It is both interesting and comforting to see that in Jesus' own hour of tribulation, He has both presence of mind and love of heart for His disciples, in desiring to encourage them in their distress. He sees them scattering soon as sheep without a shepherd -- LITTLE CHILDREN -- but neither His eye nor His heart will leave them; He will return to them in a "LITTLE WHILE." In the meantime, He will pray the Father for His watch care over them in His temporary absence.

Jesus has been adroit in preparing His disciples for their lives in His absence. He has clearly revealed to them the necessary condition for remaining, their relation to the Father, and the resource for daily living: prayer. As prayer has been the essential element in sustaining Him, Jesus knows it will be to the disciple who remains and abides in this world. It is the avenue through which God's power is transferred into the authentic disciple's life to transform him into a dynamic champion for the cause of Christ. Hell's gates will not be able to stand against it, nor man be able to overcome it. Jesus has plainly demonstrated this in His own life, and now John will take us into a private intimate moment of Christ, to allow us to listen in to His personal conversation with the Father. The earlier prayer modeled for instruction in praying was the "Disciple's Prayer"; what follows in the next lesson is the genuine "Lord's Prayer." In these next words of John, we will see the Power that moves Heaven and Earth; and Jesus says it is ours for the asking? "Ask and you will receive that your Joy may be full!" James says we have not because we ask not. We need, in this day, to learn the lesson of the disciples' day: Stop murmuring and start asking!