“You
answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Saviour / the hope of all
the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” Psalm 65:5
“You
may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:14
This passage poses one of the great mysteries of
Christianity: ‘Does God always answer prayer?” On the face of it, this passage
from John’s Gospel suggests the answer, ‘Yes.’ Yet this does not always relate
to our experience. We ask for peace in our world only to see countries torn
apart by civil war; we ask for personal healing but our condition worsens and
so on.
To understand the passages context is important.
In John’s Gospel, the verse comes as part of one of the final discourses of
Jesus; this one on the relationship of love between the Father and the Son
which is reflected in the love between the Son and believers. God the Father,
will grant whatever we ask in the Son’s name in order that the Father may be
glorified. This presupposes that what we ask is in accordance with God’s will
and is not just what we want or what suits us.
So, by prayer and thoughtful reading of God’s
word, we must first seek to know God’s will and purpose and as we draw closer
to that complete union of love with the Father, we will know that what we ask
for is part of God’s plan, and so He will answer us. Jesus himself gave us an
example in his prayer in Gethsemane: ‘Nevertheless, not my will but Yours be
done.”
“Ever loving God, may our prayers always be in
accordance with your will, so that in answering them, all will know your
greatness.”
Christine Howard
Chorlton Central Church
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