John 16:25-30 – Personal prayer generates faith in a loving God

Jesus assured the disciples that the time was coming, when they would be marked with new understanding of spiritual things concerning God. His message would not seem to them as encrypted. This, of course, must be understood in the context of the coming of the Holy Spirit. He will be sent alongside His followers to reveal and clarify the truth to them.

Here Jesus assured the disciples that as their understanding becomes clearer, they could then relate with God personally and confidently. They could come to Him freely in His name. As we have discussed, praying in Jesus’ name is to petition to God based on the merit of what He had done. It is asking for things that correspond with His nature, character and objectives. It is also praying in submission to His Lordship. And as we personally connect with God through prayer in Jesus’ name, we would come to know and experience that the Father not only loves us all, but that He also loves us individually. Besides showing the effect of connecting with the Father in prayer, this passage shows us the perfect unity between Jesus and the Father. Jesus had no need to persuade the Father to be more gracious. Because the work He had come to do rested wholly on the loving care of the Father who had sent Him.

In verse 28, Jesus then told the disciples plainly that, “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.” This verse tells us two essential qualities of our salvation. It declares that our salvation originated from heaven, where Christ came from. It also tells us that the ultimate destination of us who are saved is also heaven, where Christ had returned to. All these affirm the Father’s approval of what Jesus had done. On hearing that, the disciples then expressed that Jesus had indeed spoken plainly to them. And it brought about a declaration of faith. They now believe that Jesus had indeed come from God, and they confessed their confidence in Him.

Connecting with the Father is one thing Jesus had constantly taught us to do. We see it in the way He related with the Father. He now teaches us to also connect with the Father in prayer. He assured us that we will individually experience the Father’s love for us through prayer. When that happens, our confidence in Him will find greater depth. So let us keep connecting to the Father in prayer. But remember to come trusting that whatever God will grant to us is on the basis of Christ’s completed work at Calvary. There is no other way.