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Introduction and Context

We are shifting our attention today to James 5 verses 7 to 12. And I begin with this man named Ken Fleckenstein in the US who went to see his podiatrist. He was early for the appointment, but he was made to wait 87 minutes for his first consult. The next time he came, he was made to wait another 51 minutes. Now, Ken Fleckenstein was a self employed handyman, and so he was very frustrated with lost time, lost customers, lost business, and so he sent an invoice to charge the podiatrist for making him wait. And when the podiatrist refused to pay, he sued him in court.

People do not like to wait, isn’t it? But waiting is part of life. Patience is part of life. We all need to learn to wait. We all need to learn to be patient because we all wait for our bus, we wait for MRT trains, and some of us wait for our car park lots to be made available when the car park is full. Maybe today you are waiting for a parcel from China, shipping all the way slowly. You are eagerly anticipating that thing that you bought. For young man today, you may be waiting for book out every weekend. Some of you may be waiting for admission to university. Some of you may be waiting for a job interview or for a job. Some of you are waiting to get married. Some of you are waiting for HDB to complete that BTO flat. Some of you are waiting to be pregnant or waiting for your child to be delivered. Some of you are waiting for your children to be grown up and be able to marry, and some of you are waiting simply for retirement. Waiting and patience is part of life, and it is certainly true also in a Christian life.

In James, we’re going to learn a lesson about patience and about waiting in these six verses. There are quite a lot of words here, but let me just make it easier for you to recognize that James is speaking about patience. He uses this word ‘patience’ and ‘patience’ some four times in this text, and there are other associated words like wait or to establish your hearts, or steadfast and steadfastness.

The Context of Suffering in James

The context of waiting and being patient is that of suffering, because he uses the word ‘therefore’ to link to what was said earlier. In chapter 5 verses 1 to 6, which we studied two weeks ago, James was talking about the poor who are suffering at the hands of rich oppressors. These rich men make the poor work and not pay them their due wages. They even sue them in court. And so these poor people may be suffering because of these financial defrauding and so James says, “Therefore, instead of being angry and upset and retaliating, be patient.” Now James also talks about sufferings here in this text. And he talks about the suffering of the Prophets and of Job. So they are people who live for God, they may even be preaching the Word, and they suffer. They are persecuted. And later on, in verses 13 onwards, James speaks about those who are sick. So if I may put it all together, there are those who suffer because the rich oppress them. There are those who suffer because they are persecuted for preaching. There are those who suffer because of sickness or because of sin. James is therefore reminding us of what he started off with in James chapter one.

Count it all joy when you fall into diverse or manifold trials or difficulties. (James 1:2)

So in the light of all kinds of difficulties the people are going through, James say,

Therefore, be patient…(James 5:7)

So we are going to look at patient in suffering in these six verses.

Personal Testimony and Application

About two weeks ago, I received an email from someone who is not in Gospel Light. He wrote in because he had some difficulties in life, and wanted to meet up to chat about it. I met up with him, and I understood from him that he had lived a very, very difficult life. That is an understatement, because he was born blind, highly disadvantaged therefore in this modern society. He had lost his job about a year ago. He had failed relationships, and can never get back to a relationship after that. And in recent years, his relatives have been passing away or dying one by one. Now I share this with permission. And so he’s asking, “What is the way out for me? Will having faith in God mean that my life will be easier or better?” We shared some thoughts. I shared some things from the Scripture and I encouraged him that maybe this morning, the Word of God might be particularly relevant in your case. Because James, having given a caution to the rich and wicked people, is now giving a word of comfort for the poor and suffering.

Maybe today you are in the same shoes as this man that I was speaking to. You are going through different kinds of hardship. You have just been to the doctor, and he has told you that you need a surgery for a cancer, or maybe your disease has spread, or maybe that your child is sick and there will be very little chance for him to recover. Some of you might have faced spouse walking out on you. You may be in an abusive family. You might have been disadvantaged at work, or you might have just lost your job, plunged into some financial difficulty, or some of you are struggling with mental struggles –  stress, depression, anxieties. You are going through some kind of suffering, and I hope today that James and his writings will bring a certain comfort to your heart.

