Did Jesus Promise to Do Whatever Christians Ask?
Many people misinterpret Jesus’ statements concerning His promise to do whatever Christians ask of Him. Jesus told His disciples, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:13–14; cf. Mt. 7:7–8; 21:22). How should we understand these important declarations?
Jesus is not a vending machine who dispenses whatever Christians want regardless of what they ask. That is not what the Lord meant. We must read the entire chapter in which each statement is found to understand its context. When people take texts out of context, they twist Scripture’s true meaning into something entirely different. False doctrine and cults develop when people distort God’s Word.
We must pray in Jesus’ name—submitting to His authority, which lines up with God’s will. Praying through Jesus is the only way to approach God the Father (Jn. 14:6). To ask anything in Jesus’ name means to ask Him for things that fulfill God’s will. Thus, what we pray in Jesus’ name must bring glory and honor to Him and the Father.
Some Christians offer thoughtless, self-seeking, unwise prayers or prayers designed to fulfill a craving detrimental to their spiritual lives. God does not answer such prayers because they are asked “amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas. 4:3).
Jesus knows what we need, whether large or small, and when we need it. When we commit to Christ, seek His Kingdom and righteousness (Mt. 6:33), and want to act according to His will, God answers our prayers according to what is best for us. The key to answered prayer is living a life that glorifies the Lord.
God’s answer might come immediately or years later. It may even come after we are with the Lord in heaven. But God hears and responds to every prayer offered in Jesus’ name. George Müller, a great evangelist who ran an orphanage in Bristol, England, in the 1800s, prayed for the salvation of a friend for 50 years and was already in heaven when his friend accepted Christ.
Christians can go to God in prayer with absolute confidence based on their union and intimate relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 5:14–15). We can ask God at any time for anything according to His will and purpose. Therefore, come in faith, in Jesus’ name, desiring God’s will, with a request that will glorify God.
