John chapter 14 starts out by telling us that Jesus is preparing a place for us and so we are told NOT to let our hearts be troubled…
Verses 12-14
The Answered Prayer
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
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Our ministry for Christ begins with faith, follows through by imitating the perfect model, and then through the Holy Spirit spreads out around the world.
14:12. This is one of the most interesting verses in the Bible. Interpreters have pondered what Jesus meant by telling his disciples that they would do greater things than He, the Son of God, had done.
But perhaps the best way to understand the verse is to take it literally, exactly as Jesus said it.
The promise is not that disciples of Jesus will perform works that are greater in value or significance than His.
Rather they are greater in scope and number, in these respects:
1) Because He was crucified, Jesus’ earthly ministry was limited to only a few years, but after the Resurrection and Pentecost, His ministry was and continues to be multiplied through Spirit-empowered believers.
2) Our works include the preaching of the gospel, resulting in the blessings of justification, reconciliation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit coming to humankind—all post – Resurrection manifestations of Christ’s reign (see 5:20).
14:13 Prayer offered in the name of Jesus is in accord with His revealed nature and purpose and has the full weight of His authority behind it.
What a comfort it must have been to the disciples to know that, even though the Lord was leaving them, they could pray to the Father in His Name and receive their requests.
This verse does not mean that a believer can get anything he wants from God.
The key to understanding the promise is in the words in My name—whatever you ask in My name.
To ask in Jesus Name is not simply to insert His Name at the end of the prayer.
It is to ask in accordance with His mind and will.
It is to ask for those things which will glorify God, bless mankind, and be for our own spiritual good.
In order to ask in Christ’s Name, we must live in close fellowship with Him.
Otherwise we would not know His attitude.
The closer we are to Him, the more our desires will be the same as His are.
The Father is glorified in the Son because the Son only desires those things that are pleasing in God’s sight.
As prayers of this nature are presented and granted, it causes great glory to be brought to God.
14:14 The promise is repeated for emphasis and as a strong encouragement to God’s people.
Live in the center of His will, walk in fellowship with the Lord, ask for anything that the Lord would desire, and your prayers will be answered.
Praying in Jesus’ name means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus.
Praying in Jesus’ name means the same thing as praying according to the will of God,
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask ANYTHING according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
Praying in Jesus’ name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus.
Genuinely praying in Jesus’ name and for His glory is what is important, not attaching certain words to the end of a prayer.
It is not the words in the prayer that matter, but the purpose behind the prayer.
Praying for things that are in agreement with God’s will is the essence of praying in Jesus’ name.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
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Monday, October 14
From Faith to Faith Daily Devotional
THAT GLORIOUS NAME
by Kenneth Copeland
And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you may ask in My name [as presenting all that I AM,] so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.
— John 14:13, The Amplified Bible
In Jesus’ Name. It’s more than a phrase we tack onto the end of our prayers.
All that God is and does is represented in the Name of Jesus.
The Amplified Bible says when you ask in His Name, you present your requests to the Father on the basis of all that Jesus is.
So you can boldly expect to have those requests granted—not because you’re worthy, but because He is!
What’s more, the Name of Jesus carries authority over all other names.
In Philippians 2:5-11, the Apostle Paul tells us,
“God also hath highly exalted him [Jesus], and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.”
In spite of all the Word of God has to say about the power of the Name of Jesus, most believers don’t seem to put much stock in it.
They’ll pray in the Name of Jesus, then turn right around and say, “I sure hope God answers that prayer.”
They don’t realize that if they only had the faith to believe it, Jesus’ Name alone carries enough clout to guarantee their prayers will be answered.
They even let religious slang rob them of the power of using that Name.
I’ve heard many a well-meaning believer end his prayer with the phrase, “For Jesus’ sake.”
But Jesus didn’t say to pray for His sake. He said to pray in His Name.
I used to make that mistake myself.
One night I was praying because I was suffering from a stomachache.
“Oh, for Jesus’ sake,” I prayed, “heal my stomach.”
After I’d said that a few times, the Lord spoke up on the inside of me.
Wait a minute, He said, whose stomach is hurting here, Mine or yours?
“Mine!” I answered.
Then He very plainly said, In that case, pray for your stomach’s sake, in My Name!
Jesus’ Name. Dig into the Word and find out just how much power and authority it really carries.
Then use that power every time you pray. Stop hoping God will answer and start expecting Him to cause every circumstance in your life to bow its knee in honor of that glorious Name! Ame
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