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Prayer Unfiltered: Do I Have to Say "In Jesus' Name" Every Time I Pray? · The Father's Business Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Praying in Jesus' name is a lot more about understanding our position and understanding that as we ask God for things, we are asking because of the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's how we are able to have a relationship with the Father.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: But it's also not us asking for whatever we want and slapping in Jesus' name on it and thinking that we are owed it.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, I'm Kimberly.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm Elizabeth, and this is the Father's Business Podcast, born out of Sylvia Gunter's heart for people to know who God is and who they are in him.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: So wherever you're listening from today, we pray that you will sense his nearness and know that you are his beloved sons and daughters.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: We're really glad you're here with us today.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, welcome back to the Father's Business Podcast.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Elizabeth and Kimberly are here again.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're back.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Last week it was just Elizabeth.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: So we're back and we're continuing in our series Prayer Unfiltered.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about honest questions that people have about talking with God.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: And today we're gonna talk about a question that many of you, many of us, may never have actually asked out loud, but it seems to be a question that many are asking, which is the question, do I have to say in Jesus' name at the end of every prayer?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've finished praying and said amen and then thought, oh no, no, wait, wait, wait, that's not gonna go.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's not gonna, I can't hit send yet because I didn't say in Jesus' name.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Does my prayer still count?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: So is that the spiritual version of sending the prayer to Jesus?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe it's still sitting hanging out in the drafts folder.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Not sent yet.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: So Elizabeth, what do you think on that?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: What's your first initial thought to that question?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, my first initial thought is when we read the question, I was like, you know, I I've never asked that question.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just so much a part of our church culture.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's just how we're taught to pray is you say whatever you want to say, and then you say in Jesus' name or in his name or some version of that, and amen.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, like when you're praying in a group, it just felt more like a signal that, okay, we're done now, so we're all gonna say amen.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I understand there are some verses that kind of point towards this idea of praying in Jesus' name, but I honestly have never really thought about it because it's just what you do.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's a great question.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think our access to Jesus doesn't depend upon our ability to remember a phrase.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like that doesn't line up with scripture theologically.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think there's a required phrase that Jesus gives us.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: So when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he didn't tell them that every prayer had to end in Jesus' name.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, we know the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6, 9 through 13.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: It says, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory of forever.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: So Jesus begins with the relationship.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Our Father.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: He teaches us to honor the Father's name in the very beginning of the prayer, to seek his kingdom, to desire his will, to ask for provision, to receive and extend forgiveness, and to depend upon him for protection.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: But he doesn't necessarily add these exact words of in Jesus' name to the end of the prayer.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I don't think that in any way means there's anything wrong with the phrase.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want anyone to hear us saying, you don't need to say in Jesus' name.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: I just think this is an interesting question that people are asking that is in some way my prayer not valid unless I pray in Jesus' name.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the simple answer to that is no.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you want to turn the podcast off, you can turn it off now.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: But we want to explore this idea through some scriptures.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: But like you said, Kimberly, prayer is a relationship.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't think God's up in heaven like trying to catch us, like, sorry, I would have answered that one, but you didn't say in Jesus' name.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just like with our own children and our own relationships, there's a lot more grace there.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a protocol that is required in order to have a conversation with your father.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: But I I do want us to explore a little bit like where does this even come from?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, where where do people even have the idea of in Jesus' name?
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: I would say John 14 is one of the more obvious places.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: In verses 13 and 14, scripture says, And I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now that sounds very broad, but if we isolate those verses, we might think that Jesus has given us a blank check for anything.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Ask anything in his name.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Could take that a lot of different directions, right?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then the outcome is guaranteed.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: He was talking to his disciples, and that's not what they would have understood him to mean.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Kimberly, I think you have to see that in the context of 14, 15, and 16.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is right before Jesus is going to be crucified.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: So he is trying to get his disciples prepared.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: How are they going to represent him?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: How are they going to spread the gospel?
