3:48) you, ask and it will be given to you.
Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. (3:54) For everyone who asks, receives.
And he who seeks, finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened. (4:00) And then right after that, you have the reading where Jesus asks, you know, which father among (4:06) you, if your child asks for some bread or for fish or for an egg, is going to give him a stone, (4:12) a serpent or a scorpion.
And then he says, if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your (4:18) children, how much more will the father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Saint Paul, (4:26) this is another reading from these Rogation Days. Saint Paul telling us, I desire that men pray (4:31) everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting in like manner. Also that the women (4:38) adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or (4:43) pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works.
(4:50) Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have (4:55) authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
And Adam was not (5:03) deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved (5:09) and childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control. Another reading for (5:16) these Rogation Days, Jesus teaching about the widow coming to that unjust judge, asking him to plead (5:22) her cause, to give her justice against her adversary.
And the judge, Jesus says to himself, (5:28) though I do not fear God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, (5:35) lest by her continual coming she weary me. Then the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge said, (5:42) and shall not God avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with (5:48) them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, (5:53) will he really find faith on the earth? In all of this, we are taught to lift up our hands, to pray (6:00) to God, especially to pray for the Holy Spirit, to live faithfully in our callings with due submission (6:08) to authorities placed over us and the good, to submit to the good and the affliction that the (6:17) Lord lays on us in our various callings, knowing that God will work salvation for us through these (6:24) circumstances, good or bad, easy or difficult, these circumstances of our lives, that he will work (6:33) salvation through them if we continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control.
Rather than (6:40) seeking to take authority up for ourselves when we are wronged, we pray without ceasing to God in (6:45) our troubles, never stopping, trusting in the Lord to get justice for us, because he will avenge his (6:51) elect, and we can trust in him to do that. And so he tells us to pray and to suffer patiently and wait, (7:01) and we are taught to remain persistent in our prayers to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (7:05) to our last dying breath. That's what these Rogation Days teach us.
Today on Rogate Sunday, (7:12) there are two sayings of our Lord I want us to think about. There's all sorts of things we could (7:16) say about prayer just from this gospel lesson, but I want to think about two things. First, Jesus saying, (7:21) most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.
And second, (7:27) in that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you, (7:32) for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came forth (7:37) from God. The first saying is often difficult for us, because it seems by our experience in this life (7:45) that it's not true. On Mother's Day, we can think of numerous examples.
A woman prays to conceive (7:53) and give birth to children, but remains childless. A mother prays for the child conceived in her womb (7:59) to be born safe and healthy, but she loses her child to miscarriage, or the child is born with (8:06) severe health effects. A mother prays that her children already born would live a long and happy (8:13) life, and they die before her.
A mother prays that her children will remain Christian until they (8:18) leave this world to be with Jesus, and then she lives to see the day that they fall away and (8:25) spurn Christ and his church, and join themselves to the world and its prince. With all the examples (8:32) you could think of, of asking the Father for something or someone in Jesus' name that we (8:41) experience as not being given to us, Christ's promise here might trouble us, since we know (8:48) Jesus is not a liar. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
So how is it true when my experience (8:56) seems to indicate otherwise that whatever we ask the heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, (9:02) he will give us? Because that's what he says, and Jesus is not a liar. (9:08) A key here is to understand what it means to pray in the name of Jesus. (9:13) It certainly most obviously means to pray in the literal name of Jesus and to be referring to (9:20) that Jesus.
That's first of all. So it means praying in his name, Jesus of Nazareth, (9:29) true God and true man who died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, and is seated at (9:34) the right hand of the Father. That Jesus.
So we ask things in the name of that Jesus. We direct (9:40) our prayers to that Jesus. It means not to pray to the God of Islam, even if one might want to (9:48) say that Allah just means God in Arabic, or to pray to the God of modern Judaism, where the (9:54) Son of God is rejected.
Since scripture tells us whoever denies the Son does not have the Father (10:00) either. So you can use words. You can use the name Jesus and not really be praying to that Jesus.
(10:09) Like a Mormon, you can be praying to the Father and not really be praying to (10:15) our heavenly Father because you don't believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Father's Son. (10:23) So that's one obvious way that we must pray in Jesus' name, that we direct our prayers and (10:31) requests to Jesus of Nazareth, true God and true man, who died on the cross for your sins, shed (10:37) his blood for you, rose from the dead for you, and sits at the right hand of the Father for you. (10:43) No prayer but a Christian prayer is heard by the Father.
To pray to the Father, even to pray the (10:51) our Father, and it be heard and answered, one must believe and be baptized. St. Paul says in Galatians, (11:00) you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into (11:06) Christ have put on Christ. And Jesus says in John 3, unless we are born from above, that is begotten (11:12) from the Father through water and the Spirit, we cannot see or enter the kingdom of God.
