This month we are going to look at 4 verses that often get twisted around to say something that they were never meant to say. Don’t feel bad if you have twisted these verses in the past or still struggle to understand them today, we have all been there. What we are going to do during August is try and understand what God is saying to us through these verses so we can accurately apply them to our lives. Today we are going to start with a verse on prayer that maybe you have gotten twisted up in the past, maybe even in the past week.
The verse is from the gospel of John where Jesus says, I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:13-14
Twice Jesus says that He will do whatever it is we ask of Him if we ask in His name. I wonder how many prayers God heard recently that sounded something like this… Dear God, let me pick the winning numbers in the Mega Millions. When I win a billion dollars I will give millions to you and the church. I ask this in Jesus' name. When the jackpot is over a billion, I’m tempted to pray this myself.
Jesus said, whatever you ask for in my name, I will do it. Does that include the lottery? Is Jesus agreeing to be our genie in the bottle and give us whatever we want if you simply use the right words? Or have we twisted this verse. To help us interpret any Bible verse correctly, there are two things we need to look at.
The first is context. What comes before and after the verse we are looking at? What is the larger context of the teaching in the scripture? Who wrote the words? Who spoke the words? Who was it written to, and who heard the message when it was first said? These questions help us understand what is actually being said.
The second thing that helps us understand the true meaning of a verse is to interpret the verse in light of other scriptures. It’s important to remember that no verse stands alone in scripture.
The Old Testament shapes and gives meaning to the New Testament. The letters in the New Testament expand and help us understand the teaching of Jesus. For example, both the Old and New Testament say a lot about prayer so how does that teaching help us understand what Jesus says in John 14? We need the entire Bible to help us understand one part of the Bible, even one verse.
Untwisting and understanding God’s word is not enough, we also need to apply what we learn. When we live out God’s word in our daily life, it gives us an even deeper meaning of what God is saying to us. So each week we will look at these difficult verses in light of their context, what other verses in the Bible say about them, and how we apply them to our lives. So let’s go back and look at what Jesus said about prayer.
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:13-14
What is the context of this verse? If we look at the entire chapter of John 14, we see that Jesus is telling his disciples that He is going to go away but that they do not need to be afraid when He leaves. Jesus told them that He was going to the Father but that He would still be with them through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would give them power and that their prayers would be heard and answered. Jesus shared this verse on prayer to help prepare His disciples for the time when He would not physically be with them. He wanted to let them know that they could still call Him for help.
We also see in these 2 verses what the purpose of prayer is supposed to be. I will do whatever you ask in my name, SO THAT the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13
Jesus says that the purpose of prayer isn’t to get what we want but so God will be glorified. Too often we think prayer is about us. It’s asking God for what we want and need, but we are to pray in Jesus’ name so that the power and glory of Jesus is revealed. Prayer isn’t about opening the door to what we want but opening the door for God’s glory to be seen and for people to draw closer to Him.
That’s some of the context we find in John’s gospel, but what else does the Bible say about prayer that can shed some light on our understanding of this verse? The Bible tells us that there are at least four things that God cares about when we pray. The first one is our relationships.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:24-25
We can’t faithfully ask God for the things we want if we aren’t willing to live the way God wants. It even sounds absurd when we say, God help me get a job to care for my family, but I am never going to forgive my past employer who fired me. Even in the Lord’s prayer we ask God to forgive us AS we forgive others. Jesus teaches us that our relationships matter in prayer so we need to make sure we are doing all we can to be reconciled to one another before we pray. God also cares about our motives when we pray.
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:3
Our motives matter when we pray. Jesus was critical of some of the religious leaders who stood outside praying in a loud voice so that everyone would notice them. Their motive wasn’t to honor or glorify God, their motive was to get noticed. Our motives matter and we can’t fake our motives when it comes to God. We can’t tell God we want to win the billion dollar lottery to honor and glorify Him when what we really want is to be rich. The Bible tells us that God knows what lies in the deepest part of our hearts.
All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Proverbs 16:2
So when it comes to prayer, relationships matter, motives matter, and so does our faith. Jesus said if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we can move mountains. When we pray we have to pray with the belief and conviction that God can do what we are asking God to do.
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:6-7
When Jesus healed people, He often told them that their faith had made them well. They asked Jesus to heal them because they believed He could. Some believed if they just touched Jesus they would be healed. They had faith and our faith is an important part of prayer.
