And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
These words about receiving whatever you ask came right after Jesus cursed a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit. The tree withered, and the promise He then gave is so wide that it raises an obvious question: does my asking change anything?
The withered tree as a lesson
The miracle was not an end in itself. Commentators say the Lord's reply points the disciples away from the dead tree. It points them to the power open to them, and it guards the promise from misuse.
The disciples are amazed when they see the fig tree withered. But the Lord uses the miracle to assure them of a power ready to work for them in answer to faith... The promise here is open to many different uses. It would be wrong to limit it in any way, except as the Lord Himself does. And He makes His final assurance as full as it can be. Nothing shall be denied to faith; but it is no limitation to insist that faith must be faith.
The mountain and what it stood for
Just before this, Jesus spoke of moving a mountain. That mountain is more than a figure of speech. Writers connect it to the same nation the fig tree pictured, and see the promise fulfilled in history.
This, like the parallel passage in Mark 11, stands in relation to the incident of the barren fig tree. The fig tree stood for Israel, where the Lord came looking for fruit and found none. He declared that it would never bear fruit again... The fig tree pictured Israel as a nation meant to bear fruit. The "mountain" here pictures Israel as a nation with power to rule. In answer to the faith of the apostles, that mountain was thrown into the sea of the nations, and Israel lost its place among them.
No ceiling on what may be asked
Some have concluded that a promise given to apostles is not for ordinary believers. Commentators reject that reading. They apply the words to every believer.
Let us not limit these words, nor say, as some have said, that they are not for us. They are for the children of God, and there is no limit to them. All things, whatever they are: there is no limit here. Then come the three steps — asking in prayer, believing, and receiving.
The scale of it is what makes the verse hard to believe rather than hard to understand.
If we turn to Matthew 21:22, we shall find another of the essential conditions of effective prayer... This is a truly marvellous statement. It opens the very treasury of Heaven to faith. There is absolutely no limit. Our blessed Lord assures us that we shall receive whatever we ask in simple faith.
The condition: real faith
Everything turns on one word: "believing." So the verse is not a method for testing God.
Genuine, divinely given faith, not mystical or imagined faith, is what is meant here. Probably many have experimented on this promise, only to be disappointed... But God does not give His promises, or the power of His Spirit, for curious experiments or for private ends.
Where such faith comes from
If faith is the condition, the honest question is how anyone gets it. One writer answers that God gives the faith as well as the answer.
Still the promise in all its fulness is there, for faith to act on. It is a large one, and its only limit is the reality of the faith that uses it. If God gives faith, He will just as certainly give what that faith reaches for.
That is why confidence in prayer grows out of knowing what God has already said.
Faith can only spring from confidence in God about the thing we are asking for. And that confidence only comes when we are sure that what we ask is according to God's will... This passage matters because it shows where faith stands: on knowing God's will. And God opens up that will to us in the Scriptures.
Everyday things included
Because faith rests on God's will, some limit the verse to spiritual requests. Not all agree.
I believe this is true of every spiritual blessing we need. And it is not limited to the spiritual. "Whatever you ask in prayer" sets no limit, and I refuse to add one where Scripture does not... The Lord often uses our everyday needs to teach us. We pray about them and trust Him, and that encourages us to pray and trust Him for the deeper spiritual needs.
Summary
- Occasion. A dead fig tree and a mountain set the scene. The Lord turned Israel's fruitlessness into a lesson on what faith may ask.
- Promise. The words open heaven's treasury with no stated ceiling — "all things, whatever."
- Condition. Everything hinges on believing. It must be real faith, not a test staged to see whether God will perform.
- Source. Faith itself is God's gift; where He gives the faith, He gives the thing the faith reaches for.
- Anchor. Such faith grows from knowing God's will in Scripture. Commentators differ on whether the promise covers everyday needs too.