The Meaning of Patience

So let’s look at this. What is number one – the meaning of ‘patience’? What does James teach us about this word, this idea of being patient and steadfast at establishing your heart? The word ‘patience’ in a Greek is the word ‘makrothumía’, which means literally ‘to be long tempered’. It means to be able to bear long or to suffer long and to patiently endure hardship. A good word in Singapore would be the word ‘tahan’ (Malay word ‘to endure’). That’s what it means, to be able to suffer long. ‘Tahan’ even though life is difficult. James gives an associated word here in ‘establish’ – establish your heart. The word means to anchor, to root, to stand firm and not waver, not swing in unbelief or sin, but to remain resolute and committed to God. Not give up on God, not blame God, not be angry with God, or to doubt God, but to be established. He also uses the word ‘steadfast’, or ‘steadfastness’ in the Greek. They are both the verb and the noun of the word ‘Hupomone’ or ‘meno’. And they really mean the same thing, ‘to stay’ or ‘to endure’, ‘to remain under’ and ‘not quit’. So if I may put all these things together, I think the meaning of patience is simply the ability to suffer long.

And I know of Gospel lighters today who have and demonstrated that ability to suffer long. I know of some of you who have cancer and are literally given a death sentence by the oncologist or the doctor who tell you you probably have only three years, five years to live. But instead of being angry with God, now you do struggle, I know it is natural to struggle. Questions will come into your mind, but after that phase of struggling, you emerge with a clear decision to establish your heart and to trust Him. And I’ve seen you grow and flourish and shine in spite of your troubles, in spite of your difficulties. I know some of you where your spouse has been unfaithful to you, and instead of quitting on God and complaining and grumbling against God, you knuckle down and you draw even nearer to the Lord. I know some of you whose children have turned away from God, or maybe living a life of sin and your heart is absolutely shattered. But you choose to still worship and to serve. Instead of backing off, instead of quitting, you are doubling down in your walk with Him. I’ve known some of you who have to care for your loved one, who have been handicapped, incapacitated, because of a stroke, because of an accident, and you’re remaining right under. That’s what patience is all about.

Grumbling and Deceiving Others

James enriches this idea further when he tells us in verse 9, this ability to suffer long also means that you do not grumble in the midst of it. James says,

Do not grumble against one another, brothers… (James 5:9)

It might be James telling the poor do not seek to retaliate against the rich oppressors. It could be because of the ‘therefore’, or it could also mean that when you suffer, don’t vent your frustrations on the people all around you and let them become collateral damage. James is saying, “Sufferings and hardships are not to be taken as excuses for us to then hit out at everyone”. Now this is a particular reference or refrain throughout the book of James, because you could remember in James 1:26, he says,

…you got to bridle your tongue…(James 1:26)

True Christians bridles their tongues. He also talks about it in James 3 verse 10, about the tongue, you should not go around cursing. And in chapter 4, we talked about speaking evil, the word ‘katalaleo’ (Greek word), against one another. So James has been warning about this kind of bad speech, evil speech. And so he says, “As you go through your sufferings and hardships, as you patiently endure, make sure you do not grumble”.

The Role of Swearing Falsely

But there’s also another thing that is quite tricky to navigate in this text, and that is verse 12. Before I show you verse 12, I want to say that what I’m going to say the next minute will be a bit complex to most people. But if you have read James 5 and come to verse 12, you would find that this verse 12 is very hard to kind of understand. Not that the point is not clear, but the purpose is elusive for many. You see, the point is very simple, ‘Do not swear’. If I may say, “Do not swear falsely, because you should let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’ ”.

So don’t be someone who says, “I swear by the name of God this is this”, but actually you mean something else. I think the point is clear. But as I’ve said, whilst the point is clear, the purpose is not. What do I mean by that? I mean actually why all of a sudden does James talk about swearing falsely? Because if you remember verse 7 to 11, what are they about? Patient in suffering. Do you know what’s coming up after verse 12? Verse 13 onwards is about praying for one another. Those who are sick, confess your sin, help someone out of sin. And so if you look at suffering and you look at sin and praying for those who are sick, this swearing falsely is rather out of place, but he makes it a big deal because he says,

But above all…(James 5:12)