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: How are they going to live without him?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because they've been up close and personal with him for three years.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that he was talking about a much broader understanding of if you ask things in my name, I will do it more so than a very specific when you pray, this is how you're supposed to pray.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I think a lot of this goes back to some of what we've been talking about over the last couple of podcasts where we're talking about authority and submitted authority and being covenant daughters on kingdom business.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: This is just one more layer of that.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Praying in Jesus' name is a lot more about understanding our position and understanding that as we ask God for things, we are asking because of the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's how we are able to have a relationship with the Father.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: But it's also not us asking for whatever we want and slapping in Jesus' name on it and thinking that we are owed it, right?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like that in Jesus' name is not this magic formula that makes everything okay and makes all your prayers come true.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's much more about our position in him and being in that place of submission under his authority.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right, which takes us to John 15, 7, which is if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: So all of John 15 is about abiding.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's about the branch and the vine connection.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: So the asking in Jesus' name and whatever that request is, is connected to remaining connected to the Father.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: So Jesus goes on to say in John 15, 16, later in that chapter, you did not choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you to go bear fruit, fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think the teaching comes from the fact that when we use that phrase, we are recognizing that we are connected to abiding in him with him.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: We are in Christ.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so we're allowing him and his truth and his words and his desire to remain and take precedence, and that we want to bear fruit and we want to participate in the purpose that he has.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really about alignment when you come down to it, I think, that we talk about a lot.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a great word for it.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's about bringing all of who we are under the full surrender of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, yeah, as you're reading through those verses in John 15 about abiding the vine, you hear there's so many steps before you get to, if you ask anything in my name, I'll give it to you.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: There is a requirement for us to graft ourselves into him, to find our significance, our identity, our life.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: So there's so much more required of us because you know, we're the branch, he's the vine.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Our job is just to stay remaining in him.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the way that all of that is built up in John 15 before we get to this point of ask anything in my name.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's, you know, according to my Father in heaven, it'll be given to you.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Even in there, there's layers.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: One, I have to be in Jesus and abiding in him.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Two, I have to ask.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Three, it has to line up in accordance with what the father's heart is for the situation.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: So in Jesus' name is not a formula, but it also I think is a beautiful way for us to remind ourselves, and if we're praying with others, to pray with others, that all of this is because of him.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it does allow us to be able to come boldly to him and understand that we do have power to ask because of what Jesus has done for us.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: But I kind of wonder, Kimberly, and I didn't really know the answer to this question, but you and I've been doing a little reading, like, when did we start saying in Jesus' name?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: What where did this start showing up in the church?
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't think that there's, as we look through it, there's not one date where we go back and we're like, okay, on June 20th, 1942 or 1492 or 02 or whatever, right?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like there wasn't an official date when the church said, okay, from this point forward in all of church history and all of Christendom, we will pray using the phrase in Jesus' name.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's where the power lies.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: That we we don't find that somewhere, but we do see that this theology comes directly from Jesus and the first century church.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Christians have been praying through Jesus from the beginning.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like we said, the disciples and the early church that we can see, they didn't use this exact closing sentence.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: There was a document early on in Christian history called the Didiche.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: It was probably written near the end, actually, of the first century or the beginning of the second, and it contains prayers addressed to the Father.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: It thanks the Father for what he had made known through Jesus.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: And near the end of the first century, Elizabeth, it gives praise and glory to God through Jesus Christ.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: So around the middle of the second century, there was Justin the Martyr.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: He describes Christian worship.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: And he says, praise and thanksgiving were offered to the Father through the name of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: And when the prayer ended, the people responded, Amen.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: So see, we just use that phrase all the time and we don't think about it, right?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: We don't think about where it started, or we just assume it's in Genesis, I probably.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: But over time, Christian liturgies have regularly used conclusions such as through Jesus Christ our Lord, in Jesus' name, is actually the English habit of ending our informal prayers.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so those phrases developed gradually over time.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so a simple way to say is that the theology is first century early on, and the closing, we don't like the word formula around here because prayer is not a formula, but the the ending of in Jesus' name came later as a result of the theology.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: So it does help us see the difference.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: We we know throughout the whole of Scripture that our words, like we like you said a few minutes ago, are not magic.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's not formula.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Power is not in us using the words, but the power is in the name of Jesus.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus holds the power.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so the early Christian church knew that.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: They knew that Jesus was the one.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: Many of them saw the temple veil break, or they knew priests that had seen that.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: They knew that that had happened.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: They knew that Jesus gave them access to the Father.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so they prayed through that name and depended upon him to be the one who did the work.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and even the fact that we're called Christians, I mean, that that is that is part of this as well, is because what's different about us is we are followers of Jesus Christ.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: That is our access, right?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think of Hebrews 4, 14 to 16, just want to read it for us.