I wrote this article in 2018 for a friend who wanted to know about prayer.
John 14 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Many have laid claim to this passage as a promise from Christ that He will answer our prayers, if we make the requests “in His name.” And no matter how you twist this verse, you can not get away from the simple formula herein
prescribed: Ask in my name, and it’s yours! Not only that, but we are told that “whatever” we ask, He will do it. In fact, it is even repeated, “anything” you ask in His name, He will do it.
Are there no limits? And is asking “in my name” a magical formula or incantation that we simply invoke to get anything we want?
His opening verses for this Gospel are nothing short of brilliant. You could literally study these verses for a lifetime! So, what does John mean when he says that all we have to do is ask “in His name” and our prayers will be answered? I think if we take the first and last word of this prepositional phrase it may become more apparent. It is like John to pack so much meaning in simple phrases. Unpacking the meaning of his simple, yet deep, phrases is one of my favorite things to do in this life!
Let’s begin by looking at the preposition: “in.” Like many Greek prepositions, this preposition must be interpreted based on grammatical, syntactical, and contextual indicators. The preposition John chooses here is the most frequently used preposition in the New Testament. (If you ever get bored one day, you can count them; it is used 2,752 times in the Greek New Testament.) Quite naturally, a preposition used this often would have a variety of meanings. Just to give you an idea, here are a few of the ways it can be translated, depending on the various
indicators: This list is pretty much the same list you will find in any Greek 101 book.
- Spatial/Sphere: in the sphere of
- Temporal: within, when, while, during
- Association: in association with
- Cause: because of
- Instrumental: by means of
- Reference: with reference to
- Manner: with, in this manner
- Standard: according to the standard of, in accordance with
Greek scholars compile this information by studying thousands of uses of this preposition. They have to categorize each use and consolidate as much as possible. After examining literally thousands of Greek writings, the above categories emerged. It is a tedious process, but a relatively simple one.
If we put other related verses together with this one, we see that Christ is assuring the believers that their prayers will be answered just as His were. If we pray as Christ did, our prayers will be answered. But here is the rub. Our prayers have to be patterned after Christ’s. The things that Christ prayed for are the things we should pray for. The desires Christ had, we should have. So, there are some limits put on our prayers. We can ask for “anything” as long as Christ Himself asked for it first. Based on the development of this context, John uses the Standard use of the preposition here. We could actually translate this with more precision: in accordance with. Our prayers should be in accordance with the prayers of Christ.
The other uses are eliminated by John based on the context. For example, Christ is clearly not saying that our prayers will be answered BECAUSE we pray (Cause use), nor is He implying that our prayers will be answered WHILE
we pray (Temporal use). Often times, the context alone eliminates most options. But the Standard use here seems intuitive, since the context leaves little room for doubt.
The next item to consider is the word “name.” After a brief look at this, you will see why I have translated the preposition “in accordance with.” In today’s English, we use this word “name” in a number of ways. Here are a few examples:
My name is Joe.
Those mean boys called me names.
We are a Christian Nation in name only.
I am making this donation in her name, since she can not be here.
Languages are remarkably alike. Thousands of years ago, the Greeks had multiple uses for the word “name” just as we do today. The reason is obvious enough: languages simply convey ideas, and many ideas are common to all.
So let’s return to the verse and expand it a bit.
“If you ask me anything in accordance with my NAME, I will do it.” In English, this sounds a bit awkward. We don’t use this concept (my name) as the Greeks did. Something seems missing, and indeed it is. In the New Testament, the word for “name” is used with noticeable diversity. Here are a few examples of how the word “name” can be used:
Luke 1
His NAME is John.
Eph. 1
This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every NAME that is NAMED. (Here you get the sense that the idea is Christ was raised far above the most prominent of men and women, even those of noble and great reputation.)
Matt. 6
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy NAME (pardon the King James English).
John 12
Father, glorify your NAME. (Here, as in many places, the word “name” refers to the sum total of all that God is. “Glorify Who and What you are, Father,” is an alternate translation. The word “name” has this inherent meaning.)
Matt. 18
And whoever welcomes a child like this in my NAME welcomes me.
Acts 3
But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk! (Here the word “name” refers to the “authority” of Christ. You could translate this: “I stand here on the AUTHORITY of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and command you to stand up and walk!”)
Perhaps looking at a Greek dictionary will help to paint a more clear picture of this multifaceted word.
