Shedding Some Light on John 14: 12-14

Hello everybody! It’s been a while since I’ve been on this whole blogging machine, but there were a few thoughts during a very brief devotional this morning that I need to get out, and if you’re anything like me, this quick study will be very good for you as well!

So, let’s start with the passage we’re looking into:

John 14: 12-14

¹²“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. ¹³Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

Cool passage, for sure. But something puzzled me the first time I read this, specifically the part where Jesus says to His disciples, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

I’ve asked SOO many things in Jesus’ name that have, as this verse says, been done. God is faithful, no doubt. However, there have also been many many times when I have asked things in Jesus’ name and they never happened. Sure, I understand that God answers every prayer, but sometimes He just says “No,” or “Not right now.” I understand that. Yet, oftentimes those prayers were things that surely God would allow, things that may advance His Kingdom or glorify His name, AND they were asked in the name of Jesus. So, my question is, “Why were my prayers not answered (or answered with a resounding “no”)?”

Thank God for the inception of the wonderful ESV study Bible, or I would have been stuck on this verse for a LOT longer. Using the study notes at the bottom half of the page, the mystery of this passage was quickly demystified. Here’s what it had to say (more or less):

A person’s name in ancient times was so much more than a title; it was synonymous with who they were. Their character. Their essence. What they were like. So essentially, what Jesus says here meant something very different to the disciples than what it means to me. “Praying in Jesus’  name means praying in a way consistent with his character and his will; it also means coming to God in the authority of Jesus… Effective prayer MUST ask for and desire what Jesus delights in.”

Now it all makes sense. Asking prayerfully in Jesus’ name is most effective when living a life that is focussed on fully capturing and pursuing the very character and essence of Christ: love, justice, mercy, compassion, righteousness, patience, etc.

Essentially it means this: praying for the desires of God’s heart, rather than my own. Letting go of myself and realizing the importance of God’s plan and the coming of His kingdom. That is what it is all about!

One more passage and quick thing to understand concerning this….

1 John 5: 14-15

¹⁴And this is^(A) the confidence that we have toward him, that^(B) if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

“We have the requests that we have asked of him.” The ESV study notes also shed this light on this verse: “To ask God according to His will does not mean that, before Christians can effectively pray, they need somehow to discover God’s secret plans for the future. Rather, it means that they should ask according to what the Bible teaches about God’s will for his people. If Christians are praying in accordance with what pleases God as found in the teaching of scripture, then they are praying according to His will.”

“To know that he hears us in whatever we ask is enough, because communion with God is the goal of prayer. Human experience testifies that Christians do not always receive all the things they ask from God, even things that seemingly accord with his revealed will. This verse must be understood in light of other passages of scripture which show that praying according to God’s will includes the need to pray in faith (Matt. 21:22; James 1:6), with patience (Luke 18:1-8), in obedience (Ps. 66:18; 1 Peter 3:12), and in submission to God’s greater wisdom (Luke 22:42; Romans 8:28; 1 Peter 4:19).”

Awesome. Eye opening. This one’s a life-changer, folks. I hope this can turn you, the reader, back on the right path to pursuing God’s will and advancing his kingdom, especially if you’re like me and have gotten a little lost along the way 😉

Thanks so much for reading (if you have read this), and thank you WordPress for letting me babble about my thoughts. And thank you God for letting all of this stuff come to be.

God bless y’all, for real. Until next time!

TySharron

Today’s Devotion

Colossians 1:9-20

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁹And so,^(A) from the day we heard,^(B) we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that^(C) you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all^(D) spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so as^(E) to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,^(F) fully pleasing to him,^(G) bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ^11(H) May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for^(I) all endurance and patience^(J) with joy, ^12(K)giving thanks^[a] to the Father, who has qualified you^[b] to share in^(L) the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³He^(M) has delivered us from^(N) the domain of darkness and transferred us to^(O) the kingdom of^(P) his beloved Son, ^14(Q) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

^15(R) He is the image of^(S) the invisible God,^(T) the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by^[c] him all things were created,^(U) in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether^(V) thrones or^(W)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created^(X) through him and for him.¹⁷And^(Y) he is before all things, and in him all things^(Z) hold together. ¹⁸And^(AA) he is the head of the body, the church. He is^(AB) the beginning,^(AC) the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For^(AD) in him all the^(AE) fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and^(AF) through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,^(AG) making peace^(AH) by the blood of his cross.

Wow….just WOW.