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are yet without sin.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we come with confidence to God our Father because of our relationship with Jesus.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why I think it's so beautiful that we use the phrase in Jesus' name when we pray or when we use the name of Jesus.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes when we're in a situation that's very difficult, sometimes all I can pray is in the name of Jesus, whatever this is, step back because the power comes from the power of his death and resurrection and ascension.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think it's very critical for us to do it, but I think it's also good for us to stop and ask why.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because I've been going to church, you know, nine months in the womb before I was even outside, actually on the planet, and just grew up hearing it.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, oh, okay, because so much of prayer is caught by listening to other people pray and how it's modeled to you.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I just never really had anyone sit down and try to explain to me why exactly do we say in Jesus' name in prayer, that's just what you do.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: So we are able to come to the Father because Jesus is our great high priest.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: He has paid the price for us to be able to be reconciled with the Father.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: So Jesus has opened the way for us to have relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: That reminds me of Ephesians 2 18, which gives us a beautiful picture of the entire Trinity at work in prayer.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: It says, For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: So through the Son, by the Spirit, access to the Father.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: So the access is the person, not the phrase.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: And again, going back to John, John 14, he says, I am the way and the truth and the life.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: No one comes to the Father except through me.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: So Jesus did not merely teach us which words to use to open the door.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: He was teaching us that he himself is the way.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, Elizabeth, in light of that, should we keep saying the phrase in Jesus' name?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, sure, yes.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that this is not a podcast that is anti in Jesus' name.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think it is a beautiful phrase.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think it helps us align our mindset and our emotions with the fact that it's only because of him that we have access to the Father.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a great way to remind myself that I am under his authority and I want my prayer life to reflect who he is and that I'm surrendering even as I bring requests to him.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm surrendering them to him.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to trust him with the answer and I want God to get the glory.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: So there's nothing wrong with using the phrase in Jesus' name.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just good for us to sometimes think about why we do what we do and not just do it because that's what we were taught.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, even for me, this question has been good to go, you know what?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Be mindful about why we're doing things, not just saying them because that's what we've heard our whole life.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's also very good to remember we don't just get to say in Jesus' name to whatever our agenda is.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that that is the heart of this message.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's about actually surrendering to Jesus and not just bringing our own opinions, our own thoughts on how God should be managing things and then trying to put in Jesus' name on it and thinking that that somehow is a stamp of approval.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: But we can also just cry out to God as Father sometimes, and we can cry out to the Holy Spirit.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is a person, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all three are part of the Godhead.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I think our heartbeat has always been we don't want people to think prayer is a formula and you got to do it right in order for it to be heard.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: You are a child of God and you have a very loving father.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is spoken as our brother in scripture, and the Holy Spirit is called our comforter.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: We have nurturing parts of the Godhead that want to hear from us, not try to make sure we're doing the formula correctly.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Through this whole thing, like you said, we've talked about not wanting it to be a formula, but about a relationship.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: And recently we've been talking about declaration prayers.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's kind of when we think about this phrase, I want people to know that the phrase matters because the name of Jesus matters, but the phrase doesn't matter because we're using the correct words.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it's almost like declaration prayers or the word um incantation.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of this idea that that depends upon us using certain words to produce a result.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: And that's not the way we're taught to pray.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: We are clearly taught to pray by coming to the Father, our Father, who art in heaven.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it is about coming to Jesus, like you've said, and I'm repeat it over and over and submitting to his authority.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I think that's important to remember because prayer from a biblical perspective is not about manipulating spiritual power.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's the opposite of that.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what we're taught to do.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there are some people out there that are teaching more along those lines, taking that verse that we talked about in John that says, Ask for anything in my name and I will do it.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the whole reason we got into the conversation about declaration prayers and submitted authority and all those things is this is not a license to declare whatever you want to declare, claim whatever you would claim, and because you put in Jesus' name on it, then it's going to come to pass.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because I talked about this on a previous podcast, but I think it's important to bring back up here the story in Acts 19, where the men who were not true followers of Jesus tried to use Jesus' name and Paul's name in order to speak to a demon that was in a person.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's in Acts 19, 13 to 16.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it says, Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over the evil spirits in a man.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: They would say, I command you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the very sobering part of this story that gets me every time, Kimberly, is the demon inside that man turned and looked at them when they said that and said, Jesus, I know.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Paul I've heard of, but who are you?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Kimberly, if that happened to me, I would so get out of there so quick that would flip me out.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that is put into scripture as a warning to all of us that you can't just slap the name of Jesus on something not under the submission of God, not following his lead, not being grafted in the vine, and expect for even darkness to recognize you.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, basically that darkness was saying you don't have any power because you don't have the relationship with Jesus that is required for those words to have the impact that they have.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I think for most of us, our our passion needs to be how grafted can I get into the vine?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: How much can I abide with him and allow who he is to flow through me versus focusing on the technicalities of did I pray it the right way?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: Did I use the right words?
