Saturday May 11, 2024

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Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” (John 16:23)

Good News Reflection for:

Saturday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
May 11, 2024

Today’s Readings:

Acts 18:23-28
Psalm 47:2-3, 8-10
John 16:23-28
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051124.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-11-2024

The power of asking “in the name of Jesus”

Is it enough to say, “Father, this we ask in the name of Jesus”? Will everything we ask “in the name of Jesus” be granted to us?

No. Not everything we ask, even if we ask in his name, will be granted. Why?

Because our prayer is not a power. It’s a process. Only God has the power. We have a journey that Jesus wants to lead us through for the sake of growing in holiness.

How many times do we “run” to God to ask for his immediate help without taking the time to talk with him about the issue, to express our feelings, and above all, to listen to what he wants to tell us? He wants our prayers to become conversations that bring change — first in our hearts and then in the world.

Asking “in the name of Jesus” means asking according to his heart and his will. But how do we know if what we ask for is in accordance with his heart and will? We discover it best through a two-fold process.

One part is prayer — the meeting up of two friends (the Holy Spirit and you or me) who are in an intimate and deep relationship. We open our hearts to him and surrender all that afflicts us, worries us, saddens us, overwhelms us. By unconditionally submitting everything to him, we receive his comfort, his peace, his guidance. It is when we take time to ponder God’s perspective of our prayer requests that we receive his counsel.

The other part is community — meeting with at least one Spirit-filled, Christ-centered friend or priest or spiritual director so we can receive confirmation or new insights about our prayer request. God answers prayers through community, usually. Although he can of course work miracles by himself, he prefers to work through the earthly Body of Christ.

Divine guidance for our prayer requests is not a complicated business. It is, in reality, simple. It’s always available, and God always speaks in the vernacular; he speaks our language because he wants us to hear him.

For more on this, see our Wordbyte “How Can You Be Sure What Is God’s Will?” @ wordbytes.org/master-needs-you/what-is-gods-will.

Or listen to our Footsteps to Heaven podcast “3 ways to un-stifle the Holy Spirit” @ footstepstoheaven.com/holy-spirit/3-ways-to-un-stifle-the-holy-spirit.

© 2024 by Terry A. Modica

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