(11:21) When you trust that the Lord died and rose again for you to save you from your sins, (11:28) when you trust in that, when you trust that he rose from the dead personally for you, (11:35) and that he gave you the merits of that death and resurrection personally in the waters of (11:40) holy baptism, when you believe these things, then you are a son of God. Before that, you can't pray (11:49) our Father. He is not your Father, not the Father that hears your prayers.
He might be your Father (11:55) as in your creator, and he loves you, but you do not receive the benefit of him being a loving (12:01) Father who hears you and answers you, unless you believe on Jesus and are baptized in the name of (12:09) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But when you have this, you can pray to the Father as your Father. (12:19) You can pray the Our Father, and it be heard and answered.
You now have direct access to the Father, (12:26) having been justified, that is forgiven all your sins and made right with God. We have peace with (12:33) God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in (12:38) which we stand. So this is the first thing, this is the first way it means to pray in Jesus' name, (12:45) is to actually direct yourselves in your prayers to the true Jesus.
When we pray in this way, (12:54) God's name is remembered among us, and scripture tells us in Exodus 24, our memory verse this (12:59) week, in every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless. (13:04) When God promised to dwell in the temple, he said, I will cause my name to dwell there, (13:09) and that did not mean that he was going to paint his name on the wall. It means he's going to be (13:14) there and dwell there.
When he says, I cause my name to dwell in a place, and Jesus tells us where (13:19) two or three are gathered in his name, there he is among them. So when we pray in Jesus' name, (13:27) to the true Jesus, as true children of God, we are standing in God's presence. He is among us, (13:34) and we are standing before him and have access to his throne of grace, and he hears our prayers, (13:41) and he answers them as our true father.
Praying in Jesus' name means also that our prayers (13:51) are answered according to his ultimate will for each of us, which we know by the very meaning (13:59) of his name. And this is where we're getting to, how does this promise work? Jesus' name, (14:06) or you could have said Yeshua or Joshua. Joshua has the same name as Jesus.
It means the Lord (14:12) saves. The angel told them, you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from (14:18) their sins. So when we pray in the name of Jesus, everything we're asking for, even if we don't say, (14:25) thy will be done, when we're praying it in Jesus' name, we're praying, thy will be done.
And what (14:30) we mean by thy will be done is, give us whatever thing or grant whatever we're asking for this (14:36) person or for ourselves, in the way that brings us to being saved forever. Whether you realize it (14:43) or not, that is how you're praying all of your prayers. Lord, give me a child in Jesus' name, (14:52) means Lord, give me a child under the circumstances and in the timing that is most conducive to my (14:59) everlasting salvation.
When a mother prays, Lord, keep my baby in my belly safe until they are born (15:06) in Jesus' name, we're praying, grant me this Lord in the way that is most conducive to my (15:14) everlasting salvation and my child's everlasting salvation. And you could say it about everything (15:20) we pray for and everything we pray for night and day that doesn't seem to be given. When you pray (15:28) in Jesus' name, you're praying according to what His name actually means because that, every time (15:33) He is hearing you and answering your prayers, that is what He has tunnel vision on.
He has tunnel (15:39) vision on you being with Him forever and your children being with Him forever. He has tunnel (15:49) vision on it. That is His good and gracious will.
Ever since Adam and Eve were sent out of that (15:56) garden, Jesus has been earnestly and desperately trying to pull us back to Himself, desiring it so (16:05) much that He poured out His blood on that cross for each one of us. And that's what it means to (16:11) pray in Jesus' name. His name will be Jesus for the Lord will save us from our sins.
He will not (16:21) forget it, even if sometimes when we pray we forget that that's really what we want. He will never (16:28) forget that that is what we really want as His children and what we really need. Now that leads (16:41) into this last, this second point.
I do not say that I will pray to the Father for you. It's interesting (16:48) that last Sunday we heard a lot about Jesus interceding for us before the Father. That means (16:53) praying to us for the Father.
And then here in this gospel lesson, we hear Jesus say, (16:58) in that day you will pray in my name and I do not say that I will pray the Father for you, for the (17:04) Father loves you because you love me and believe that I came forth from God. How do those work (17:11) together? And I'll just as kind of an illustration of what I think Jesus is getting across here, (17:18) I'll use an example from my Roman Catholic upbringing. This is not the strongest case (17:23) for praying to the saints that I'm about to give you, but it was the most common one I heard in (17:29) homilies.