Here are just some of the meanings found in a Greek dictionary for the word “name:”
1. all that a name implies or covers
2. authority
3. character
4. rank
5. majesty
6. power
7. excellence
My preferred meaning is not listed above. I believe the word “legacy” captures the Greek word used in John 14 better than any of those above. With the above in mind, notice how this verse is expanded in the following translation: “And I will do whatever you ask that is in accordance with my legacy, so that the Father may be glorified by means of the Son. If you ask me anything that is in accordance with my legacy, I will do it.”
In other words, Christ left us a legacy. In fact, He left us many things, and one of those was His prayer life. So now this verse has substance. We can actually study the prayers of Christ in order to determine if our prayers are in accordance with the legacy left us by our Lord. If our desires and prayers correspond to those of Christ’s, then we are in His will, and our prayers will be answered. Christ’s prayers become the standard. We measure our prayers against this standard.
Let’s do the same thing to the verse in Matthew 18; I think you will agree that this is clearer: “And whoever welcomes a child like this in accordance with my legacy, welcomes me.” That is, whoever welcomes a child just like Christ did in His ministry, welcomes Christ. It’s all based on the legacy left us by Christ. Christ has left us a legacy/ reputation/ name of dealing with children. How did He deal with children? Deal with them the same way then! How did Christ pray? Pray the same way.
“In my name” is not a magic wand; rather, it once again reminds us that apart from a diligent study of the life of Christ, we are simply guessing. He left us a wonderful legacy to follow. And He alone is worthy of this respect.
In confirmation that the above translation reflects John’s intent, we can look at another verse written by John himself.
1 John 5 “And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” There it is again. Whatever we ask must align with God’s will. To put it another way, only those things we ask for that correspond to God’s will, are answered. Christ always prayed in accordance with God’s will. (There’s my
phrase again: “in accordance with.”) How do we know what God’s will is? We have the life of Christ beautifully recorded by the gospel writers. We can “listen” to His prayers. And if our prayers ask for those very things Christ
asked for, we have the absolute assurance that God hears us!
By way of conclusion, a brief look at the prayer life of Christ reveals that He was driven by one motivation: that the Father would be glorified. This would require total dependence on Him, something our sinful, sorry selves just can’t grasp. Oh, wretched man that I am!
John 14 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Many have laid claim to this passage as a promise from Christ that He will answer our prayers, if we make the requests “in His name.” And no matter how you twist this verse, you can not get away from the simple formula herein
prescribed: Ask in my name, and it’s yours! Not only that, but we are told that “whatever” we ask, He will do it. In fact, it is even repeated, “anything” you ask in His name, He will do it.
Are there no limits? And is asking “in my name” a magical formula or incantation that we simply invoke to get anything we want?
His opening verses for this Gospel are nothing short of brilliant. You could literally study these verses for a lifetime! So, what does John mean when he says that all we have to do is ask “in His name” and our prayers will be answered? I think if we take the first and last word of this prepositional phrase it may become more apparent. It is like John to pack so much meaning in simple phrases. Unpacking the meaning of his simple, yet deep, phrases is one of my favorite things to do in this life!
Let’s begin by looking at the preposition: “in.” Like many Greek prepositions, this preposition must be interpreted based on grammatical, syntactical, and contextual indicators. The preposition John chooses here is the most frequently used preposition in the New Testament. (If you ever get bored one day, you can count them; it is used 2,752 times in the Greek New Testament.) Quite naturally, a preposition used this often would have a variety of meanings. Just to give you an idea, here are a few of the ways it can be translated, depending on the various
indicators: This list is pretty much the same list you will find in any Greek 101 book.
- Spatial/Sphere: in the sphere of
- Temporal: within, when, while, during
- Association: in association with
- Cause: because of
- Instrumental: by means of
- Reference: with reference to
- Manner: with, in this manner
- Standard: according to the standard of, in accordance with
Greek scholars compile this information by studying thousands of uses of this preposition. They have to categorize each use and consolidate as much as possible. After examining literally thousands of Greek writings, the above categories emerged. It is a tedious process, but a relatively simple one.
If we put other related verses together with this one, we see that Christ is assuring the believers that their prayers will be answered just as His were. If we pray as Christ did, our prayers will be answered. But here is the rub. Our prayers have to be patterned after Christ’s. The things that Christ prayed for are the things we should pray for. The desires Christ had, we should have. So, there are some limits put on our prayers. We can ask for “anything” as long as Christ Himself asked for it first. Based on the development of this context, John uses the Standard use of the preposition here. We could actually translate this with more precision: in accordance with. Our prayers should be in accordance with the prayers of Christ.
