Ask whatever you wish John 16:24

[NewCreation435]

24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
John 16:24

Jesus was talking to his disciples about his leaving the earth and then returning again in this chapter and he says this in verse 24 about prayer.
It looks like a blank statement about prayer, yet we probably have all had times where we pray for things and don't receive what we ask for.
What does it mean to ask in Jesus' name?

 

[atpollard]

It looks like a blank statement about prayer, yet we probably have all had times where we pray for things and don't receive what we ask for. What does it mean to ask in Jesus' name?

First, note the larger context ...

[John 16:19-28 NLT]
19 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, "Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won't see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. 21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
25 "I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. 26 Then you will ask in my name. I'm not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. 28 Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father."

v.23 When Jesus returns (after the resurrection), they will not need to ask Him for anything.
v.23 They will ask God the Father directly and God will “grant your request” in Jesus name.
v.24 Ask using Jesus name and they will receive.
v.24 What they will HAVE is abundant joy.
v.26 Jesus will not ask for them, they will ask God directly.
v.27 God will listen because God loves THEM!


So now that we have some context, time to address your question:

What does it mean to ask in Jesus' name?
First, Jesus never said that God would become your genii, granting everything that YOU want. The promise was that God would deliver whatever was requested in Jesus name by those who loved and believed Jesus and are loved by the Father.

I see no reason to make the phrase “in Jesus name” more complicated than necessary. It is not a magic incantation that you chant to get whatever you wish for. At work, I am called to frequently represent corporate clients in land development deals. I frequently receive a paper naming me as the “agent of record” with the authority to speak for the company and sign applications related to the project that they have hired me to take care of. All I do is done “in their name” which means that I am acting with their authority to pursue their interests. While I am acting with their authority and in their interest, “in their name”, I have tremendous power to make decisions and spend money and bind others to agreements that are far beyond my innate resources. I don’t have $1 million to pay for roadway improvements, but I can promise that the money will be paid and ... those in whose name I am operating pay it.

So to ask in Jesus name, implies that we are operating under Jesus’ authority and looking out for Jesus’ goals and interests. In such a case, we have a promise that God the Father loves us and will not leave us hanging in any project that He has assigned us to.

[Ephesians 2:10 NLT] 10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

So that is what I think “in Jesus name” means.

 

[NewCreation435]

First, note the larger context ...

[John 16:19-28 NLT]
19 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, "Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won't see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. 21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
25 "I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. 26 Then you will ask in my name. I'm not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. 28 Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father."

v.23 When Jesus returns (after the resurrection), they will not need to ask Him for anything.
v.23 They will ask God the Father directly and God will “grant your request” in Jesus name.
v.24 Ask using Jesus name and they will receive.
v.24 What they will HAVE is abundant joy.
v.26 Jesus will not ask for them, they will ask God directly.
v.27 God will listen because God loves THEM!


So now that we have some context, time to address your question:

What does it mean to ask in Jesus' name?
First, Jesus never said that God would become your genii, granting everything that YOU want. The promise was that God would deliver whatever was requested in Jesus name by those who loved and believed Jesus and are loved by the Father.

I see no reason to make the phrase “in Jesus name” more complicated than necessary. It is not a magic incantation that you chant to get whatever you wish for. At work, I am called to frequently represent corporate clients in land development deals. I frequently receive a paper naming me as the “agent of record” with the authority to speak for the company and sign applications related to the project that they have hired me to take care of. All I do is done “in their name” which means that I am acting with their authority to pursue their interests. While I am acting with their authority and in their interest, “in their name”, I have tremendous power to make decisions and spend money and bind others to agreements that are far beyond my innate resources. I don’t have $1 million to pay for roadway improvements, but I can promise that the money will be paid and ... those in whose name I am operating pay it.

So to ask in Jesus name, implies that we are operating under Jesus’ authority and looking out for Jesus’ goals and interests. In such a case, we have a promise that God the Father loves us and will not leave us hanging in any project that He has assigned us to.

[Ephesians 2:10 NLT] 10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

So that is what I think “in Jesus name” means.

So, what if your not truly sure what God's will is in a situation? If I don't know what God's will is then I pray "in Jesus' name" not knowing if it is a part of God's plan or not.

 

[atpollard]

So, what if your not truly sure what God's will is in a situation? If I don't know what God's will is then I pray "in Jesus' name" not knowing if it is a part of God's plan or not.

If your child (humanly speaking) asks you for something ... it will either be your will for them to have it, your will for them not to have it or your wisdom that this is not the right time for them to have it. If you asked them to mow the lawn and they come to you and ask for more gas for the lawn mower, that is something that they will need to do what you have asked them to do. It is your will to grant what they ask because it is your will for them to do the job you assigned to them.

