John 14:13–14

Here, for the first time, we read of prayer in His name. When He gave the disciples the prayer of Matthew 6, He did not tell them to ask in His name. In John 16:24 we hear from His own lips that this was something quite new: "Until now you have asked nothing in my name." The prayer of Matthew 6 was prayer to the Father. It was the pouring out of the heart to God by someone who knew he was God's child. But prayer in His name was unknown until Christ made atonement by His blood.

So it matters greatly to find out what the words "in my name" mean. They cannot mean simply saying the words, or ending our prayers with "through our Lord Jesus Christ." That would tie the answer of prayer to a mere formula. Even between people, no one may use another's name without his consent and authority. In the same way we cannot use the name of Christ in our prayers without His warrant — a warrant we must find in His own Word. And we have that warrant for every prayer the Holy Spirit stirs in us. With it we come before God with all the authority of Christ Himself, and such prayers rise with the same power as if Christ presented them Himself.

"Whatever" tells us that no subject and no area of life falls outside this promise in advance. In principle, a Christian can "ask in His name" about any issue and any situation in life. He or she just has to make sure the request does not go against God's will.

"Whatever" is the promise, but the words "in my name" define and limit it. As another has said: "Whatever! If it stood alone, it would be boundless, and the Lord would have opened the door to every desire of unbroken self-will among His people. But He adds, in my name. This is His limit — the barrier He sets up."

The disciples were to count on power that could not fail, if they sought it in His name. Jesus was no mere man, whose departure must end what He used to do when present. Though absent, He would prove Himself Divine. He was no less interested in their requests now that He had risen from the dead. Whatever they might ask, He would do, so that the Father might be glorified in the Son.

In Matthew 18, the Father would answer prayer for the honour of the Son. Here the Son will answer their prayers, so that the Father might be glorified. In every activity on earth the Son had sought the Father's glory. In His exalted place in heaven, the Father's glory would still be before Him. And how wonderful that the Father has tied His own glory to the blessing of those He has given to the Son, so that the two can never be parted. Such is the Father's grace!

It is a real thing to use the name of Christ in prayer. When we do, the request goes up to the Father tied to all that the Son is to Him. The Lord has promised to answer such prayers, so that the Father should be glorified in the Son. What a healthy check this could be on rash and thoughtless asking! How many a prayer would never be spoken, if the one praying stopped to ask: Can I present this in that name?

The disciples were to count on power that could not fail, if sought in His name. Jesus was no mere man, whose departure must end what He used to do while present. Absent, He would prove Himself divine, and no less interested in their requests because He was risen from the dead. He is not content with the broad assurance of verse 13, which holds no matter what the difficulty. He repeats it in verse 14 about any particular request of theirs, and His pledge of personal action there is even more emphatic.

In John 14:14 the "Englishman's Greek New Testament" gives a footnote reading, "If you ask Me anything." One of the latest Greek lexicons (Nestle) puts the word "Me" in the text itself.

This mighty power was available for faith expressing itself through prayer in His name. As one writer has truly said: "When you ask in the name of another, you take his claims, his merits, and his right to be heard as your own." The Lord, by His own words, gives this privilege to those who are in relationship with Himself by faith. It was something new to the disciples to ask in the name of Christ. Like everything else in these discourses, it grows out of the Lord's departure. Asking in His name assumes the absence of Christ. The phrase "ask in My name" occurs five times in these discourses.

It could not mean simply saying the words. It could not mean ending our prayers with "through our Lord Jesus Christ." That would tie the answer to a mere formula. Even in human dealings, you cannot use another person's name without his consent and authority... In the same way we cannot use the name of Christ in our prayers without His warrant, and we find that warrant in His own Word.

When I appear before God in the name of Christ, I present my requests in all the value of that name to God. That is why our Lord says, "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" — because it is the joy of the heart of God to grant every request presented that way. The promise is absolute, with no limit at all. The reason is simple: no one could ask in the name of Christ for anything that went against the will of God.

This does not mean an automatic system or a "self-service shop." It is not a mechanism for reaching our human or even selfish goals. If a small child reaches for a knife, of course his parents will not give it to him. But if he comes hungry, they will feed him.

The glory of the Father is bound up in the Son's response to the poor feeble cry of His people. Wonderful to say, the Son heightens that glory by the gracious way He takes up our "whatever." What tremendous encouragement to pray. "I will do it," He says, for no object lower than the glory of the Father.

It is a real thing to use the name of Christ in prayer. In that case the request goes up to the Father in connection with all that the Son is to Him... But what a healthy check that could prove on rash and thoughtless requests! How many a prayer would never have been spoken, if the one praying had only stopped to ask himself: Can I present this in that name?