Indeed, whatever God ordains is right because, not only will He not leave or forsake His people (Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5), He will also continually care for us as a Shepherd tends His flock (Ps. 23), and He will work all things for His greatest glory and our greatest good (Rom. 8:28). Therefore, we pray for the will of God to be accomplished, even as we bring our cares, needs, and concerns before Him.

Two of some of the biggest questions that many Christians ask relate to prayer. On one hand, Christians want to know how they should pray. On the other hand, they want to know what they should be praying for. According to the Westminster Larger Catechism, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit; with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies” (WLC 178). So, the how of prayer, then, is to confess desires (and needs) to God the Father, in the name of the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Simple enough, right? We even recognize that prayer will include confession of sins and thankfulness for God’s many benefits that He graciously bestows upon us. The question remains, however: What should the Christian be praying for? When the world falls into deeper sin, or that loved one still has not repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, or that child is sick, or that family has lost nearly everything, and words seem to fail, and thoughts do not come, what are we to pray for? Though the Holy Spirit does indeed offer groanings and utterings in these moments (Rom. 8:26), we still want something solid to express and pray.
The answer may come as a surprise due to its simplicity, but Jesus answered this question in the opening of the Lord’s Prayer, directing us to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”[1]
First, our words should be directed toward the Father, and we should pray for His name to be hallowed (consecrated, blessed, honored). Above all else, we should desire for the Lord to direct our prayers in such a way to glorify Himself (1 Cor. 10:31).
Secondly, we are to pray for His Kingdom to come.
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Written by O. Palmer Robertson |
Thursday, February 8, 2024
What’s wrong with this perspective on human life? People everywhere in America agree that a bad attitude in life brings bad results. But the biblical perspective strikes deeper into the fallen nature of humanity. Bad attitude embodies sin – sin against God the Creator, and Christ the Redeemer. The movie also communicates the idea that doing good things with a good attitude will bring good results. But no example by a fallen human being has the power to transform even one person to have a purified heart. Nothing short of the miraculous, creative work of God’s Holy Spirit has the capacity to change the nature of a single soul. 

A marathon. All day long, every two and a half hours. The same old movie about Groundhog Day, which is celebrated in the USA every February 2. If the groundhog comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, this greatest of all prognosticators will have predicted six more weeks of winter.
If a major television network can run the same movie for over 12 hours straight, the message of this movie must capture the heartbeat of a major portion the American people. But what is the message? What is it in this movie that defines a heartbeat of American culture today?
The formula is very simple. Have a negative attitude toward all of life, and everything will go bad for you. Change your attitude and your actions to a positive perspective on all of life, and you will be a person filled with happiness and joy. You will live “happily ever after.”
A simple formula. Everyone can understand it immediately. Change your attitude and your accompanying actions, and you can have a happy, happy life.
So how does the formula play out? Despise your work, despise people, despise even God’s little creatures like a groundhog, and you will be miserable. Bill Murray, the lead actor, has been cast perfectly for this role. While looking miserable, he ignores a poor old street beggar. He scorns an old high school friend. He rudely turns down a nice lady’s offer of the best coffee she can produce. He mocks a small-town community’s joyful celebration.
But these bad attitudes foster grosser actions. He deceives an unsuspecting young woman by lying about their previous fictitious high school years together. He lures her into sexual immorality. He schemes and commits a bank robbery. He steals an automobile and leads small town police through a life-threatening high-speed chase.
In terms of openly and convincingly demonstrating that “out of the heart proceed the issues of life,” the movie does an excellent job. Bad attitude invariably leads to immoral conduct. Unintentionally the truth comes out. A bad heart leads to a miserable life. It even gets so bad that the main character makes many efforts to take his own life. He drives an automobile over a cliff, with the car landing upside down and bursting into a consuming ball of fire. He steps directly into the path of a moving truck. He leaps from the top of the highest building in town. He electrocutes himself in the bathtub. But he cannot succeed in destroying his life. Every morning he wakes up again on February 2nd.
Inadvertently the truth comes out once more, though in distorted form. Question 19 from the child’s catechism simply but profoundly asks: “Do you have a soul as well as a body?” Answer: “Yes, I have a soul that can never die.” You cannot kill your soul, no matter how hard you try.
The second half of the movie tells a different tale. What is this tale?
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Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit, otherwise named the Advocate in the NIV, would come from the Father and from Jesus. That this Advocate the Holy Spirit would come after Jesus returned to the Father. This Advocate was going to be sent. The Advocate would not be “God’s JV team” although the Holy Spirit is sometimes thought of in this way. The Advocate would be a tremendous helper, teacher, and witness. Jesus saw his earthly departure and heavenly ascension as a great thing. Jesus’ departure was not to be a source of sorrow, but a source of rejoicing as the helper who would come would come being sent by the Father and Jesus the Son. 

Over the past year I am finding myself over and over going back to the Gospel of John and falling more and more in love with Jesus. I hold no grudges against the other gospels of Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Perhaps this is merely a part of my own journey or a phase, but the way how John reveals who Jesus is grows my affection and confidence in our God.
The verb “send” or “sent” is used 32 times in the Gospel of John. Being “sent” matters as it becomes a question of authority, position, power, and jurisdiction. Think of some children playing together. One of them decides to begin climbing a fence. “Hey, you aren’t allowed to do that!” says one of the other children. “Oh yeah? Who sent you to be in charge?” retorts the climber.
Being sent by someone carries with it weight. Representatives act on behalf of others who otherwise are not present. Those who are sent often bear a message, or act on behalf of the sending party. In John’s Gospel the issue of who sent Jesus is one that continually comes up. “πέμπω” (Pempo is how you pronounce this ancient Greek word) is the word that gets used to denote being sent, or sending.
30 out of the 32 uses of this word are by Jesus (the other two instances are people questioning John the Baptist in 1:22 and John the Baptist in 1:33). While teaching Jesus would frequently refer to the one who sent him:
22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. (Jn 5:22–23)
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. (Jn 5:36)

38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (Jn 6:38)

16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. (Jn 8:16)

24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. (Jn 14:24)

5 but now I am going to him who sent me. (Jn 16:5)

Jesus was continually referring, revealing, and teaching about the one who sent him. In this way Jesus was sent.

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