One more time we returned to the book of John in another statement of Jesus that we need to clarify. He said, “If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” Did Jesus really mean that we could ask anything and get it from him? A house. A car. Lots of money. Fame. Surely, he did not mean that we could ask like spoiled children for anything that was our whim of the hour! If he did not promise to cater to us, we need to explore what he meant.
We know that God is fully capable of doing whatever he wants. We know that he loves us more than can be measured. We know also that we can refer to him as our Father. The Bible does say that we are the apple of his eye. (Zechariah 2: 8)
If we just turn the page to the next chapter, Jesus offers more information that clarifies his original statement. (John 15: 7) No, we cannot just expect God to answer every little idea that pops in our head. The keyword to our understanding is “abide.” We must abide in Jesus. His Word must abide in us. Children know their parents. They know what a reasonable request from them would be simply because they live with them; they are the same mind. They know what is beyond that a parent would consider answering.
The answer to what seems to be a paradox is to live so closely to Christ that our will becomes his and his will becomes ours. Abide means to live in the same environment. It is to have a close fellowship. An important spiritual goal would be for us to grow closer and closer to Christ so that we know what and when to ask from him. Also, if we abide in his Word, we have before us in print what is acceptable to him. Abide means to dwell upon, to take into deep consideration of, to gain a new understanding, to hover over what is before us on a certain page of the Bible.
Praise God! It is true. It is possible to ask Jesus for the answer of requests knowing he will positively respond to us. When we ask, his Holy Spirit that is dwelling within us guides our thoughts to know what we should request. We have the assurance that he will answer the way we want when we abide in him and his Word abides in us.
Christian Writer 