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
What are you asking God to do today? What burdens burn in your heart and moves you to pray this day? These two verses are extremely powerful and encouraging for us to keep pressing into the throne room of God and asking for help in our time of need.
At the very heart of prayer is a desire or a fierce craving for something. When these desires collide with our confidence that God not only can bless, that He not only does bless, but that He WILL bless, miracles happen. We must believe that when we ask God for anything in His name, we can be assured that Jesus wants to answer to glorify the Father. Answered prayers exalt the Father. In order for God to be more glorified, there must be answers to the things we ask for.
I hope by this time this should not even have to be said, but remember when praying through verses like this we must make sure we are praying according to the will of God. When we pray according to the will of God, we can ask ANYTHING in His name and be confident that the Lord will answer. He is able to do anything. ANYTHING! That means that what you are praying for and what I am praying for is not only in the realm of possibilities but it is also probable.
E.M. Bounds was a mighty man of prayer. He made it his habit to pray from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. most days. He was a pastor serving in a rather obscure church who just happened to write some books on prayer. They were not widely read during his lifetime but they have been greatly used after his death. Read what he wrote about trust in the Lord: “Trust looks to receive the thing asked for and gets it. Trust is not a belief that God can bless, that He will bless, but that HE does bless, here and now. Trust always operates in the present tense. Hope looks forward to the future. Trust looks to the present. Hope expects. Trust possesses. Trust receives what prayer acquires. So that what prayer needs, at all times, is abiding and abundant trust.”[1]
What does genuine trust do? It receives, possesses, hopes, and expects that God will come through. When we pray in Jesus’ name, or according to His desires, we can confidently expect the blessings to follow. That is the true nature of prayer.
Bounds goes on to expound the thought about believing God for answers to specific desires. “Desire is not merely a simple wish; it is a deep-seated craving; an intense longing for attainment. In the realm of spiritual affairs, it is an important adjunct to prayer. So important is it, that one might say, almost, that desire is an absolute essential of prayer. Desire precedes prayer, accompanies it, is followed by it. Desire goes before prayer, and by it, is created and intensified. Prayer is the oral expression of desire. Desire is silent. Prayer is heard; desire unheard. The deeper the desire, the stronger the prayer.”[2]
Many of us have desires and they remain silent. You might even substitute the word “wish” for the word “desire.” We wish for things. Wishing and desiring, however, are not praying. Praying is taking the trust attached to our desire that lifts our souls to heaven to bring the longing desire of our hearts out into the open in God’s presence. Trust gives us the confident assurance that God will not only hear but come through.
When we pray in the name and authority of Jesus, we can expect that God is going to intervene. God will come through. God will move what needs to be moved, add what needs to be added, give what needs to be given, and empower whoever needs to be empowered. Today, do not let your desires or wishes remain silent. Take them to the Lord in prayer and ask Him in faith and the authority of His name to keep His promise in [John 14:13-14]. God is not glorified by our wishing or desiring. He is glorified by His doing and His answering in response to our faith-filled desires voiced through prayer.
What are you craving, hankering, desiring, longing, and yearning for God to do? Will you take this time to voice those cravings with intense praying, pleading for God to glorify His name through your asking and His answering?
Steps to Trust and Obey:
1. What are you craving for God to do? Is this in the silent desire state or are you bringing it out into the open by prayer?
2. Do you really trust God to bless you?
3. How does answering your desire bring more glory to the Father?
4. What is the Lord speaking to you today? What is He calling you to do in faith?
[1] E.M. Bounds, A Treasury of Prayer; The Best of E.M. Bounds (compiled by Leonard Ravenhill). Minneapolis, Bethany House Publishers: 1990, p. 132.
[2] Ibid., p. 132.
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