So I don't want you sitting here thinking this would be a straw man if you thought (17:35) this was the best you got as far as arguments go. But I would often hear this when, you know, if you (17:40) have a friend who's like, why do you pray to the saints? Why would you pray to Mary? Why would you (17:43) ask Mary to pray for you? And my priest would, I've heard it from more than just Father Troncalli, (17:49) but I'd hear from several different people, you know, that, well, look, when you really want (17:54) something as a child, who do you go to? And think about it on Mother's Day. I heard this on Mother's (18:01) Day a lot growing up.
You don't go to your dad because you know what your dad does. Your dad (18:06) does what I do. I'm working or doing something and Andy comes up and he wants a cinnamon roll or (18:12) something.
And I'm like, no, go away or go ask your mom. And so you go to your mom because she's nice (18:18) and tender and she's going to listen. And, you know, that makes sense to our experience, but take that (18:24) to its end.
You're describing a relationship with God where the Father is mean and Jesus, (18:34) that they don't pay attention to you. They're oftentimes too busy. Click, clack, and mooing (18:39) on their computer and doing some other work.
And they want to send you off to your mom. (18:44) And so you go to Mary and she'll listen to your prayers and she'll bring them to your dad and then (18:49) he'll listen. That is depressing.
It is. And it's not true. And it's so not true (19:01) that it would be wrong for us to say that instead it's the Father is like that.
And then we go to (19:07) Jesus and he'll listen like our nice mom and then he'll go to the Father for us. And that's what (19:13) Jesus is saying today. He's saying, I don't have to go to the Father to pray for you.
(19:19) I don't have to at all. I came to this world. I took on your human flesh.
I bore your sin in my (19:29) body on the tree. I poured out my blood for you. I made complete and perfect peace between you and (19:34) God the Father.
He said, this is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased. When I was baptized, (19:40) this is Jesus talking. And he said, you are my son today.
I've begotten you as the firstborn from (19:45) the dead. When he rose, raised me up from the dead. You have peace with him.
You are his child. (19:52) That's Jesus telling you this. He's saying, I'm not going to, I don't have to tell you that I'm (19:56) going to go to the Father to pray for you.
When you pray in my name, you've got a Father who loves (20:00) you with an everlasting love. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is always listening to you (20:08) and ready to give you what is going to bring you to him in heaven.
You don't even need me to pray (20:13) for you. So if that's true, if that's true, how, how, how even more untrue would be that illustration? (20:22) Because Jesus wouldn't even say that of himself. He would never say the Father is a little hard (20:29) nosed, you know, a little strict, but come to me, ask me first, and then I'll go convince him.
(20:37) Now, the Father is already convinced that you are his child. He has already convinced that you are (20:43) his beloved son with whom he is well pleased, because you are sons of God by faith. And as (20:49) many of has been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
And then on top of that, if you ever (20:55) had any doubt on top of that, Jesus prays for you forever and will never stop, never stop holding (21:01) up his wounded hands to his Father on top of you already not needing it. That's the certainty we (21:08) have. When your prayers seem as though they aren't being given, remember who they are heard by.
(21:14) Remember the name in which you have prayed those things and what his name means and what he is (21:20) ultimately concerned with when it comes to you and what you pray for. Remember how beloved and (21:25) precious you are to the Father. And on top of that, remember that Jesus prays for you, (21:33) even if you needed a just in case before the Father.
And Jesus says you don't. Remember all of (21:39) this and keep praying. He has commanded it.
Our Lord has promised to hear these prayers and to (21:46) answer them. And he is going to answer them according to his name. The Lord will save his (21:52) people from their sins.
He will always answer according to that name. Let us pray. Lord God, (22:00) heavenly Father, eternal God, your earnest command and will urge and drive us to diligent prayer (22:06) and invocation of your most holy name.
Moreover, your fatherly and gracious promises stir us (22:12) thereto with which you assure and promise to hear us. We also have the examples of all the dear (22:17) saints who have ever called upon you and were heard by you. We recognize that because we are (22:22) created by you, endowed with body, soul, reason, ears, eyes, and all human members, we should laud, (22:29) honor, and praise you with the same.
Beyond this, the devil's rage is so great and mighty (22:35) that we must constantly cry out and lament over it in this veil of misery. And we can drive this (22:41) evildoer away from us with nothing but our sighing to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Our misery, (22:47) distress, neediness, sin, illnesses, along with every other manner of affliction which we presently (22:53) feel are increasing so greatly that we rightly pray and sigh that we do not remain caught in these (22:59) trials.
Therefore, grant, oh heavenly Father, that in all our hardships, we may call upon you from (23:06) our hearts, come to you alone for refuge, and obtain fatherly grace from you. Through Jesus (23:12) Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
Transcribed by TurboScribe.
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