06/18/2026
Jesus said that whatever we ask for in His name He will do, so why is it that we can find ourselves praying and Him not immediately responding to what we are asking? This is a common question asked about prayer, and one that causes many pastors to begin making excuses for the inaction of Jesus or silence of God. The inability to understand prayer and the fulness of the Lord’s promise based on one verse of scripture, which we often take out of context, leads to the spiritual downfall of many.
“If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:14 ESV
We hear it on television, and other forms of reporting the news; a single bite of conversation pulled from a lengthy speech or description someone has offered, and misused to serve the reporter’s motives. A few words out of many that had been offered, which, when quoted alone, make what was said appear to be the opposite of what was intended. This happens with scripture as well, and nowhere is it more prevalent than John 14:14. Sermons are preached around the simplicity of just asking and Jesus will give it, but if we read the passage preceding 14:14 we find that there is more...
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
John 14:11, 13 ESV
And then later in the next chapter John delves into this again by saying...
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
John 15:7 ESV
Even as we read John chapter 12 we were being prepared for 14:14 with these words...
“Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
Luke 12:31 ESV
And, as if this weren’t enough, Matthew wades into this same subject by saying...
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33 ESV
We just read a lot of scripture, but what was my purpose in doing so? Well, it was to demonstrate that the few words of John 14:14 do not stand alone. We should no more believe that we can pull this verse from context and present it as the totality of scripture than we can believe that the entire gospel and heart of Jesus Christ can be summed up in any individual verse. If we were to attempt that, which verse would we choose? Perhaps John 11:35 which says, “Jesus wept.”? Or how about Mark 14:27 where we read “And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’”?
No, Jesus says that if we believe in Him he will give us what we pray for, but first we must understand what it means to believe in Him. We know that His entire life was focused on doing the will of God so to believe in Him means we must also believe in God, and to do the will of God; we must obey, and seek the kingdom of God as He did. Jesus is motivated to answer prayer so that it will glorify the Father. What glory would come from answering a prayer that was contrary to the will of God?
I have four children, and as I raised them I provided for them, but sometimes one of them would ask me for something that I couldn’t do, perhaps it went against what my faith would allow, or at other times it would set a precedent for the family that was detrimental to who I was, and what I wished for them to be. I didn’t say “no” ... I said “I can’t.” They were asking because they either didn’t understand who I was, or they were exploring the boundaries of my tolerance so that they could set their own boundary stones.
So, when we pray for something, how are we determining that it falls within the tolerances of who God is? Are we asking something of Him because we believe it is truly who He is, that it would be within His will, or are we asking because the desire, or pain, we are feeling at that moment is strong enough to challenge our own faith? Perhaps we are asking to test the boundaries of who God is and what His will is so that, like our own children, we can set our own boundary stones... we are trying to define the borders of God and His righteousness. Whatever the reason we must seek to understand who God truly is, have faith in Him, know what we are asking will glorify Him, and trust that He will be good to His Word... in its entirety. Attempting to trap the Lord in one verse is to dishonor Him, and can destroy us in our faith. Then we find ourselves asking something of Him and saying “I asked of Him, and He didn’t do what He said He would”... Really? Is that the totality of what actually happened?
Let’s seek God, understand who He is, honor Him, and allow Him the glory in what we request. Jesus prayed first and foremost that He was within the will of God in what He desired. He performed no miracle that was contrary to that will.
“So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.”
John 5:19-20 ESV
When we pray, are we praying within God’s will, or our own? Are we asking for something that would glorify God, or something that eases our own pain, and glorifies ourselves despite who we know Him to be? Let’s seek first the kingdom of God, and search out God’s ultimate will... then we can ask Jesus in all assurance, because our desire, like that of Jesus, will reflect God’s word and will.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for answering prayer, and for revealing yourself to me so that I know how to pray within that will, within who you are, and in the name of Jesus. Help me Holy Father to understand who you are by accepting the Holy Spirit and His guidance in my faith, and life. Strengthen me Merciful Father so that my own weakness will not bring me to ask you for things that are contrary to your character, and who you are. Let everything I ask bring you glory and that nothing I ask dishonor you. Build my faith Holy Father so that when I am tempted to ask you to turn rocks into loaves of bread I can resist this temptation as Jesus did. Let my comfort in who you are be sufficient, and allow me to endure the hardships and suffering of my life by asking that your will be done in whatever circumstance I find myself in. Hear me when I pray Lord, and guide me to your will, so that you can answer me for your glory. Let your will, not mine, be done as I serve you with all my heart. Lift me up in my knowledge of you Father, so that if by chance I ask for something that is outside the boundary of who you are, that my faith will sustain itself through the disappointment and lesson I learn in you. Great are you Holy Father, and True is your Word. Help me in my understanding, Help me in my unbelief, for Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God whose will and purposes are perfect in all things.
“And the tempter came and said to him [Jesus], “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:3-4 ESV
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes