What is the context when Jesus said, “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it”?
John 14:9-14
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Ok, many things here. I highlighted a couple of versus here. Many have used the text above where Jesus said, “if you ask anything in my name I will do it” as a means to believe, if we ask anything, Jesus has to do what we say. As if Jesus is some genie in a bottle that is just dying to give us anything we want. I know it sounds silly, but with all the “name it and claim it” theology and “speak it into existence” and the infamous, “speak those things that are not as though they were” scriptures out there, and how so many Christians have been using them out of context for years, I need to deal with all of this right now.
First off, like I said, this scripture was never saying, we can just speak what we want and somehow, this gives birth to the name it and claim it theology. The name it and claim it theology is false! I have never seen anywhere in the bible people speaking anything into existence, I only seen God do that. And we do not speak those things that are not as though they were, that was God’s job. I spoke more about that when I dealt with Romans 4. Those were things that God did and only God did. However, if we do speak something, it is because we heard it from God and we are just speaking what God already said and we stand in agreement with God’s declaration and we trust and put our faith in God. So, the faith is in God, not us or our faith! If that were the case, we would never need God for anything because we would be gods unto ourselves. But that is what these prosperity preachers say and teach anyway, so that is why it is false.
Secondly, look at John 14 again. The context is the will of the Father in heaven. Look what Jesus is saying here. He is saying, “I only say what the Father gives me to say, and I only do what the Father gives me to do”. So, Jesus doing works and us doing greater works are all in context with being in the will of the Father saying ONLY what He wants us to say and do. So, when we ask anything in Jesus name, the context there has to be the will of the Father. Not my will or what I/we want! Saints, please get that. When Jesus was speaking here, the context has always been the will of the Father, not our will’s. There is text I will leave you with that also backs up this point found in 1 John 5:14-15 which reads,
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
So, our confidence is knowing if we pray according to the will of God, He hears us, THEN we shall have what we say. Blessings.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, forgive us for thinking we can just say anything and You have to back us up as if we are in charge of You! That is not how it works, so may we be submitted to Your will and not our own. Forgive us Lord for our disobedience and using Your word this way and disrespecting You this way. I repent now, In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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