If your child asked for a herd of goats to eat the grass and keep it short so they don’t have to mow it, that is contrary to your will. You asked them to mow the lawn because you want to teach them to work and be responsible. You will not grant your child a herd of goats because that is contrary to your will.

If your child asks for a car so they can drive to the gas station and buy more gas for the lawn mower, that is not really contrary to your will since they are showing responsibility and attempting to do the task you asked them to do. However, you know that they cannot legally drive for three more years, so you cannot immediately grant that request. That said, if they continue to display growth and responsibility, then there may come a day when they ask for more gas for the mower and you give them a car to buy gas instead.

God is both smarter and a better parent than we are. If we can figure this stuff out for the good of our children, then why shouldn’t God be trusted to figure this stuff out for the good of his children? The obvious question that everyone struggles with is “What is the PERFECT will of God for my life?” and we worry about if we are doing exactly what God wants us to do. We make this way too hard and then paralyze ourselves into inaction waiting for some sign from God. I know I spent far too much time worrying about such things.

One day, God offered me a piece of advice that I pass on to anyone else who struggles with doing the right thing. God told me to just pretend for a moment that I could do anything that I wanted for God and He would rush to bless whatever I chose to do. Do I want to preach like Billy Graham, then go for it. Do I want to be able to lay hands on people and cure any disease like Peter’s shadow or Paul’s handkerchief, then just ask for it. Then God said that there was one catch, I needed to choose carefully because whatever gift I chose, I could not change and I would have for the rest of my life. So what one thing do I want to do more than anything else? What would make me happy to do forever? To define who I am in Christ?

You see, God does love us more than His own life! What good would he withhold that was not for our benefit? The eyes of the LORD search to and fro for someone (that’s us) in whom God may show himself strong. So our purpose is something that will bring joy to our heart ... something we desire to do more than anything else ... something that will allow us to bring glory to God. It will be something that God has called us to do in scripture, and OUR task will resonate with OUR heart. Then the only thing left to do is to just get up and do it. Free from fear that God has not asked for it ... his word commands us to do it. Free from fear that God will say no ... He already died for you, how much more does he need to do to prove himself? Free from fear of failure ... come on man, God called us to the task so we are required to plant and water, but God is responsible for all of the results.

I thought for a while about God’s question. What exactly did I want if I had to pick only one thing? What makes my heart leap for joy?
I finally was able to put it into words. It was a strange request, but it was uniquely mine. After trying different things, I found that only one moment really made my heart leap with excitement. I wanted to be able to reach into the personal experiences of a persons life and communicate some small truth of scripture in such a way that they made it all their own and no one could ever shake their faith in that one fact they knew both scripturally and empirically. God has been gracious in granting my request.

 

[MoreCoffee]

24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
John 16:24

Jesus was talking to his disciples about his leaving the earth and then returning again in this chapter and he says this in verse 24 about prayer.
It looks like a blank statement about prayer, yet we probably have all had times where we pray for things and don't receive what we ask for.
What does it mean to ask in Jesus' name?

John 15 speak of prayer in a similar way:

John 15:15-17 15 I will no longer call you servants, for the servant does not know what his Lord is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything whatsoever that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. 16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And I have appointed you, so that you may go forth and bear fruit, and so that your fruit may last. Then whatever you have asked of the Father in my name, he shall give to you.

17 This I command you: that you love one another.
​

It may be significant that what is in chapter 15 is repeated in chapter 16. The chapters from 14 to 17 are seen as a "high priestly prayer" by some.

 

[NewCreation435]

John 15 speak of prayer in a similar way:

John 15:15-17 15 I will no longer call you servants, for the servant does not know what his Lord is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything whatsoever that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. 16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And I have appointed you, so that you may go forth and bear fruit, and so that your fruit may last. Then whatever you have asked of the Father in my name, he shall give to you.

17 This I command you: that you love one another.
​

It may be significant that what is in chapter 15 is repeated in chapter 16. The chapters from 14 to 17 are seen as a "high priestly prayer" by some.

Only chapter 17 is the high priestly prayer. The rest of the time Jesus is clearly talking to his disciples

 

[psalms 91]

Only chapter 17 is the high priestly prayer. The rest of the time Jesus is clearly talking to his disciples

I see it as our Katuba or contract with Jesus as believers

 

[MoreCoffee]

Only chapter 17 is the high priestly prayer. The rest of the time Jesus is clearly talking to his disciples

Yeah, you are right. John 17 is a prayer, 14-16 is the context from which the prayer arose.