Surrendered Prayer, 10th May 2026

This week Pastor Josh continues our When We Pray series by looking at what it means to be surrendered in Prayer. He looks at John 16 and a conversation between Jesus and the disciples where He tells them if they ask for anything in His name it will be given to them, but what does that actually look like? 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Continue through our series we've been looking at on prayer titled When We Pray. And this morning I want to talk about something really called surrendered prayer. And it comes in John chapter 16. In John chapter 16, Jesus is speaking to the disciples. It's the night before his crucifixion. And really he's preparing them for what's to come after that. They don't know it yet, or they don't understand it yet. But Jesus is to go to the cross and be crucified. And really he's preparing them for that. But in this passage, I think is one of the most misused verses in Christianity. And so really this morning I want to center it around that. What does that look like? What does Jesus actually mean when he says that? And what's the context of that? So we're going to read together John chapter 16. And it says this. Again a little while and you will see me. Therefore some of his disciples said to one another, What is this he tells us? A little while and you will not see me. Again a little while and you will see me. And because I'm going to the Father? They said, What is this he's saying a little while? We don't know what he's talking about. Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said to them, Are you asking one another about what he said? A little while and you will not see me. Again a little while and you will see me. I assure you, you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. Sorry, my clicker stopped working now as well, Rebella. You'll need to click on for me, thank you. When a woman is in labour she has pain because her time has come. But when she's given birth to a child she no longer remembers her suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. So you also have sorrow now, but I will see you again, your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy. In that day you will not ask me anything. I assure you, anything you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. Amen. As I said, this is one of the most misused and abused verses in all the scripture. John chapter 16, verse 24. Ask and receive. They're powerful verses, they're the words of Jesus, and yet many people might try and tell you this is a magic formula. As long as you ask, you will receive. You have enough faith and ask, then you will receive. You pray whatever you want, you end it with in Jesus' name, and then God gives you. But if we're honest, we know that's not true. Because many of us in this room have asked, and we've not received. When it feels like we're facing silence from heaven, when it feels like our prayers are unanswered, and he encourages us when we don't see his hand to trust God's heart. But what does this verse actually mean? How does it add up when Jesus Himself says, ask and you will receive? How does that add up with our experience? How do the two go together? And so this morning, really, that's what I want to look at. I want to look at three things. I want to look at the problem sometimes with our prayers, the invitation that Jesus gives us in this passage, and then the promise that we can hold on to. So first of all, this morning I want us to look at the problem. The problem. Jesus says in verse 16, a little while and you will no longer see me. Again, a little while and you will see me. This confuses the disciples at the time. In verse 18, they say, What is this he's saying? We don't know what he's talking about. You can sense almost the panic in their voices, the confusion that they're facing. Why the confusion? Why are they troubled in this way? You see, they've journeyed with Jesus now for about three years. They've been under his teaching, they've been under his guidance face to face every day with Jesus. They ask a question, and Jesus is right there to answer it. They ask for direction, Jesus is right there to tell them what way to go. They interpret everything through their immediate earthly expectations. Just before this passage that we're looking at, Jesus actually tells the disciples, I'm going to go. But it's better for you that I go. It will benefit you because in my place I'm sending the Holy Spirit. But they don't want this because they're confused, they're troubled, they don't quite understand what Jesus is saying. And so here and now, in this moment, it's as if they're saying to Jesus, We don't want that to happen. We don't want you to leave because Jesus is right in front of them. But he's preparing them for what's to come. They were confused because they viewed Jesus through the lens of their desires rather than God's plan. We have the advantage now of being able to read on in the story. And we know that Jesus had to go, that he had to leave them, that he had to go to the cross and die in our place. But in that moment, the disciples' desires were slightly selfish because they wanted Jesus to stay with them. They didn't want Jesus to go. They viewed Jesus through the lens of their own desires rather than