Asking and giving

John says, “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he will ask and he will give life” (1 John 5:16). Some commentators suggest a change of subject in the main clause: The brother “asks” but God “gives life.” That’s grammatically awkward, and Stott bites the bullet to say that John is attributing a life-giving efficacy to our prayers: “under God, he who asks life for a brother may be said not just to gain it for him but actually to ‘give’ it to him.”

The righteous man, the Proverb says, is a tree of life; and the prayers of the righteous man are the fruit on that tree.