John 14.14 You may
ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. – Jesus
I could go a couple different ways with this statement; I’m
only gonna go one way. I’m gonna take Jesus at His word and ask Him for what I
need. Of course, it’s not like He doesn’t already know – He’s omniscient. And
He knows I’ve already asked it. And I know I’ve asked. But I’m gonna keep
asking. Like a little child, I’m gonna keep asking.
My thought process is this: The Lord knows what I need
even before I speak it (Matthew 6.8). But I’m gonna ask in His name anyway. I’m
also going to thank Him because He said, “I will do it.” I can rest in that – I will do it.
Prayer is getting what I want; prayer is believing in God
and believing in Jesus. That belief causes conversation which builds
expectation. It builds the expectation that Jesus is doing something on my
behalf and has promised: I will do it.
Now, there is a component of this that bears an answer:
will Jesus only do for me what I ask if it only fits in with His will? I think
that’s a dangerous question, but one worth asking. I think this, without
getting into the weeds, I think Jesus already knows what I am going to ask and
He is helping me draw closer to the Father. I think that is His ultimate M.O.
Just as He was in the Father and the Father in Him, so He desires that I be in
the Father with the Father in me.
What is this world after all? This world is the proving
ground of our faith – we live here because here is where we grow closer to the
Father. Here is the only place afforded us to do so. And with all the stuff we
do, have done, and will do, our place in the universe is where we grow closer
to the Father – just as Jesus did. The closer we grow to the Father, the less
needy we are for the things of this world.
God put us on earth to know Him and live for Him. He’s
promised to take care of all the rest. I
can believe that. I believe in God; I also believe in Jesus. What I grow to
want are the things God desires for the world of men around me: that they grow
closer to Him. In my asking, I am going to change. My faith will be built. My
confidence in God will soar. And I will grow closer to Him in the process.
Along the way though, I need some things and I am going
to ask because He said: You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do
it. Okay, Lord, if those are the terms, then I am asking…
Thank You Jesus
that You have given me this freedom to ask. Thank You that You’ve promised to
answer. And thank You that Your ultimate work in me is to help me grow closer
to the Father and cooperate in His work here on the planet. Thank You. Amen
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