²³ “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.”

Prayer is a most enigmatic Christian discipline, but it ought not be so. If there is one thing the Scripture teaches it is this: God wants us to pray. He invites us to pray and He leans in towards us to hear us pray. He is a communicating God and that is a two-way street. He wants a conversation.

Too often we hear theologically poor statements like, “Say your prayers” or “my prayers are with you.” We “say grace” before our meals and then recite some words without thinking. Even evangelicals who criticize others for their repetitious, rote recitations of prayers fall into an almost hypnotic repetition of key words, like legalistically ending all prayers with, “in Jesus name,” as though it were some magical incantation. We change our tone and pace of talking with God. Some even use a special form of the English language, a sort of King James-ese and sprinkle our prayers with many thee’s and thou’s to the God who “doe-th” and “see-eth” all things. Some are melodic in their prayer “chants.” Some resort to a low, solemn voice, while others work up an emotional lather.

When Jesus spoke of prayer, He stripped away any mysterious, esoteric or religious baggage and spoke in down-to-earth terms. In our context today, He addresses how to approach God with our requests. This is probably the most fundamental aspect of prayer, from the human perspective. While prayer certainly can be the expression of praise and worship, at its most fundamental level, we start with ourselves. Whether that is right or not, it is true. And Jesus starts there as He continues to prepare His disciples for His departure.

The simple observation is that with Jesus leaving, where would the disciples go to get their questions about God and life answered? Where would they turn for help once Jesus left? The Lord now wants to reorient them to a direct line of communication with the Father Himself. He leaves them with the confidence of a personal audience with the Sovereign of the Universe. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Moses, who is the Lawgiver. He is the holy, holy, holy One of Israel. And Jesus says His followers, in His physical absence, can bring their requests to God directly.

The question of whether to pray to Jesus or to God is answered in larger part by Jesus Himself. While it is not precisely wrong to pray to Jesus, particularly when worshipping or praising God, Jesus Himself said that when we have needs we pray to the Father and not the incarnate Son.

Lord, talking about prayer is easy, but actually conversing with You whom I cannot see requires my faith. “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”