Whatever
you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
John 14:13-14
John 14 [8.] Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
John 14 [9.] Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
John 14 [15.] If you love me, keep my commandments. I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,— the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
Meaning:
Jesus had just promised that those who believe in him would do “greater works than these, because I am going to my Father” (John 14:12). These two verses explain how. Jesus would be absent in body but not inactive. From the Father’s side he would answer his disciples’ prayers and carry on his work through them.
- “Whatever you will ask in my name”
This is the first time in John’s Gospel that Jesus tells his disciples to pray “in my name.” To ask in someone’s name in the ancient world meant to come with that person’s authority, as his representative, and in line with his character and purposes. It is far more than adding the words “in Jesus’ name” to the end of a prayer. It means praying as people who belong to Jesus, trusting in his work, and seeking what he desires. Peter showed what this meant when he told a lame man, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” (Acts 3:6).
- “That will I do”
Jesus himself promises to answer. Before this he had done the works; now he would continue doing them in answer to his disciples’ prayers. The book of Acts shows the risen Lord at work through the prayers and preaching of the apostles, as the good news spread from Jerusalem to the nations.
- “That the Father may be glorified in the Son”
The purpose of answered prayer is not first our comfort but God’s glory. When Jesus answers prayer, the Father’s goodness, power and faithfulness are displayed in the Son. This sets limits on what true prayer in Jesus’ name can be. John later wrote, “if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us” (1 John 5:14). James warns, “You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives” (James 4:3). Prayer in Jesus’ name seeks what will honour him.
- “If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it”
Jesus repeats the promise for emphasis. Its breadth is remarkable: “anything.” Yet “in my name” shapes the “anything.” The same promise appears again later that evening: “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7), and “whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (John 16:23). Prayer is the believer’s great privilege, grounded in Jesus’ authority and directed to God’s glory.
The Significance of John 14:13-14
- Prayer as partnership
Jesus did not leave his disciples to carry on his work alone. Through prayer they would share in his ongoing work, and so do believers today.
- Praying for God’s glory
Asking in Jesus’ name trains the heart to want what he wants. Our requests are reshaped by his character and purposes, and we find joy in seeing God glorified.
Cross-References:
1 John 5:14: "if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us." Prayer in line with God's will.
John 15:7: "you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you." The promise repeated.
James 4:3: "You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives," Prayer that misses God's purposes.
Matthew 7:7: "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you." Jesus' encouragement to ask.
Conclusion: Jesus promised that whatever his disciples ask in his name, he will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. To pray in his name is to come with his authority and in line with his will. Through such prayer the risen Jesus continues his work in the world and brings glory to the Father.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible