Commentaries:
<< John 16:22 John 16:24 >>
John 16:23-24
Is it true that God has given us a blank check to ask anything of Him just as one might ask a genie in a fairy tale? Some may misunderstand this to be the case, but I John 5:14 qualifies what He will grant: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Real prayer is communion with God, and what is necessary for communion are common thoughts between His mind and ours.
What we need is for Him to fill our minds and hearts with His thoughts. Then His desires will become our desires flowing back to Him in the form of prayer. James 4:3 confirms this: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." If we ask amiss, we are certainly not asking according to His will, and we will not receive.
But does not Jesus say in John 16:23, "[W]hatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you"? He most assuredly does, but we still do not have a carte blanche. To ask God for anything in the name of Jesus Christ, it must be in keeping with what He is. To ask in Christ's name is to ask as though Christ Himself were asking. Therefore, we can only ask for what Christ Himself would ask. It is therefore necessary to set aside our own will and accept God's. Jesus says in John 8:29: "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." If we do as Jesus did, we are sure to receive answers as He did. He adds in John 11:41-42: "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me."
We must come away with the realization that prayer is not dictating to God, but a humble and heartfelt expression of our attitude of dependency and need. Because of this, the one who truly prays is submissive to God's will, content with Him supplying his need according to the dictates of His sovereign pleasure. The result of this, combined with the infusion of God's attitudes and thoughts as we draw near to Him, will work to create us in His image.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sovereignty of God: Part NineRelated Topics: According to His Will | Communion With God | Dependence Upon God | God's Will | Prayer | SubmissionOther Forerunner Commentary entries containing John 16:23:
Matthew 6:9
Matthew 7:6-8
Matthew 18:19
Matthew 21:22
Luke 11:9-10
John 14:13-14
John 15:7
John 15:16
John 16:23-24
1 John 3:22
1 John 5:14
<< John 16:22 John 16:24 >>
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What Does John 16:23 Mean?
God's promise to grant whatever is asked in Jesus' name does not amount to a blank check. I John 5:14 qualifies that He hears requests made according to His will, and James 4:3 warns that asking amiss, to spend on one's pleasures, brings no answer. To ask in Christ's name is to ask as though Christ Himself were asking, requesting only what He would request. This requires setting aside one's own will and accepting God's. Jesus always did those things that please the Father, and He knew the Father always heard Him. Prayer is not dictating to God, but a humble expression of dependency and need, submissive to His sovereign pleasure. Drawing near to Him infuses His thoughts and attitudes, creating us in His image.