For years I’ve prayed for God to make him better, to ease his pain, for treatments to work. “Scott is so tired,” my sister said, “He told me he’s just tired of fighting.
Just the other day, my sister-in-law was telling me about a cousin who has battled cancer since high school and who had again taken a turn for the worse. Do you believe that Jesus was sent by God on a divine mission as Savior to the world? What about the people around you? What do they believe?.Do you sometimes feel as though God has not heard your prayer, or do you feel as though God is always listening to you?.What do you know about God from your own personal experience? Do your prayers reflect this knowledge?.What do you say when you pray for people who are sick or dying? How did Jesus pray for such people?.This implies that God, the Sender, stands behind both Jesus’ words and his actions. Sent: This word, when applied to Jesus in John’s Gospel, means to be sent away from God on a divine mission. There is no doubt, no wavering, no uncertainty in those who truly believe. Believing means that one is completely convinced of the absolute truth of this message. Knowing something about another person, in this sense, comes only through an intimate relationship with that person.īelieve: In John’s Gospel, to believe means to receive and accept the message that Jesus is the Son of God who was sent into the world on a divine mission to bring eternal life to all those who will put their trust in him. This is not factual knowledge learned from a third source (a computer, a newspaper, another person) but is instead personal, experienced, firsthand knowledge. This hearing, both right now and for always, expresses the deep and abiding connection that Jesus and God enjoy with one another.īecause of our intimate relationship, I know: In this passage, knowing means possessing a knowledge that is based on one’s own observations. Jesus is saying here, “I know that you are constantly listening to me.” God has heard Jesus at this one moment in time because God is always listening to Jesus. It is like a video, an action that continues to move across the screen. A progressive verb indicates an action in progress. The word listening, however, is a “progressive action” verb. Jesus is saying, “I thank you that you have heard me at this one moment in time.” It is like a snapshot, an action frozen in time. The aorist is used in the Greek to indicate something that has happened once. The verb that I translate as heard is known as an “aorist” verb. In order to understand Jesus’ prayer in this passage, it helps to know a little something about Greek verbs. Let me explain why I have translated them differently. Heard/always listening: These two verbs found in our passage are the same root word in the Greek language.
Thank you: The Greek word used in this prayer is eucharisteo which, we recall from Chapter 3, means to express overflowing joy with thanksgiving and heartfelt gratitude. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him and let him go.” Having said this, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Then the man who had been dead came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of linen and a cloth wrapped around his face. Because of our intimate relationship, I know that you are always listening to me, but I have spoken these words for the benefit of the crowd who is standing here so that they may believe that you sent me.” Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me at this moment in time. Therefore they took away the stone from where the dead man was laid.