Sixth Saturday of Eastertide – Acts 18:23-28; John 16:23-28

“Anything you ask from the Father he will grant in my name”. A strong promise. Doesn’t life give it the lie? I’m not sure, but . . .

There’s no reason to have pretensions when I turn to God with a plea, and it seems He hasn’t heard. Rather I should be trusting that He knows what He’s doing: that just because I don’t see the effect of my request doesn’t mean He hasn’t responded. The time will come, and I will see.

Because God is not a fairy-tale genie from Aladdin’s lamp. He isn’t a there for wish-fulfilment. He proposes something much more significant. His friendship, His love. So intimate such that there is no room for a requester – powerful clerk relationship.

Jesus says: “When that day comes you will ask in my name; and I do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you, because the Father himself loves you for loving me and believing that I came from God”. In this intimate closeness there is room for trust. If I try – clumsily – to relate to the situation of God hearing requests, it’s easy for me to understand why some requests should never have been made, and that others needed to be made is a less categorical manner. God wants what is good for me. It’s not my efforts, but His care for me that is my super-policy.