The other uses are eliminated by John based on the context. For example, Christ is clearly not saying that our prayers will be answered BECAUSE we pray (Cause use), nor is He implying that our prayers will be answered WHILE
we pray (Temporal use). Often times, the context alone eliminates most options. But the Standard use here seems intuitive, since the context leaves little room for doubt.
The next item to consider is the word “name.” After a brief look at this, you will see why I have translated the preposition “in accordance with.” In today’s English, we use this word “name” in a number of ways. Here are a few examples:
My name is Joe.
Those mean boys called me names.
We are a Christian Nation in name only.
I am making this donation in her name, since she can not be here.
Languages are remarkably alike. Thousands of years ago, the Greeks had multiple uses for the word “name” just as we do today. The reason is obvious enough: languages simply convey ideas, and many ideas are common to all.
So let’s return to the verse and expand it a bit.
“If you ask me anything in accordance with my NAME, I will do it.” In English, this sounds a bit awkward. We don’t use this concept (my name) as the Greeks did. Something seems missing, and indeed it is. In the New Testament, the word for “name” is used with noticeable diversity. Here are a few examples of how the word “name” can be used:
Luke 1
His NAME is John.
Eph. 1
This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every NAME that is NAMED. (Here you get the sense that the idea is Christ was raised far above the most prominent of men and women, even those of noble and great reputation.)
Matt. 6
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy NAME (pardon the King James English).
John 12
Father, glorify your NAME. (Here, as in many places, the word “name” refers to the sum total of all that God is. “Glorify Who and What you are, Father,” is an alternate translation. The word “name” has this inherent meaning.)
Matt. 18
And whoever welcomes a child like this in my NAME welcomes me.
Acts 3
But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk! (Here the word “name” refers to the “authority” of Christ. You could translate this: “I stand here on the AUTHORITY of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and command you to stand up and walk!”)
Perhaps looking at a Greek dictionary will help to paint a more clear picture of this multifaceted word.
Here are just some of the meanings found in a Greek dictionary for the word “name:”
1. all that a name implies or covers
2. authority
3. character
4. rank
5. majesty
6. power
7. excellence
My preferred meaning is not listed above. I believe the word “legacy” captures the Greek word used in John 14 better than any of those above. With the above in mind, notice how this verse is expanded in the following translation: “And I will do whatever you ask that is in accordance with my legacy, so that the Father may be glorified by means of the Son. If you ask me anything that is in accordance with my legacy, I will do it.”
In other words, Christ left us a legacy. In fact, He left us many things, and one of those was His prayer life. So now this verse has substance. We can actually study the prayers of Christ in order to determine if our prayers are in accordance with the legacy left us by our Lord. If our desires and prayers correspond to those of Christ’s, then we are in His will, and our prayers will be answered. Christ’s prayers become the standard. We measure our prayers against this standard.
Let’s do the same thing to the verse in Matthew 18; I think you will agree that this is clearer: “And whoever welcomes a child like this in accordance with my legacy, welcomes me.” That is, whoever welcomes a child just like Christ did in His ministry, welcomes Christ. It’s all based on the legacy left us by Christ. Christ has left us a legacy/ reputation/ name of dealing with children. How did He deal with children? Deal with them the same way then! How did Christ pray? Pray the same way.
“In my name” is not a magic wand; rather, it once again reminds us that apart from a diligent study of the life of Christ, we are simply guessing. He left us a wonderful legacy to follow. And He alone is worthy of this respect.
In confirmation that the above translation reflects John’s intent, we can look at another verse written by John himself.
1 John 5 “And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” There it is again. Whatever we ask must align with God’s will. To put it another way, only those things we ask for that correspond to God’s will, are answered. Christ always prayed in accordance with God’s will. (There’s my
phrase again: “in accordance with.”) How do we know what God’s will is? We have the life of Christ beautifully recorded by the gospel writers. We can “listen” to His prayers. And if our prayers ask for those very things Christ
asked for, we have the absolute assurance that God hears us!
By way of conclusion, a brief look at the prayer life of Christ reveals that He was driven by one motivation: that the Father would be glorified. This would require total dependence on Him, something our sinful, sorry selves just can’t grasp. Oh, wretched man that I am!
