John 16:23-24 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
I remember feeling confused and somewhat guilty at the beginning of my relationship with the Godhead. They are Father, Son, and Spirit: three in one. They are distinctly different, yet they are one. For a while I talked to the Father all the time. Then I started reading through the gospels and I found myself talking to Jesus all the time. I felt bad, like I put the Father on the back burner and ignored Him, and I was loving Jesus more than I was loving the Father. Then I realized I completely ignored the Holy Spirit, barely even acknowledging Him most of the time. It seemed difficult to try to juggle relationships with all three every day and give equal time to all of them.
I finally asked someone at a Bible Study group one night, “who am I supposed to pray to?” The answer I got was so helpful and I found that it helped me to establish the proper order of God in my mind. Yes, God is a God of order, He has given proper order to everything, even Himself. The answer to my question was simply this: “pray to the Father in the name of the Son.”
Jesus says in John 16 that whatever we ask the Father in Jesus’ name the Father will give us. Why? So that our joy may be full. “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world to go to the Father.” (John 16:26-28)
Jesus says He doesn’t pray to the Father for us, in other words we don’t pray to Jesus and have Jesus take our prayers to the Father, but we pray directly to the Father Himself. And more than that, He establishes right there that the Father Himself loves us and wants to hear from us directly: “for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me.”
If we go back to the Old Testament and look at the Tabernacle and the order of the priesthood, we will find that only the High Priest was ever allowed to go into the Holy of Holies. This was the place of God’s presence. Only one man was allowed to go before God and repent of sins on behalf of all of Israel, once a year, and he better have purged himself of his own sin lest He die in the presence of God for being unclean. In the Temple the Holy of Holies was blocked off by a veil that was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide and several inches thick. Because a Holy God could not look upon sinful man.
But do you know what happened at the moment of Jesus’ death? That veil was torn from top to bottom. “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,” (Mattherw 27:50-51) “And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:37-38) “Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two” (Luke 23:45)
That is how much the Father loves us and wants to be able to have relationship with us. He Himself made the ultimate sacrifice, broke the barrier, and said, “Enter in.” The shed blood of Jesus was the final payment for the sin of all of mankind, the whole world. “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Through the tearing of His flesh all obstruction between us and God was removed. And now God can look upon us through the blood of Jesus which cleanses us and makes every stain white as snow. “And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” (Colossians 2:21-22).
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them a model prayer that clearly identifies God the Father as the one they should pray to. “Our Father, who art in heaven….” And He didn’t say “My Father”, He said, “Our Father”. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Ephesians 2:13 says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” When God the Father looks upon us now, He no longer sees our sin, but He sees the righteousness of His own Son. We are in Christ Jesus; He surrounds us like a cocoon. And in that cocoon, we are being transformed, made into His image. God knows it is a process of transformation, and we are continuously being sanctified by the blood of Jesus. But we are wrapped up in Jesus, and because of the holiness of Jesus, we are made holy enough for God to dwell with us. And we can pray to the Father as sons of God because of who Jesus (whom we are wrapped in) is and what He has accomplished for us. Isn’t that amazing?
I know it’s hard to believe that God could be so in love with us that He would go to such incredible lengths to be able to just be with us. And it isn’t just to be with us as a people. It’s me, it’s you He wants to be with. That torn veil was a personal invitation to enter into His presence and get to know Him. If you still have any doubt about the Father’s love for you let me share one more scripture:
“And I ask not only for these disciples, but also for all those who will one day believe in me through their message. I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as You and I, Father, are joined together as one. I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognize that you sent me. For the very glory you have given to me I have given them so that they will be joined together as one and experience the same unity that we enjoy. You live fully in me and now I live fully in them so that they will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that you have sent me, for they will see that you love each one of them with the same passionate love that you have for me.” (John 17:20-23 TPT)
Jesus prayed to the Father about you. He prayed that you would be made complete, that you would be made one in Him just as He and the Father are one. And He prayed that you would know that the Father loves you as He has loved the Son. And He continues to pray for you even now. “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right had of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34). “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25).
When you pray, pray to the Father, in the name of the Son. He gave a lot for you to come to Him. So just come. Sit at His feet. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him to show you who He is. He made every provision and met every condition on your behalf, and He waits patiently for you. So just come to the Father and be loved.
