For Our Father

A Messianic Prophecy

I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. 

Isaiah 42:6 NLT

Looking back from the New Testament to the Old Testament, we find in Isaiah 42:6 that Jesus is not only the mediator of this covenant¹ but is, Himself, the covenant. Jesus made the covenant through His Spirit and the Flesh. 

The “servant of the Lord” is to be in Himself not only the mediator of the covenant but the covenant, the meeting-point between God and man, just as He is the “peace” as well as the peacemaker (Ephesians 2:14). 

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

Jesus affirmed this covenant in the Lord’s Supper.

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

The “Yes” and “Amen”

Jesus told us that “in that day,” the time of the new covenant² in which we now live, we are to use His name when we ask God our Father to change times and circumstances. In the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He brought about a confluence of events. Events that were prophecied about Him across millennia. They were fulfilled by Jesus because He is the “yes” and “amen³.”

Good News

So, the next time you get alone in your prayer closet⁴ and pray to the Father, remember to ask in the name of Jesus. Do this to respect God our Father’s sacrifice of His only begotten Son. Do this to respect the sweat of blood from Jesus when He faced His final decision to obey His Father. Do this to acknowledge the torture, punishment, and death so many prophets endured for thousands of years to proclaim God’s messages that helped to validate Jesus as the Messiah. Do this because you participate in His command to “do this” in remembrance of His death “which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins⁵. Do this because Jesus commanded you to pray this way⁶. Do this to receive from God the joy of your salvation⁷.

Prayer

God our Father, I pray that you will open our hearts to receive Your will concerning how we pray. Help us to please you with our prayers. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

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1. Jeremiah 31:31. Bible Hub. ↩︎
2. John 16:23 Bible Hub. ↩︎
3. 2 Corinthians 1:20 Bible Hub. ↩︎
4. Matthew 6:5–6 ESV Biblegateway. ↩︎
5. Matthew 26:26–28 Biblegateway. ↩︎
6. John 14:13 Bible Hub. ↩︎
7. John 16:24 Bible Hub. ↩︎