So you might be asking yourself, if we have a strong faith and believe God can do what we ask Him to do, and if we have pure motives, and all our relationships are healthy, will God give us whatever we ask for in His name? If all those things are in place then if I ask to win the lottery, will I win the lottery? Well, there is one more thing that matters to God when we pray and that is God’s will.
God’s will matters when it comes to prayer. God’s nature, plan, and purpose all come into play when God answers our prayers. It only makes sense that God is not going to go against His own nature and plan just because we ask Him for something. The Bible tells us that God’s will is important. In fact, the disciple John said, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15
On one hand John said that if we ask for anything in Jesus' name we will receive it, but he also said that we have to ask according to God’s will. Maybe asking in Jesus' name really means asking according to God’s will.
Praying in Jesus’ name doesn’t mean we just add, “in Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayer. It’s not a magical saying that assures us that we will get whatever we want. Praying in Jesus’ name means being in line with God’s will and asking for things according to the heart of Jesus. Using the name of Jesus in prayer should not only humble us because we have been given His name for prayer, but it should cause us to ask, is this what God wants for us? Is this God’s will? If we can boldly say yes, then we have been given the authority to pray in the name of Jesus.
So how do we apply this to our lives? Does all this mean that if all our relationships are healthy and our motives are pure and our faith is unwavering and our prayers are in line with God’s nature and plan then we will get whatever we ask for? Is this how we apply this? Is this what we expect to happen?
Let me answer this from my own experience. As a pastor for 30 years, I have prayed with the faith and conviction that can and wants to heal people. I believe it is always God’s desire to bring healing and wholeness because that is what we see in Jesus. So with healthy relationships, a sincere motive, a strong faith and the conviction of knowing what I am praying for is in line with God’s will, I pray for healing.
In Jesus’ name I have prayed for physical healing, people to come to know the saving grace of Jesus, for marriages to be healed, jobs to be provided, relationships to be reconciled and people to know the fullness of life and faith. I have prayed in Jesus’ name believing all these things are possible and in line with God’s will. And I have still seen people get sick and die, marriages fall apart, people lose jobs, friendships fail, and people suffer.
I have prayed in Jesus' name and haven’t always gotten what I asked for, but I still pray. I still have faith. I still trust God’s will and try to align myself with God’s heart and make sure I am in healthy relationships with others, and I still pray in Jesus’ name. I keep praying because if I stopped praying when I didn’t get what I asked for, then I have made God my servant.
God is not my servant. I am God’s servant and when I pray after I didn’t get what I wanted, it shows my faith and trust in a loving and all-powerful God. Our faith, in the midst of prayers not always answered the way we want them to be answered, shows the world that we trust God no matter what and that we will continue to love and trust God no matter what. Our continued prayer glorifies God and that is the purpose of prayer.
Ask me for anything in my name and will do it. It’s easy to get that twisted and think that whatever we want, God has to provide. But the larger context of this verse, and the teaching on prayer we find throughout the Bible, reminds us that prayer isn’t about getting what we want but about our hearts and lives coming in line with God’s will. It’s about trusting God so completely that if we get what we ask for or not, we will still pray and give glory to God.
Next Steps
Twisted – Ask for anything in my name…
To accurately interpret scripture, we need to:
1. Understand the context. What comes before and after this passage? Who wrote it? To whom was it written?
2. Interpret the verse in light of other scriptures. What else does the Bible say about the topic?
3. Apply what you learn. Living out God’s word helps us understand it better.
Read John 14:13-14
What is the context of these verses? Read all of John 14.
What else does the Bible say about prayer?
• Mark 11:22-36, 1 Peter 3:7
• James 4:3, Proverbs 16:2
• James 1:6-7, Matthew 9:29-30
• 1 John 5:14-15, Matthew 26:36-39
What do these passages teach us about prayer? How do they shape what Jesus said about prayer in John 14?
What has been your experience of praying “in Jesus’ name”?
When have you prayed for things with faith and conviction, but they didn’t happen? Did that cause you to question God? Your own faith? The way you prayed?
When we keep praying after we don’t get what we ask for: What does that say about our faith?
What does that say about who we believe God is?
How and why do those continued prayers glorify God?
What do you need to pray for this week?
What prayers might need to change?
What relationships might need to be healed before you pray?