So if you read the commentaries, most are divided. Do not know whether we should fit verse 12 to the earlier passage of suffering, or should we fit it to the subsequent verses about sickness and prayer. And quite a lot of them therefore say, actually since we do not know where it fits, let it just stand alone. I’ve said that in a one minute thing, and if you’re lost, it’s okay. But I want to suggest to you a possible reason why he will speak about swearing falsely here. And I think the clue is taken from where this could have been taken from. I think this statement, this teaching, could have been taken from the book of Leviticus chapter 19. I suggest to you this theory, that actually it’s not quite a theory. I suggest to you this observation that James throughout his letter has been referencing quite heavily from Leviticus 19. It seems to be his favorite chapter. Remember James in chapter 19 of Leviticus referred to

…you shall love your neighbor as yourself…(Leviticus 19:18)

He quoted this in James 2 verse 8. Again in the same chapter Leviticus 19, he quotes,

You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people… (Leviticus 19:16)

He referred to this in James 4 verse 11

Do not speak evil…(James 4:11)

‘Katalaleo’ which includes slander. And then we see in Leviticus 19,

You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him… (Leviticus 19:13)

And I think the situation is repeated in James 5 verse 4, two weeks ago we looked at that. And so when He now speaks about swearing by God’s name falsely, I would suggest that he again is taking reference from Leviticus 19. He’s been quoting from it three times already. This is his fourth time. And now, in this context of Leviticus 19, this swearing falsely is so that you can steal from people and deal falsely with people. You want to cheat them. “Ah, this chicken, I swear to you worth $5 man.” Actually in your heart, you know it’s only $2. But to make good business, you got to cheat, steal, deal falsely.

So it could have been that, as the people James are writing to are going through hardships, they grumble, and then they try to find an easy way out by cheating and swindling others. And so James says, “Above all, I know this is what’s happening. You are cheating one another. Don’t do that.” So if I were to bring all these back, James is saying that for someone who is going through hardship, you’ve got to be patient, and patience is the ability to suffer long without growing bitter and therefore grumbling at others, or without living in sin, to deceive and to get an easy way out. Real patience means that even as I go through hardship, I endeavor to live a righteous life.

So we are swinging back. You see James, as I’ve been mentioning, is doing a mirror image of the topics. I’ll show you later, for those who are new. But he’s swinging back to chapter one, which tells us, when you go through hardship, you must receive with meekness, gentleness God’s word. Don’t blame God. Don’t doubt God. Don’t quit on God. And be sure to put away, even as you go through suffering, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness. And I think he is now expressing them in chapter 5, in grumbling and deceiving one another. So that I think, is the meaning of patience. When you go through hardship, it is difficult, it is painful, but it is not an excuse for your sin. Suffer long bearing. But why? Why should I be patient?

The Motivation for Patience

What’s the motivation of patience? Is it that if I were to wait long enough, then my difficulties would soon pass away? Is it that if I wait long enough, then my life will get easier? Is this what God says? And I put four question marks here for you to think and answer for yourself. Is it that James tells us and the Bible tells us, if I wait long enough, endure long enough in my trials and my sufferings, my cancer will definitely be removed? My husband will definitely come back? God will give me a job? And my handicapped son will definitely recover? Is it that if I endure long enough, I’ll never go through stress and anxiety and depression anymore? Is it that all these things will go away in this lifetime? Does God say that?

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Last week, we were in KL for church camp. Loved the camp. Loved the time spent. And we went out for some of the free time, meal times, and we had a good meal, eating the ‘Jiao hua ji” (Beggar Chicken) Remember, I was sharing with you the ‘Beggar Chicken’. And after that, some of us in a church family, we decided to go to pay a visit to Mid Valley Shopping Center. I mean, I’ve never been there, so I thought, let’s go. And we drove, drove there in different cars. They told me that there’s a very nice ‘bo lo bao’ (pineapple buns) there. So I was also tempted to go Mid Valley. So we drove in different cars to Mid Valley. And as I was following my GPS, my Google Maps, I realized that there is a long red line around Mid Valley. There will be a long jam, a long queue. But thankfully, I spotted an entrance that kind of ‘siam’ (avoid) the whole place, whole queue, and I managed to turn into the car park.

