Providing Clarity to Doing Greater Works than Jesus (John 14:12-14) Part Two

John said, "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14). In this passage, we're given more insight into what it means to pray in the name of Jesus. John gives us the extent of what Jesus promised, the grounds of Jesus' promise, the objective of Jesus' promise, as well as the result of Jesus' promise. Let's examine the extent of His promise. It's found in the phrase, "Whatever you ask." Remember that context is vital for correct interpretation! The Lord is not promising that He'll perform any thing you ask, as long as you add on, "in the name Jesus, Amen" to your prayer! How many of you have found this to be the case? I know that I have! We must understand that the context of "whatever you ask" is connected to doing the works of Jesus! In other words, to think that you can pray, "Jesus, give me a mansion and while You are at it, throw in a new BMW," is to totally misinterpret and misapply the Lord's promise. Those things have absolutely nothing to do with doing the works of Jesus! Prayer is the instrument by which we petition God to extend His kingdom and do His will on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). There is a place to ask the Lord to meet our needs, however, the core of all that we pray should be, "Jesus, perform Your work through Your people! Bring those who don't know You to the new birth! Make Your people holy so that we'll be faithful ambassadors of the kingdom of God on this earth!" In prayer, we are to submit to the will of God and to petition Him to perform His will through us. Let's examine the basis of the Lord's promise. It's found in the phrase, "In My name." A name is that by which a person or thing is known. Jesus' name refers to His person and work! Is this the mindset we have when asking in the name of Jesus? Let's examine the objective of the Lord's promise. It's found in the phrase, "that the Father may be glorified in the Son." This is another line of evidence that must govern the "whatever" we ask! In other words, our "whatever" is to be controlled by the desire to see the Father God glorified! Is that our aim? Let's continue this teaching in our next part. Be encouraged!