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Did I say the right thing to get what I want out of this prayer time with Jesus?
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I'm gonna go back to something that we've said, I'm repeating myself, but I'm doing it for the sake of, I think it's important for us to catch this.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you've been taught that by attaching the phrase in Jesus' name to your prayer, then God will provide exactly what you requested.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's not scriptural, just putting it out there because the reality is like we've said, those words do not obligate God to carry out our desired outcome.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: First John 5, 14 and 15.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: And this is the confidence that we have before him.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of him.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Our confidence is in Christ.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: We ask according to his will.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: That does not mean we know his specific answer.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: We don't know his specific outcome.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: It means we place our request within his character, his wisdom, his authority, and his purposes.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so I know there's a lot of people out there sometimes who are afraid that saying your will be done can show a lack of faith.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: But Jesus prayed those words in Luke 22, 42.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Father, if you're willing, take this cup from me.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Not my will, but yours be done.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus honestly named his desire, and then he surrendered the rest, the rest of the story, as they say, yes, to the Father.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's where we've said before, submission is not unbelief.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Surrender is not the absence of faith.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Surrender is actually faith that trusts that the Father, even when we cannot control the answer, that he will answer according to his wisdom and his purposes.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: And it shows that we have a relationship with the Father, that we can go to him and we can climb up in his lap and we can say, Abba, I'm scared.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: I feel out of control.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what's going on.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Your will be done, and even that scares me.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like Jesus' name is not a way to strengthen our control over the outcome.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's the name that we're surrendering to.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, Elizabeth, again, with with this conversation, who who should we pray to?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, that's a good question, because there's God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Who who who am I talking to?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: I I would say all three.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think if you look through scripture, when when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, he started it, our Father, right?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then he goes on in John 16, 23 to 27 to say, in that day you will no longer ask me anything.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Truly, truly I tell you, whatever you ask, the Father in my name, he will give to you, until now you have not asked for anything in my name.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Ask and you will receive so that your joy may be complete.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech, and an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: In that day you will ask in my name.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf, for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I really love that phrase that he put in there.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: The Father Himself loves you.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus' entire ministry when he was on earth was pointing people to the Father.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Even the name of our ministry, the Father's Business, comes where Jesus says, I came to be about my Father's business.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And several different points in the passages, he's trying to show them, I am here to be a picture of what your father is truly like.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so I do think we can pray to the Father, we can pray to Jesus, we can pray to the Holy Spirit because this is, you know, you want to less it on the Trinity.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is where it gets really interesting because God is one, but He is in relationship with Himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are praying for the world.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: For us to the Father all the time.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: That is in scripture.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: So is there a wrong way to pray?
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you feel you need to call out to your father, like you were just talking about Kimberly, you just need your Abba to come close, then you call and you call out his name and you call upon the Father.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then other times you do need to pray to Jesus.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: He is the Savior.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: He is the one who died on your behalf.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: There is power in the name of Jesus.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so sometimes we call out in Jesus' name.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And other times I need the comfort and the wisdom and the and just the knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think oftentimes we think of Father and Son as personhood.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we can kind of think of the Holy Spirit as a force or a power or a mystery thing that we don't fully understand.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is also a person.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's okay to cry out and say to the Holy Spirit, I need wisdom, I need comfort, I need direction.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: Will you speak to me?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Will you speak to my spirit?