Very glad I think I was the first to arrive at the mall. I asked them, “Where’s the ‘bo lo bao’?” Then they typed it, and after a while, I got this text in our group chat.

“We just parked, heading there. Are you all inside?” There is a queue. This came about a couple of minutes later.

“Are you all inside? There is a queue.”

I typed, “We are inside.”

And then a few minutes later, I got a text. I was walking around the mall with my son, just trying to entertain him, give him something that he enjoys.

“Don’t see you le. We are still queuing. We are at Oriental Kopi.”

“Oops, I mean inside mall, haha.”

And they face palm me. From my point, I was thinking that they are asking, “Are you inside the car park already?” Because when they say there’s a queue, I thought it’s the car park queue or the entrance into the mall. Your pastor quite blurred la, I must say. But they were referring to, “Are you inside the cafe already?” Well, I of course said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll come down now”. And when I got there, they told me, because I typed, “We are inside”. Person A went in to look for me, came out. “He’s not there”. Second one don’t believe, go in also. Person B, “He’s also not there”. The third one think very smart ah, the third one went in, “He’s not there.” Amazing, right? The fourth one went in, came out, “He’s there.” They went along, checked out.

“He’s there.”

“Not him la.”

And then she put on her glasses. “Oh, sorry, sorry, he’s not there. I forgot to wear my glasses then.”

You know what I learned? I learned that if you really want to look for something and want to see something, even if it’s not really there, you will say it’s there.

You know, when you go through sufferings, you really want to see God say, “One day, soon enough, in your lifetime, all your difficulties will go away and life will be easier.” We really wish we could see it. And many people never put on their glasses. Is there..Is there… ‘agak agak’ (roughly) there… And they live their lives with this hope. They live their lives with this anticipation or expectation that in my lifetime, my diseases will go away, my problems will melt away, God will always provide me a job, my family will be whole again. But the reality is, it doesn’t always turn out this way. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I absolutely believe, and the Bible is clear, God can do anything. There’s nothing too hard for God. God can heal any disease, but God does not promise to do so every single time.

The Perspective of Patience

So when we look at the Bible, we must be clear that this teaching that God always wants to give health and God always wants to give wealth is not from the Bible. Preachers who go around saying Christians should live their best life now, is spreading a lie. They are deceiving you. What does James say? James says the motivation for patience is not that life is going to get better now, but he is telling us instead Jesus is coming. He is not talking about what happens in one or two years time. He is talking about something that will happen later, if I may say, if Jesus does not come soon enough. He is saying that your horizon of faith is not in what the doctor says or your boss says, or your husband says, but what Jesus will come back to do. He will come and bring us into glory. So be patient until then. Now you may have to suffer till then. You may have to bear this thorn in the flesh all your life. But it will not be forever. It may be for a few decades, but then, when Jesus comes, every tear will be wiped away, every sorrow will cease. Your heart will now explode with jubilant joy, because Jesus is here. And as we have sung just now, ‘When sorrow cease and sufferings die, and every longing satisfied, then joy unspeakable will flood my soul, for I am truly home.’ This is not your home. You will never, ever be fully satisfied here, because you are made for something and somewhere far better. When? When Jesus comes. So be patient till that time. Those name it and claim it rubbish are lies. God has not bound Himself to alleviating all pains in this world whilst we are here. He repeats this again,

…Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.( James 5:8)

and he says it the third time in verse 9,

…Behold, the judge is standing at the door. (James 5:9)

Be like a farmer. A farmer, he sows, he tills the ground, but he’s patient, isn’t it? A farmer waits for the early rain that happens in fall, so that the ground is softened, and then he waits for the latter rain, which is in spring, so that the fruit would mature. But he waits for these necessary times, because at the end of it all, there will be the precious fruit. And Christians need to be like the farmer. We wait, we patiently labor, we keep on believing and serving God, and we are waiting for the fruit when Jesus comes. And then we realize, together with Paul, that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. You know, the people of faith are people who believe in the glory that is to come, looking forward to the heavenly city. Like Abraham, he was a pilgrim. He was a wanderer. He was not looking to establish his world here while he was alive. He was looking for the city that is to come, and that is what real faith is. Churches today are not teaching real faith when they tell people to only look for health and wealth. True Faith is saying, in spite of all that, I will suffer my entire life. I believe in the glory that is to come and I’ll stay resolute and established till then.