the lens of God's plan. And how often in our prayer life is that us? Do we pray out of selfish motives? We pray for our desires, our wants, and we want an immediate answer. We want clarity. We want clarity straight away. And sometimes that doesn't come. It's as if we're saying to God, God, do it this way and do it now. But when that doesn't come, it leads to confusion, it leads to frustration. What's interesting is James, uh James is Jesus' brother. He's a key leader in the early church, and he didn't believe Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior before the resurrection. But upon seeing Jesus, his half-brother, resurrected, he becomes a follower and a believer and a leader in the early church. He's known for his wisdom, his deep prayer life, his emphasis on living a faithful life as a Christian. And in his letter, he is writing, and he says an interesting verse, it's on the screen, James chapter 4, verse 3, he says, You ask and you don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your own pleasures. James in this verse is dealing with the problem of selfish prayer. You see, the people he was talking to are praying, but they're praying with the wrong intentions, with selfish motives. If we compare this to John chapter 16, Jesus says, Ask and receive. And yet hears James saying, You ask and you don't receive. The issue was not God's ability, but it was their intentions. They had the wrong motives. He says that they asked to spend it on your pleasures. That word spend, the exact same word is used another time in the New Testament. It's used when describing the prodigal son who went to his father and said, I want my inheritance now. And he went out to spend it. And the same word is used here. It's talking about the prodigal son's self-indulgent spending of his father's money. What James is trying to say is we're self-indulgent with our prayers. We're self-centered at times in our prayers. And when our desires and prayers become self-centered, our prayers become self-centered. They don't become God-centered, but they become focused on us. We say, God bless me, but we don't want to surrender. We say, God, give me this, but we don't show any gratitude. We say, God, use me, but we don't make ourselves available for them to use us. We pray prayers from selfish desires. I think we need to examine the why behind our prayers rather than the what. James is saying we ask and we don't receive. Because what we're asking for is selfish, is self-indulgent, is self-centered. The disciples in John were confused. They didn't understand why Jesus had to go. They wanted him to stay with them. Even though he tells them that him leaving is for their benefit. They wanted him here and now. And there was a selfishness to that. You almost can't blame them. But James reminds us that there's often a selfishness to our prayer life, a self-indulgent aspect to it. We ask and we do not receive because our motives are wrong. It's us centered, not God-centered. And that is the problem with our prayers a lot of the time. And we're going to look a little later on at the solution to that. But I think it's important to ask ourselves when we're coming before God in prayer, why am I asking what I'm asking? That's the problem. James tells us. We ask and we do not receive because our prayers are self-indulgent. They don't have God's heart in mind. Secondly, we see in this passage the invitation. The invitation. And so he says, He knows why they said, A little while and you will not see me again, a little while and you will see me again. He realizes their confusion. He realizes that they're troubled by him saying this, and he knows that they want more clarity on what's going to happen. But he wants instead to prepare them for what's to come. In verse 20, Jesus says, Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. And then in verse 22 he says, So you also have sorrow now, but I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you. What is Jesus talking about? He's speaking about his coming death on the cross. He's talking about his crucifixion. Upon his arrest and his crucifixion, the disciples will grieve deeply and they will be filled with sorrow. He tells them that the world will be rejoicing. The people who wanted him there will be celebrating. They will think the victory is won. In this moment, Jesus is preparing the disciples for what's to come. They will be filled with sorrow, and our enemies will be rejoicing. But in that moment, he has an invitation for them. He invites them to trust him. He invites them to trust him, even when they're filled with sorrow, even when they're confused, even if they're fearful, even when they don't understand, even when they can't see him. Because he doesn't stop his sentence there. He says, Your sorrow will turn to joy. He says, I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one can take away that joy. He's talking about his resurrection. Jesus is saying, I need to go away. I need to go and pay the penalty of sin on that cross and die there. But I will come back again. And when that happens, your sorrow will turn to joy. In the midst of their confusion, in the midst of the sorrow that they're feeling, they're invited to trust him. They're invited to trust God's plan. Jesus is saying, you may not