Ask for “anything?”
John 14:13 (TPT) For I will do whatever you ask me to do when you ask me in my name. And that is how the Son will show what the Father is really like and bring glory to him. 14 Ask me anything in my name, and I will do it for you!”
Jesus brings glory to his Father by showing what his Father is really like—by revealing him. One of the aways he does this is by answering my prayers. By granting my requests, Jesus reveals something about his Father’s nature, his heart, his love.
I am tempted to think that what I ask for determines whether or not Father gets glory. If I am a frazzled parent living in a 2-bedroom apartment with 3 kids and I ask God for a bigger place—would the Father be glorified if I could somehow buy a house with 4 bedrooms and a yard?
I hesitate giving an answer. It depends, I might say. Why am I so hesitant? Because I think that God’s glory depends upon my request–upon what I ask for.
But Jesus said God’s glory is revealed when he answers my request. It does not depend upon what I ask for. Jesus emphasized this point by adding, “Ask me anything.” His nature and love for me are revealed because he hears me, listens to me, and answers me. His glory is in the grant, not the gift.
If this is true then God should be granting prayer requests left and right. I should be neck-deep in answered prayers. And yet I am not. Where’s the disconnect?
Jesus gives us the answer. He included a little exception clause. He’ll grant my requests made in his name. And yes, this is why every public prayer made in every American church always ends with “…in Jesus’ name, Amen.” I hear this so often, but what does it really mean?
This “in the name of” phrase has fallen out of use in the West. From the days of kings, we have examples of someone issuing a decree, ending with the endorsement “in the name of the king.” They thus signal to all hearers that the king has issued this decree and the speaker is just the king’s messenger.
Law enforcement officers may add their endorsement when they say “in the name of the law,” thus signaling that the injunction comes from the law, and they are its appointed enforcers. But we rarely hear that anymore.
The phrase “in my name” indicates that when I petition God with a request, I am asking as one whom he has appointed to represent him. I am asking for things that align with my appointment. If I translate my prayer-suffix in the name of Jesus to a prayer-prefix, it might sound like this:
Jesus, as your appointed representative upon the earth, I have need of a few things to facilitate my assignment.
This casts my requests into a different light! Do my requests fit into this context? If so, I can come boldly before the throne of grace and ask with confidence.
And yet, this statement still does not capture the heart of the matter. I suggest a re-phrasing of it.
Jesus, as a co-heir with you and a son of our Father, I have need of a few things to facilitate my assignments to expand the family business.
The relational context has just moved from servant to son! Do my requests fit the context? Do they make sense given my relational bond with Jesus and our Father?
In this context I cannot treat God like a predictable vending machine, granting whatever I ask for if I just push the right buttons. Nor can I treat him like the great Oz, as if he is some impersonal entity behind the curtain from whom I petition and hope for answers.
God is neither predictable nor impersonal. God is relational. The whole “ask whatever you wish and I’ll give it to you” thing is a byproduct of the intimacy shared between a Father and his son or daughter.
My requests are not as one who approaches a curtain and petitions for some need in hopes that the Power behind the curtain will hear and grant my requests. My requests are as one who has an intimate dialog with Dad and talks through my needs and desires. From within that conversation I share my heart and he shares his. From out of that conversation come answers. I align my heart with his and together we move forward. His answers become my abundance. My abundance displays his kindness. “Ask whatever you want” then makes sense within this relational love-bond. In fact, it’s the only context in which that statement makes any sense.
Dad. I am your son. I want to live a life full of answered prayers—a life that demonstrates our love-bond. Align my heart with yours and grant my requests. Amen.