I spoke with the young man who was born blind, and he pointedly asked me this question, “If I have faith like what my pastors and many church leaders tell me, will things really be better in this lifetime?” You see, everyone has been telling him, “If you believe, if you have faith enough, you will be healed, you have a job, you have relationship, and things will be good.” But he has been told that so many times and nothing works, that he now asks me, “Will this really be true?” I think deep in his heart he wished I would say, “Yes.” But deep in his heart he also knows that is not true. I gave him some words of comfort, but ultimately I tell him, “No, I don’t think it is a guarantee that God will always heal you, that God will always make things easy for you, but I do know that one day it will all make sense.”

I hope your faith is not locked in and restricted to the here and now, but your faith extends and sees far beyond to the horizon when Jesus returns. I want you to also be mindful that this perspective of the Second Coming should not only be limited to the blessings and to the joy, but also to a threat.

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Because James, in verse 9, gives you a threat. He says,

Do not grumble against one another, brother so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. (James 5:9)

When you are a student, maybe in a class, when the teacher walks out of the classroom, all you classmates, all your friends will create a hammock, throw paper la, beat one another la, go crazy, but then one of your classmates will say, “Hey! Hey! Teacher coming back! Shh…shh…” And everyone rush back to your table and chair and sit down ‘koai koai’, (obediently) because the teacher is at the door. (some background music from congregation). Wow…Great sound effect man…The teacher…this church is amazing for sound effects…the teacher is at the door, you behave. And so the point is, Jesus is coming back, the judge is at the door, you behave. Don’t live in a sinful, lascivious, loose way. Why? Because there is a serious threat that if you are someone, even though you are going through hardship, living in sin and abandonment, God will judge you. Because James, throughout this book, has been warning about true and false religion. Doesn’t matter if you have been in church, but if you live that sinful lifestyle, it may prove that you were never God’s child, and when Jesus comes, you’re not going to get the precious fruit, you’re going to get the judgment. So there is a serious threat. How you live today will have great implications on what you will receive when Jesus comes. And I think patience therefore comes with this perspective. Patience comes with perspective. How you look at life? How you look at the future? How you view the scriptures will have tremendous implications on whether you can patiently suffer long without grumbling or living in sin?

It is somewhat serendipitous that today, in our news bulletin, we have an article about Adoniram Judson, who is a missionary and who suffered greatly so that the gospel may advance. And he did that because he had a heavenly perspective. And this week, our comms department told me that they have completed a video about a testimony of a sister in our church, Jessica, who has gone through hardships, and how she also spoke about a heavenly perspective. I love for you to take a look, and I’ll be back with the preaching of God’s Word.

(Video shown of Jessica)

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(Video ended)

Jessica spoke about choosing to hold on to a heavenly perspective. It’s a choice. It’s a choice to set your horizon further than just what is immediate around. James teaches us about the meaning of patience. It’s about the ability to suffer long without growing bitter or living in sin. James tells us that the motivation of patience is to have that heavenly perspective to look to the day Jesus comes back for us.

Models of Patience: Prophets and Job

Finally, besides Jesus, James gives us the models of patience. He speaks about the prophets. He doesn’t quite name the prophets, but we do know that in the Old Testament, prophets have suffered greatly. Some examples are as follows, and they are examples of suffering and patience. Now they are God’s servants and God’s servants are not immune from trials and pains and sufferings. For those who say Christians should not go through sufferings, it’s flat out lying. The Bible actually says we consider those who are suffering and those who patiently endure suffering to be blessed. So James is saying, “Guys, we consider the prophets blessed, and when you go through suffering, you can also consider yourself blessed.” That’s the reality. They are examples for us, certainly, it’s far better to follow in the footsteps of the prophets than anyone else.