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't think there's a wrong way to do it.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: I do see somewhat of a theme in scripture that we pray to the Father through the Son by the power of the Spirit, but that does not mean that it is wrong to pray to Jesus or the Holy Spirit.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Elizabeth, I think it's a very good perspective and thought for us to remember about the Trinity because it is a hard concept.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: In some ways, it's like the simple concept when we think about it.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then we really think about it, we're like, that's not simple at all.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's you know, it's not.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so you were you gave a a scriptural example where we pray to the Father.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: I was thinking about in Acts 7, we have a clear example of Stephen praying directly to Jesus.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's um verses 59 and 60 in Acts 7.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: And it says, While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, Lord, do not hold the sin against them.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: So Stephen was directly addressing Jesus.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't stop in the middle of being stoned to wonder whether he should talk to Father, Son, or the Spirit.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: But but he knew, Jesus, help me.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus, have mercy, Jesus, I'm crying out to you.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so we we can pray those same ways.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: And there was also a scriptural reference to praying to the Holy Spirit in Romans 8, 26 and 27.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_01: It says, in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words, and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like you were saying a few minutes ago, the Holy Spirit is a person, and the Bible often describes the Holy Spirit as the one who indwells us, who leads us, who helps us, who intercedes for us.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: So there's fewer biblical examples of prayers that are actually addressed to the Holy Spirit, but we have to acknowledge the biblical truth of what we were just saying, that the pattern of prayer is to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it's connected to all parts of the Trinity.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's never wrong to say, Holy Spirit, help me.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: Holy Spirit, lead me in truth.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: Holy Spirit, remind me of what Jesus said.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: Holy Spirit, show me that I'm believing a lie.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: Spirit, give me wisdom, give me discernment.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's where it's not a matter of who specifically we pray to.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a matter of what specific words we say.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's a matter of following the heart and the pattern of Scripture that teaches us how to pray and to understand.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's about abiding, being connected to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and allowing us to walk in alignment and in direct connection with all parts of the Trinity.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: Kimberly, as you're talking about the Holy Spirit, I think about even Jesus, what he was saying to his disciples.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, when I leave you, I'm going to send you.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: Some versions say another advocate, some say another helper, but he doesn't say to them, I'm going to send you a force.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: He says he's sending another person, much like he has been a person.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's not physically present, like he's not in a human body, but the Holy Spirit is very much present as a person in our life.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that is a beautiful thing to think about and why we love so much praying Trinity prayers, which is praying to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and asking our spirit, souls, and bodies to line up with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, because there's such a richness when all of the personhood of God is included.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we can also just pray, dear God.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that is also an option.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's so many names for who God is.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the beauty of the Trinity that is also a mystery, which is sometimes you speak to him as a whole, and sometimes you you speak to one of his persons.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I I love that he is himself in community as much as he longs for us to be in relationship and community with him.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: So my heart for all of this is the questions that keep getting asked about prayer all kind of have this common theme of, Am I doing it wrong?
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: Is my prayer not being answered because I didn't pray it right?
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: And every week we just want to come back to this baseline of reassuring everyone.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: God's not up in heaven trying to make sure you're doing it accurately.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: He's not up in there going, well, yeah, I was gonna answer that one, but you didn't do it right.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: He is a loving father.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is our advocate.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is praying on our behalf.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: They are on our side.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: We're we are not approaching, as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, a critical judge or a mean judge that doesn't want us to have justice.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: And we're not knocking on the door of a neighbor who's too bothered to get up and help us.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: We have a father, son, and Holy Spirit who are leaning in to help us.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, it may not feel that way sometimes, because we all have situations in our life that we desperately need relief.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: We need help, we need an answer, and that answer doesn't seem to be coming.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't want anyone listening to this podcast to leave thinking, well, it's because I just didn't pray right.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's my fault.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: My prayer hasn't been answered because I didn't pray it right.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: But for us to more focus on the beauty of the power that we have to approach the throne of grace because of what Jesus has done for us.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: Elizabeth, thank you for the reminder that we have a Father who welcomes us.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: We have Jesus who offers his authority that we can trust more than anything, and we have the advocate of the Holy Spirit.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so thank you for joining us today.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: And we pray that you will be encouraged by this.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: We pray that you will be reminded to be in relationship with your father and to take your request to him and to trust him in the midst of the darkness and the struggles.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: Share this with someone and subscribe.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you so much for being a part of these conversations.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: Send us your questions.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: We're plowing through, and we look forward to being with you next time.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is made possible through donations by people like you.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: To donate, go to www.thefathersbusiness.com.
• 28:35
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