ANYTHING WE ASK?!

Jesus makes a staggering promise to do what we ask in John 14:13-14. "Whatever (ο τι αν) you ask in my name that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything (εαν τι) in my name, I will do it." Will Jesus do anything we ask? What if I ask for the opposite of what you ask? Will He do what I ask or what you ask?

Jesus does not actually promise to do anything I ask Him to do. What He promises to do is whatever I ask as long as what I ask meets two criteria in this verse. The basis of my request must be "in Jesus name" (εν τω ονοματι). The purpose of my request must be to glorify the Father through the Son's answer (ινα δοξασθη). When I align my request with His basis and His purpose, He will do whatever I ask, but He does not promise to do what does not align with His basis and His purpose.

The basis for my request must always be "in Jesus name." Many suggest that prayer in Jesus name means on the merits of what Jesus has accomplished for us.  However, the same phrase is used in John 14:26 where the Father will send the Holy Spirit "in my name" (εν τω ονοματι). Does the Father send the Holy Spirit on the merits of what Jesus has done for us?  Perhaps, but I think there is a better sense for the phrase.

The better understanding of asking in Jesus name is that we are asking God to do something on the basis that Jesus is our representative before the Father. The Father sends the Holy Spirit to us on the basis that Jesus represents us to the Father. Jesus is in the Father. We are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us (John 14:20). Because of that representative relationship we can ask whatever we want. Prayer "in Jesus name" is not a magic formula but the expression of an intimate union with Jesus.  Our union with Him frames our request to Him. Whatever we ask will be aligned with whatever He wants because we enjoy an intimate friendship with Him.

The purpose of our request is the glory of God. We ask whatever we want in order to see the Father glorified in the Son when the Son answers our request. We don't pray for our wants but for His honor. Our requests must be aligned with His glory or the promise is mitigated.  When we are so in tune with Jesus that what we want most glorifies the Son, then we can ask whatever we want, and He will do it for us.

The closer I am to Jesus; the more intimately I know Him; the more likely I am to ask for what He most wants to do just like any love relationship. The more I seek what will honor Him, the more He seeks to do what I ask. Sadly, and all too often, what I ask for uses Him to meet my goals instead of to seek His glory. Prayer is a request between close friends not a requisition from a business partner.

TO WHOM SHOULD WE PRAY?

The normal pattern for prayer in the New Testament is to the Father through the Son. We ask the Father to answer our prayers on the basis of our relationship with the Son. Some try to make this pattern into a rigid formula for prayer despite the fact that Stephen prayed directly to Jesus pleading on behalf of those who stoned him to death (Acts 7:59-60).

Jesus promised, "Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14).  The expression is awkward.  We don't usually request something from someone in his/her own name. In fact, some manuscripts leave out the "me" (με) and insert "the Father" (τον πατερα) in its place. There is, however, strong external manuscript evidence for "me" being the original text and the internal evidence is compelling as well.  It seems more likely that a scribe copying the text by hand would make the mistake of omitting "me" and supplying "the Father" to avoid the awkwardness of the sentence. So the best reading is με not τον πατερα.

We can ask Jesus in Jesus' name to answer our requests. Further support for praying directly to Jesus comes from the pronouns in both verses.  Jesus says in verse 13, "Whatever you ask ... I (εγω) will do." He makes the "I" emphatic in verse 14. "If you ask Me ... I will do it" (εγω ποιησω).  The εγω reinforces the με and Jesus will do (ποιησω) what we ask Him to do.

Jesus makes an extraordinary promise to answer our requests whether we ask the Father (vs. 13) or Jesus directly (vs. 14). The natural implication of verse 13 is that we ask the Father. The explicit teaching of verse 14 is that we ask Jesus. Whether we ask the Father or we ask the Son, we are to ask "in Jesus name." Whether we ask the Father or we ask the Son, Jesus answers the prayer request.  Whatever we ask, Jesus will do! He carries out the answers to our prayers.

The Father is in the Son. The Son is in the Father (vss. 10-11). To pray to one is to pray to the other. We pray to either Father or Son in Jesus name. Prayer is not a magic formula that unlocks the power of God to fulfill our wants.  Prayer is "love-talk" - the whispers of intimate conversation. Our requests Jesus promises to answer reflect that intimacy. Prayer flows out of our intimate union with both Father and Son. Answers to our prayers flow out of the intimate union of the Father with the Son.  Their intimacy with each other in purpose grounds our intimacy with them in prayer.