John 11:41-42 [God Who Hears Prayer]

[Things to Meditate On]

1. As Jesus said in the passage above, because God always hears Jesus’ prayers, we can know and believe that Jesus came from God. And just as Jesus said that He spoke these words for our sake, we also can have faith that if we believe in Jesus and pray in the name of Jesus, He will hear our prayers.

Psalm 65:2 "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come."

Mark 11:22-24 "22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

James 5:15-18 "15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."

2. We can consider the words of John 11:41-42 above in relation to the following passage.

Matthew 9:1-8 "1And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then saith he to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7And he arose, and departed to his house..."

In this passage also, Jesus could have said to the man sick of the palsy from the beginning, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." But He did not do so. Instead, He said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." This was to show us that Jesus has authority to forgive sins.

3. In the same way, when Jesus said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always," we can know that He was showing us that the Father hears Him, that is, that all things will be done according to the words of Jesus. That is why even Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, could live again by the word of Jesus. Therefore, we must know and believe that Jesus is the One who came from God, the Word of God made flesh, and that just as this world was made by Jesus, all things will be done according to the words of Jesus.

John 1:1-3, 14 "1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

[Decision and Application]

As this passage says, the reason all things in this world could be made by Jesus is that Jesus is the Word of God. And the Word is God. Because the One who came as the Word of God made flesh is Jesus, all things were done according to the words of Jesus in the past, and even now and in the future all things will be done according to His words. Therefore, it is only natural that we always rely only on Jesus and pray to Jesus in the name of Jesus.

John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

John 14:13-15 "...14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it..."

John 16:24 "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."

As Jesus said, because Jesus is our way, truth, and life, from now on no one can come to the Father except through Jesus. Therefore, now we must pray to Jesus in the name of Jesus. And when we pray to Jesus in the name of Jesus, as the words above say, Jesus will answer us, and our joy will be full.

Jesus said, "I knew that thou hearest me always" (verse 42). In the same way, Jesus hears our prayers. Because He said "always," we can know that prayer is not something limited to a certain time, place, or hour (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). We must also know that simply praying for a long time, or with many words, is not always good (Matthew 6:7-8). Now, with faith that Jesus hears our prayers, we must always pray and not faint (Luke 18:1-8). And even if our prayer is short, it is important that we pray according to the will of God, as in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught us (Matthew 6:9-13, 1 Kings 3:10, Proverbs 30:7-9). In other words, we must now pray always in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18), according to the words written in the Bible, to Jesus in the name of Jesus. Then Jesus will surely fulfill it for us according to the written word.

2 Chronicles 7:12-16 "12And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 13If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually."

Amen.