understand it right now. But God has a plan for the sorrow that you're feeling. And that same invitation of trusting him is there for us today as well. What is our tendency when life doesn't go to plan? If we're really honest with ourselves, is it to trust him? Or is it to try and take over and sort it by ourselves? It's easy to say that you would trust him until you're in that place of sorrow. Until you're feeling that confusion, until you feel the doubt. In this moment, the disciples can't see how a cross could ever mean victory. If that's what's to come, they must be thinking, surely that's a defeat. The path ahead looks dark. But Jesus already knows the outcome. Maybe right now you're in that place. Maybe God's ways seem unclear. Maybe the circumstances that you're in seem painful. Maybe your future is uncertain. Maybe the prayers that you're praying feel unanswered. You cannot see what God is doing. John 16 teaches us that confusion is not evidence that Jesus has lost control, but it's instead an invitation to trust Him. To trust His plan and to trust that He can turn that sorrow into joy. The danger we face as Christians of these confusing seasons is not only the pain that we feel, but it can lead us to mistrust. When life doesn't look how we want it to be, we conclude God can't be a good God. Or maybe God has forgotten me. What's interesting is Jesus doesn't say to the disciples, I'll remove your sorrow, or your sorrow will end. But he says your sorrow will turn into joy. It's a small change in wording, but it makes a big difference. You see, the resurrection would not simply remove the grief that the disciples felt, but it would transform it. The very event that caused their sorrow, the cross, would become the foundation of their joy and their salvation. Jesus invites them to trust God's plan in the midst of their confusion. And he says, I can turn that sorrow into joy. He then gives us the analogy of a woman in labor. I've never been through labor, but I've heard some stories recently of how painful it can be. But he says that the joy that you feel upon giving birth means that you forget that suffering ever happened. That he will turn that sorrow into joy. The problem we face a lot of the time with our prayers is that they're self-indulgent, self-centered, that our motives are wrong. Jesus invites us in that place of confusion to trust him. When our prayers seem unanswered, when suffering comes our way, when sorrow comes our way. John 16 reminds us that temporary sorrow is not the end of the story. Jesus invites us to trust him. You see, faith is not pretending that we understand everything, but it's believing that Jesus is trustworthy, even when we don't. This morning, what would that what would accepting that invitation to trust him look like for you? Maybe it's the first time. Maybe it's the hundredth time that you choose actively to place your trust in him. Trust him with your life, trust him with your family, your relationships, your marriage. Jesus invites us to trust him, even when the path ahead looks confusion. That's what he was saying to the disciples. I know you will face sorrow, but I will turn that sorrow into joy. He invites them into that place of trust in him. And then thirdly and lastly, this morning, we see the promise that he gives. He says there in verse 23, Truly I tell you, anything you ask and ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. On the surface, this is a difficult verse to comprehend. We've already talked about that. But it shows us an amazing truth. Jesus is giving us permission to go to the Father and to ask him boldly for what's on our hearts. We're not begging a distant God, but we're speaking to a present Father. The contents of our asking isn't selfish like it is in James that we saw earlier. But Jesus says instead, ask the Father in my name. And that changes everything. Because it's not just adding his name onto the end of our prayers, praying whatever we want and saying in Jesus' name, and that's the magic formula. What he means by that is that what we're asking for, we're asking for it because it's according to his character, it's aligned with his will, and it's surrendered to his purposes. That's what surrender prayer looks like. That when we ask in the name of Jesus, we're asking fully aware that maybe what we're asking for is selfish. I can't see it myself. But maybe it is. We step into that invitation to put our trust in him with whatever the outcome might be, and we say, Father, your will be done, not mine. My prayer is surrender to you. God, I would do it this way, but if you want to do it another way, then your will be done. We're saying, God, your way is better, and I trust you with it. That's what he asks, that's what he means when he says, Ask the Father in my name. It's surrendered to his will. It's by his character, and it's aligned with his purposes. This type of prayer is a far cry from what we read about in James chapter 4, which is a self-driven prayer. What this is is a Christ-centered prayer. And then comes the promise. He says, Ask and receive, that your joy may be complete. The promise is joy. A joy that he says cannot be taken away from you. That is the outcome of a right relationship with God. That is the outcome of our hearts aligning with his will for