Jesus told His disciples that in a little while they would not see Him but also in a little while they would see Him because He was going to the Father. Then the disciples questioned each other about what Jesus meant by this statement. They were confused. Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him what He meant. He told them that they would be very sorrowful, but the world would rejoice. However, their sorrow would turn to joy. He gave them the example of a woman in labor who is sorrowful as she is about to experience the pain of giving birth. Her sorrow is turned to joy once her child, a new human being, is brought into the world. They too would have sorrow over His leaving them, but their sorrow would turn to joy when they would see Him again. No one would take that joy away from them.
He told them in that day they would not ask Him for anything. However, He went on to tell them that whatever they asked the Father for in His name, the Father would give it to them. Up until then, they had not asked for anything in Jesus’ name. He told them to ask and they would receive and be joyful. The Lord wants us to ask for the things we need. When we make our requests known to Him, we demonstrate our faith. The more faith we have when we ask for things, the more likely the Lord will bless our faith and give us what we request. Without faith it is impossible to please God.