In John 14: 13-14, Jesus makes a powerful statement: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.”

What a statement! What a promise! We literally stagger at the magnitude of it! Look at those words: “whatsoever”, “anything” and “I will do it!” The prospects are limitless! Can we believe it? Is it really true? The answer is an emphatic “Yes!”

But how does this actually happen? The key is understanding what has transpired before. We must “believe” (that is have absolute trust and confidence) that Jesus is who He says He is (John 14:11). That is more than mere mental assent. It is KNOWING in the very core of our being (our spirit) the reality of Christ and being completely submitted to His will and purpose in our life.

It is understanding that we now have the great privilege of praying as Jesus prayed.
In fact, it is now the Holy Spirit Who actually prays through us (Romans 8:26-27).
Therefore, the praying that has access to such an astounding promise is praying like Jesus prayed.

Jesus never prayed for anything that was not in the Father’s will. Jesus never prayed for anything that would not bring honor and glory to the Father. The only time that Jesus ever prayed for Himself was when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, and even then Jesus was completely surrendered to the will of the Father. His prayers were always concerned with the Father’s plans and purposes. Not His own!

If we know the Father’s will and we only desire that He be glorified, we can then pray His will and have absolute confidence that the prayer will be answered. Where we all struggle is in coming to the place where we truly discern the Father’s will and all that we truly want is what He wants. We want His will to be done; not ours! And when we get to that place “whatsoever” we ask for will most certainly be answered!

Rev. James Black