our lives. James chapter 4, that our wrong motives in prayer leads to an emptiness. Whereas in John chapter 16, we see that surrender prayer to his will leads to joy. Joy now in this life, but joy to come forevermore in eternity with him. Our prayers need to shift from self-centered prayers to God-centered prayers. Some prayers go unanswered not because God doesn't hear them, but because our motives are selfish. Jesus invites us into a better way. A surrender prayer. Before your next prayer, ask yourself these questions. What I'm asking for? Is this to build my kingdom or his? Am I seeking comfort or am I seeking Christ? Will this lead to temporary pleasure or lasting joy? Those questions really get to the heart of the problem of saying, is this about me or is it actually about God? I was listening to a podcast yesterday about the Apostle Paul. And the man speaking was saying that Paul actually, in the book of Acts, has a lot of choices to make. And depending on the choice he made, he quite presumably Presumably could have avoided death for going around and sharing the gospel. Paul ended up dying for his faith. But Paul never chose comfort. Or he never chose the easy way. Or he never chose his way. But at all times Paul said, God, your will be done. And he chose a decision he believed God wanted him to do, even though it led to his death. Surrender. Surrender prayer. Doesn't mean your life will be more comfortable. But it does mean that Jesus will lead us into that place of everlasting joy. Are we okay with being uncomfortable? Saying, God, your will be done. Not my will, but yours. The problem a lot of the time with our prayers is that they're selfish. It's hard to recognise that. Jesus invites us, even when we don't understand, when we're in that place of confusion, he invites us to trust him. And then he gives us that promise. Ask the Father in my name, and you will receive. If we ask in the name of Jesus, our prayers are surrendered to his will. Saying, God, your way is better. Your will be done, not mine. And he tells us that there's a joy that cannot be taken away from us in store for us. Let us pray together this morning. Heavenly Father, we thank you. But you are present here just now when you're active in our lives. Father, we thank you that you hear our prayers. Father, we want to see your will done here on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, if there's anything that we do to get in the way of you moving in our lives, in our family's life, in our church's life. Help us not to be selfish in our prayers, but seek your will and your will alone. Father, we thank you for that invitation to step into that place of trusting in you. When we're filled with sorrow, when our circumstances are tough, when there's pain in our lives and we're confused by it. Father, help us to trust in you. Help us to trust that you can turn that sorrow into joy. And maybe hold on to that promise every day of our lives until we see you again. Amen. We're just going to finish our time this morning. That's very appropriate. By singing it in Jesus' name. We've sung it a few times at worship nights. I don't know if we've sung it on a Sunday before. But it's a song, it's really a prayer as well. So if you're able to, we'll stand together to sing. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

I speak the name of Jesus over you in your heart and in your sorrow I will ask my God's move. I speak the name 'cause it's all that I can do. In desperation I'll seek heaven and pray this for you. I pray for your healing, the circumstances would change. I pray that the fear inside would flee in Jesus' name. I pray that a breakthrough would happen today. I pray miracles over your life in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. I speak the name of all authority, declaring blessings, every promise. He's faithful to keep. I speak the name no grave could ever hold. He is greater, he is stronger, he's the God of possible. I pray for your healing, the circumstances would change. I pray that the fear is side would flee in Jesus' name. I pray that a breakthrough would happen today. I pray miracles over your life in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. Come believe, come receive the power of spirit is now forever yours. Come believe, come receive in the morning of Jesus, all things are possible. I pray for your healing, the circumstances will change. I pray that the fear inside would flee in Jesus' name. I pray that a breakthrough would happen today. I pray many recalls over your life in Jesus' name. I pray for revival a restoration of faith. I pray that the dead will come alive in Jesus' name. In Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Yes, Lord, we pray that prayer. Lord, we pray for revival, we pray for restoration of faith. That those who are spiritually dead would see the light and they would become alive in you. Lord, as we leave this place this morning, help us to walk this life trusting you. Lord, whenever confusion or trouble comes our way, help us to remember that you're the one who can turn that sorrow into everlasting joy. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you very much for being here this morning. There is tea and coffee next door. We'd love it if you could stick around for the chat.