Sermon for Rogate, 2025

Beloved, in prayer, like no other place, do you come up against the hidden will of God. You know what has happened: that Jesus has made atonement for you, that God loves you and has declared you righteous, that His mercy endures forever, and that you are a forgiven saint of God. So also you know what will happen: you will be brought to heaven, your sorrows will end, you will be whole and free. What you don’t quite know is what is happening now. 

So therefore, learn to ask for everything, without shame, like children ask their fathers, trusting that your heavenly Father will only give you what is good and that His will really is best. Do not be ashamed to ask for big things. Things like the end to world hunger, faith amidst trials and adversities, or the cure for cancer. Because, while you know all these will be answered in heaven, even still, Jesus fed the Five Thousand, bolstered the faith of the father whose son was demon-possessed, and raised the widow’s son in Nain, and so, perhaps, He will turn and give you a foretaste of heaven now. Likewise, do not be ashamed to ask for small things. Things like a new pair of shoes, a good parking spot, the toast not to be burnt, or for something else that you might feel silly in asking God. The day will come when you will ask for nothing, yet that day is not today. Today, ask for everything. Ask in Jesus’ name, according to His will, trusting that the day will come when it is all given and your will and His will are one. Ask for everything because nothing properly belongs to you; you are a beggar. And yet, you are God’s beggar, declared righteous and pleasing to Him, to whom He has pledged all things, saying, “Ask, and you will receive.” 

Readings:

• Old Testament: Numbers 21:4-9

• Epistle: James 1:22-27

• Holy Gospel: John 16:23-33

Sermon: