I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on John 14-16.

    Today’s passage contains what is perhaps one of Jesus’ most difficult teachings. I suspect that what I write about it will ramble a bit, but here goes. First Jesus tells us that no one can come to God except through Him. One of the most common things people who reject Jesus say is that there are many paths to God. This is true, but what they fail to realize is that all of those many paths to God lead to Jesus. If we are following the way which is Jesus we can ask for anything in His name and He will do it. The key to that statement is that in order to ask for something in Jesus name we need to be asking for it to serve His purposes.

    Jesus expresses this idea in several different ways throughout this passage. This is a difficult passage for me because over the last several weeks I was praying desperately for healing for a friend of mine and that healing, as I imagined it, did not come. That friend died. Why did God not do what I was praying for? I still believe in the power of prayer and I believe that we, as followers of Christ can pray for healing for people and see them healed. As Jesus was teaching about this He made the statement that He would do what the Father required so that the world would know that He loved the Father. When He said this He was referring to going to the cross and being crucified. Reading this passage it is clear to me that my prayer was not answered because I have either failed to remain in Jesus, or failed to allow His words to remain in me. This does not mean that if I had done something differently my friend would be alive today. It means that if I had done things differently, my prayers would have been different.

    As I said, this is a difficult passage. My friend’s death is not my fault, but I did not receive what I asked for, which means that in some way I asked improperly. I know that to some degree, if I had received that for which I was praying I would have taken credit for it, if only in my own mind. On the other hand, blaming myself for her death is the other side of the same sin. How can I humble myself so that when I ask for healing for others I am truly and totally seeking to glorify God and not myself?