Not only are the prophets held up as an example. Job is also held up as an example. Job is one of three righteous men, according to Ezekiel 14:14, and yet he suffered greatly. I think in the Bible, no one suffers more than Job, except for the Lord Jesus Christ. He had so much, but he lost everything virtually overnight. And the Bible tells us that Job was steadfast. So James looks at Job’s life in a rather positive light. Now, I know some of you may be wondering. “Huh, I thought Job questioned God, doubted God, argued against God. He’s a good guy meh?” Well, at the end of the day, Job might have struggled, but he never wavered at the end. He remained loyal. His wife told him, suggested to him, “Curse God and die”. But he never did. So he remained resolute. He honored God for who God is. He proves that God is worthy of worship. Now we’re going to look at Job’s life in detail in about a year’s time. We’re coming to the book of Job in the future, but for now, satisfy you with just knowing that the Bible pictures Job as a steadfast man. And we also see that God is compassionate and merciful towards Job. Now Job actually, in his questioning and challenges against God deserves wrath, but God chooses to show mercy, was compassionate. Because at the end of the day, Job received far more all that he ever lost.

So we are reminded about the goodness of God and the plans and the purposes to flourish his servants, even though they may go through trials. And I can’t help but be reminded of how James started in chapter 1 verse 2.

…Count it all joy…(James 1:2)

We’re coming back full circle. He started with joy in sufferings, and now he’s reminding the people that there is blessedness in suffering. So as I’ve labored over the months to tell you, James I think, is written in a chiastic way. It’s a mirror image on both sides, because they are parallel themes on both sides, as you journey from chapter one all the way to chapter three, and then you come back down to chapter five. They are similar themes mentioned on both sides. And so in chapter one, you have suffering, and in chapter five, you have suffering again. And we see that circle, especially in verse two about joy, and in chapter five about blessedness. Verse two about joy, and in chapter five about God being compassionate and merciful. We are reminded that when God puts us through hardships, it’s not that we will be bitter, not that he delights in our sufferings, but that he has a purpose behind it to make us better.

True Religion vs. False Religion

At the same time, we must not forget the overall theme and approach of James. He has been contrasting true religion versus false religion. Over the weeks and months, we identified the marks of false religion that you may be someone in church, but if your life is filled with strife and cursing and self centeredness, and you blame God and are angry with God with no repentance, then it may be that you are just a hypocrite. But true religion is reflected in sanctification that you keep yourself unstained from the world. You have good speech. You build up others. You are service oriented, and that you remain steadfast and patient in suffering. That marks you out as a true believer. And again, chapter one reminds us,

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast because he will receive the crown of life. (James 1:12)

Because that is the proof that he truly loves God. You see, not just a church attendee, but a lover of God, a believer of God. That is why patient in suffering is vital. I vital.

Conclusion and Prayer

Someone said good things come to those who wait. And it is true, wait. But wait for what? Wait for the return of Jesus Christ. Be patient till then, just like all the prophets and the patriarchs were, and it will all make sense then. All tears will be wiped away, and we will find that present sufferings will usher us into future glory, and the glory that is to come will drown all the sufferings we will have to go through in this life. May God grant you grace, and may we, as a church, pray for one another to be patient in suffering. Yes, pray for healing. Pray for deliverance. Nothing wrong with those things, but beyond that, also, pray for patience in suffering.

Let’s bow for a word of prayer. As we think about the models and the examples of suffering, let us also close with thinking about Jesus who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is now sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Peter tells us that Jesus lived this life, he suffered so that he may leave for us a set of footsteps we may follow in. So today, don’t be surprised when some fiery trial has come upon you. It’s it’s part of what it means to follow Jesus. Let us trust God that He is compassionate, He is merciful. He knows exactly what you are going through, but He has a greater purpose and plan, and one day, Jesus will come back and end all this pain and suffering. He will wipe away all tears. He will bring us into that deep joy where our hearts would explode with jubilation and joy unspeakable, because then we’ll be truly home, and then we will all look back at all that has transpired here on planet Earth, and we say, “Thanks be to God. It all makes sense now.” So my brothers and sisters, let’s be steadfast. Let’s be patient, let’s endure. It may be a few years, it may be a few decades, but it will all make sense. God says so. And for you who do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I want to tell you Jesus endured great sufferings for you. He suffered the cross, took your sin for you, so that if you repent and believe, you might be saved. So let us endure. Let us believe sometimes even if it pours, even if there is rain, they really may be drops of mercy and blessings in disguise. Let’s establish our hearts. Let’s trust Him. So Father, thank You for Your Word. Bless the hearts of your people this morning. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.