21 Days of Prayer: Day 14 - Kjell & Vivian Johanson
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“You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”
John 14:13-14 (NLT)
Every now and again, we come across a verse in the bible that causes us to stand back and say, “There is no way!”. Jesus’ words in John 14 have that effect on many people. Is Jesus giving all of His followers a free pass to get whatever they want? That doesn’t seem to be the case based on our own personal prayer life, nor does it seem to be the case within scripture. There must be more to this verse than a cursory glance. Jesus has a bold promise and gift for us when we pray to Him, and we cannot miss out on this golden opportunity of connection.
First, to address the biggest issue most people have with this verse: unanswered prayers. We have all prayed for things and not seen any fruit from it. Or worse still, we have seen terrible things happen even when we pray for them to stop. Awful diseases, the loss of a friendship, the death of a family member, or a catastrophic natural disaster that destroys communities are some of the wrongs we lift to God, only not to see them righted during our prayer time. This can cause Christ followers to question whether God is listening or whether He truly cares. King David felt this way in Psalm 22. When he was being persecuted, he wrote, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are You so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to You, my God, but You do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.”
Why wouldn’t God want to help us in our time of need? Paul has some great insight to help understand in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 when he writes, “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness’.” Paul, one of the early Church fathers, who wrote much of the New Testament Scriptures, didn’t receive what he asked for. How curious is this? Often times we feel like our prayers may not be answered because we aren’t praying well enough or have issues within our own lives that may hinder our prayers. But Paul wouldn’t have these, would he?
The heart of what Paul was getting towards in his prayer to God was to help him with the hurt he was experiencing. God’s response was to show Paul that He had a bigger and better plan than what Paul was asking for. The heavenly Father who sees all things and has created all things has a far greater understanding and design of what we need and how we can get it. Paul’s response is crucial to understanding Jesus’ promise: submission to God’s will. If God has a better way to do something than what I am hoping for and pleading for, GREAT! It may be difficult to swallow in the moment or for the rest of his life, but Paul will gladly change his request to align with God’s plan.
So when Jesus says, “ask anything in my name and I will do it.”, it isn’t a promise to receive an answer to whatever we pray as long as we say, “In Jesus name, Amen.”. Rather, our prayer needs to be in line with what Jesus’ name stands for. He is the Prince Of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, and Mighty God. Do our prayers line up with His will, or our own? Do we want to see God’s Kingdom advance, or our own pleasures increase? Often time the two will overlap, but the priority is not us. Our goal is to find out what God is up to in these broken situations and ask for help. Reach out to the one who hears and can save.
As a reminder, Paul has already written to us to “pray about everything.” Whatever burden or issue has come across your path, lift it up to our Heavenly Father, who loves to give good gifts to His children. He hears you and sees you. But when we pray, let us have the mindset of Jesus. In Luke 22:42, when He was faced with the horrible situation of the cross and the weight of the world’s sins, He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine.”.
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.