Jesus explains that in a little while they will no longer see Him, then in a while they will. This completely confused them, they spoke amongst themselves as to how confused they were, which Jesus knew. Jesus asked them if they were confused, take note on this; when Jesus asks you a question, He already knows the answer. He asked them if they were confused to give them the opportunity to talk with Him about it. We have the tendency to discuss our confusion with others when it’d be so much easier to just take it to Jesus directly. So why do we take it to man instead? Because of impatience. Its faster to ask man a question than it is to wait up on the Lord. However, His answer will always be correct, mans has much room for error. Jesus meets us where we are at in His mercy and grace, so He asked the disciples if they were confused to help them come to Him about it.

            Jesus then foretells that they are coming to the hour when anything that they ask God in Jesus name (as His representative), they will receive. Before this time they had asked nothing to the Father in Jesus name, but from this point on Jesus said to ask for anything in His name and we will receive. He says to ask and keep asking. Why does He say keep asking? When we ask we need to believe and have full faith that God will respond to our plea. Sometimes we need to ask repeatedly, not so God will hear us clearer but so that we can grow our faith where it needs to be for Him to respond. God responds to faith.

            I heard a testimony one time; a man asked Jesus what happens to all the prayers prayed in doubt and disbelief to which he was answered with, “What prayers?” The man began to ponder if prayers of doubt even reach the throne room. Prayers of faith is what we need to have. If that means we repeat the prayer over and repeat our plea over and over till we build up the faith to believe, then that’s what we do. Faith is like a muscle, it needs to be worked on to be built strong. You don’t see a body builder lift 300 lbs without first working up to that amount of weight. We need to build our faith like a body builder would build his muscles.

            Jesus declared that up to this point He had shared everything in parables but the hour has come that now He will speak things plainly. I bet the disciples were a little relieved when hearing this! In that day they had to go to Jesus and Jesus would go to the Father on their behalf but the hour was coming where they would be able to go straight to the Father because of their belief in Jesus.

            Jesus shared all these things so that in Him they will have perfect peace, so that we will have perfect peace. We are in a world that has lots of chaos and trials yet though we are in it we are not of it and we are able to receive His peace through the storms. He gives His peace freely but its up to us to choose to receive it daily.