“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:14
We are learning from Jesus how to do greater works than He did on earth. We can do this when we…
– Grow closer to His Person (John 14:7-11).
– Grasp His promise (John 14:12).
The third and final way to do greater works than Christ is to GET HIS POWER THROUGH PRAYER (John 14:13-14). Christ is wanting His disciples to continue His work and do even greater things than He had done (John 14:12). The disciples may have thought, “Lord, how can we do greater things than You have done? We are lowly, inadequate, uneducated followers of You.”
Jesus knew their hearts and assures them. “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13). This leads to the third way we can do greater works than Christ. After His death and resurrection, Christ would ascend to heaven to be with His Father (Acts 1:9-11). It would be at that time that the disciples would have the privilege of asking God the Father in Jesus’ name to give the help they needed. The power to reveal the Father and Son would come through prayer in Jesus’ name. Jesus’ help would be provided so that as the Son had glorified the Father when He was on earth, so the Son would glorify the Father through His disciples even though He would be in the Father’s house preparing a place for His followers to live.
“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:14). The word “anything” indicates that there is no limit to the power of prayer. Not only does the Father answer prayer, so does the Son (John 14:13-14). It is okay to pray to Jesus as seen here and in other verses (cf. Acts 7:59; Revelation 22:20). What does it mean to ask anything in Jesus’ name? This does not refer to a formula to tack on to the end of a prayer nor is it a magical charm like an Aladdin’s lamp. To pray in Jesus’ name means to pray what Jesus would pray. How do we know what Jesus would pray? Look into His Word. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7). To abide in Jesus is to obey His commandments (cf. John 15:10; I John 3:24).
How can we let Jesus’ words abide in us? Read, meditate, study, and memorize His Word. God has given us two ears and one mouth so that we can listen to His Word twice as much as we talk to Him. Before I spend time in prayer, I like to listen to the Lord by reading and studying the Bible. This helps my thoughts and desires to line up with His. That way, when I pray, I am more likely to pray what Jesus would pray.
In the context of John 14:7-12, Jesus desires that His disciples make the Father known through His words and works. Charles Ryrie refers to prayer in Jesus’ name in this way: “It is like using a power of attorney which a very dear loved one has given you.” 1 A power of attorney is a person who has been given the authority to manage the affairs of another person such as signing their checks, etc. You are given the authority to accomplish their desires, not your own. Someone who gives his name for another, steps aside to let that person act for him. When Jesus left His ministry to join His Father in heaven, He gave the management of His ministry to His disciples. He gave them and us His name to withdraw all the supplies we need from heaven to carry on His work. We are to use His name to accomplish His desires and to glorify Him.
For example, I cannot pray in Jesus’ name for Christ to help me rob a bank and expect Him to say, “Yes,” to my prayer because that would be contrary to God’s will and fail to glorify Him. But I can expect God to say “Yes” to my prayers when they are in line with what will glorify Him. So if I ask Jesus for opportunities to share the gospel with non-Christians, I can expect Him to say, “Yes,” because that is His will and it will bring glory to the Father (cf. Mark 16:15; Colossians 4:3).
How can we do greater works than Jesus? How can His words and works flow through us to others? Get His power through prayer in His name. We are to stand before God in Jesus’ name. We are to represent Jesus on earth before God (2 Corinthians 5:20). Christ, on the other hand, represents us in heaven in prayer before God (Romans 8:34b; Hebrews 7:25). Jesus always prays for us according to the Father’s will.
What is our relationship to Jesus’ name? The power it has on our lives is the power it will have on our prayers. “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17). God does not look at our lips, but at our lives to see what the name of Jesus means to us. When Jesus’ name is everything to me it will accomplish everything. If I let Jesus’ name have all I have, His name will let me have all it has. Let’s use the name of Jesus to open the treasures of heaven for this perishing world without Christ! God the Father will honor the name of His Son by giving us what we need to reveal His words and works to a lost world!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You so much for the privilege of praying to You and the Father for what is needed to accomplish Your mission here on earth and glorify the Father in heaven. There is no way I can carry on Your work in my own strength. I need Your power to share the gospel with the lost, and to baptize and teach believers to obey all your commands (Matthew 2819-20). It is in Your mighty name that I pray for You to open the treasures of heaven so Your gospel message will spread throughout this world and disciples of Christ will be multiplied. Thank You for praying for me, Lord Jesus. I look forward to how Your prayers will be answered today. In Your powerful name I pray. Amen.
ENDNOTE:
1. Charles Ryrie, The Ryrie Study Bible (Chicago: Moody, 1976), p. 1629.