PRAYER AND THE GLORY OF JESUS (John 7:37-39)
PRAYER AND THE GLORY OF JESUS
John 7:37-39
We approach Jesus through prayer. Just as a thirsty person drinks water when they approach Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes this possible. Jesus promises that anyone who comes to him will experience living water flowing from their innermost being like a river. He assures us that those who come to him will never thirst again. The Holy Spirit is as powerful as this promise, flowing like a strong river within the person who prays. This is when Jesus is glorified.
Prayer is only to God
The 27th Psalm is read on the Sunday of Response in the church calendar. In this psalm, David prays, "Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me." Who is David waiting for a response from? He is waiting for a response from the Lord God. What kind of response is David waiting for? He is waiting for God's response to the content of his prayer. The question and answer may seem very basic and obvious, so it might seem insignificant. However, the target of David's cry is especially important. "Crying out loud" is prayer, and prayer is naturally something we do only to God, right? You could question this. But are we really praying only to God?
"When you said, 'Seek my face,' my heart said to you, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'" (Psalm 27:8)
David confesses that the object of his prayer was only God. When David said, "my heart said to you," he was pledging to pray only to God. David did not know any other object of prayer besides God. David's prayer was not only impressive in content, but also in his focus on the target of his prayer. We must not say that prayer is the only thing we have left to do, after trying everything else. Like David, we must pray only to God.
Jesus' Invitation
Jesus invites everyone, saying, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink" (37). Jesus invites those who pray and those who have wandered elsewhere. Those who seek only God are thirsty, and those who have looked for other things before turning to God are also thirsty. Because of Jesus' invitation, we can come with shame-facedness to quench our parched throats. Jesus responds even to our shy prayers. Jesus' invitation to "Let anyone who is thirsty come and drink" is the foundation and rock of our prayer.
The water that Jesus gives to the praying person is the Holy Spirit. "By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive" (v. 39). Jesus promises to pour out the Holy Spirit, like a river of fresh water, to anyone who is thirsty. Whether we pray only to Jesus, come to Him with embarrassment and shame, or have prayed to other things before, anyone who seeks Jesus will be filled with the Holy Spirit like a river of living water.
The Glory of Jesus
For Jesus, the ultimate glory is to offer water to anyone who is thirsty and bring them to himself. "For as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." (v. 37) The Gospel of John tries to draw people into the union between Jesus and God more than the other Gospels. In chapter 17, Jesus prays for a long time before being arrested. He prays that everyone may be brought into the same relationship he shares with God. This was the mission he was determined to complete on earth. Listen to Jesus' prayer:
"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. ... I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17:24-26)
Jesus believes that his glory comes from fulfilling his mission, which is to provide the living water (the Holy Spirit) to anyone who is thirsty and wants to drink it. He doesn't discriminate and is happy to give this gift of the Spirit to all who seek it. Jesus finds glory in those who make a firm decision to only drink from the water that God provides. He is pleased when we walk confidently towards God and receive the Spirit. In John 6:37, Jesus declares with a shout that anyone who comes to him will never be turned away. Jesus receives glory by fulfilling the words that God has given him to speak.