Recap of 11/18/12 (John 14:7-14):

1. John 14:5-11 is one of greatest biblical statements of the person of Jesus Christ.  He alone is the way to God the Father (vs. 5,6); to know Jesus is to know the Father (vs. 7); to see Jesus is to see the Gather (vs. 9); Jesus’ words are the Father’s words (vs. 10); Jesus’ miracles are the Father’s works (vs. 11).

2.  Jesus tells the disciples that they would do even greater things than He had done, not meaning greater miracles (for though they did similar miracles, they didn’t do greater ones) but rather meaning greater in scope.  Through their ministry the gospel would reach the known world of the day while Jesus never traveled outside of Palestine.  They would reach greater territory and greater numbers of people.

3.  “It is marvelous that God speaks to us [John 14:10]- life-giving, world-creating words.  This marvel is matched by another—that He listens to us.  His listening gives all our words significance and makes all our prayer personal.”  (Eugene Peterson)

4.  Five observations about prayer.  Prayer must be:

-“in Jesus name” (praying in union with Him on the basis of His authority)

-in accordance with His will (1 John 5:14,15; 3:21,22) (is it something Jesus would ask?)

-bold (Hebrew 4:14-16)

-following Jesus example of consistent submission to the Father’s will.

-have as its goal bringing glory to God the Father.  “In prayer we call on Him to work out His purpose, not simply to gratify our whims.” (Dr. Merrill C. Tenney)