John 14:13,14 - Whatever you ask in my name

14:13,14

“Whatever you ask in my name ...” We only have problems with this verse if we look at it in the context of God answering all our prayers. Instead we should look at it in the context within which it is given, as we have already said in comments on the previous verse. First it is about asking in Jesus' name. As is often said, this does not mean merely adding “in the name of Jesus” at the end of a prayer. It means when we are walking in the will of Jesus. Then it says “that the Father may be glorified in the Son”, and then “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it”. So in this context, prayer is about God’s will being done, not our will. Now this does not mean we should never pray about things we want or about our circumstances, we certainly should and are encouraged to do so, it is just that that is not what the focus of these three verses is. Someone might object that if God is promising to answer prayers that are according to what He wants, that is a bit of a cop out. But such a question demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of what the gospel is all about. Right at the beginning in Genesis the plan was that we would have dominion over the earth as God’s stewards. We rebelled against that and have thus encountered all the problems associated with sin. In Christ we are called back to God, our rebellion ends and we become His sons and servants. In Christ we are enabled to be the children of God, and in Christ the world will not defeat us.