John 16:26-27 “In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

To me, this shoots holes in praying to anyone but the Trinity. There’s no problem with praying to the Father, certainly, and not to Jesus either, since He says, “I will do whatever you ask in My Name.” (John 14:13) And as much interaction with the Holy Spirit as is mentioned from Acts 2 on, I see no problems there, either. However, nowhere in the Bible does it mention praying to deceased persons, Mary or any other saint. When the Creator of the Universe loves us, why go any lower? The two points Jesus mentions here are love for Him and faith in Him. Remembering that love includes obedience, (John 14:23) these are all we need to worry about. If we have those, we have a “hotline to heaven.”

My wife and I have a reputation with some people, particularly with our daughters, that, “If [we] pray for something, it happens.” I wish I had such assurance myself! In the meeting I’m attending there has been a lot of encouragement to pray, specifically for healing and for the salvation of the lost. That’s certainly good! I certainly could stand to spend more time in prayer. At the same time, I find I’m praying the first part of the Lord’s Prayer more and more often, that His name would be hallowed as His kingdom comes through His will being done. I really think that covers all the bases! That’s not in the least to say I don’t need to pray specific prayers, even detailed prayers, but it is to say that God’s will, His plan, is inclusive and perfect; I don’t have to worry about anything having escaped His attention! I do have a lot of specifics to pray about right now, but I am to do so in the full assurance that God desires what is absolutely best. What I am doing in prayer is bending, lending, my will to His, so that I may be His instrument in doing what He wants to do already, and that is what is absolutely best.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing, and for the incredible privilege of participating in it. Thank You for the gift of tongues, to enable me to “pray without ceasing” when my mind doesn’t know how to pray. Thank You for the blessed assurance that You love me, You desire what is best for me, and nothing can separate me from Your love. May I be fully obedient to You in every detail, so that Your will may indeed be done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!