When I was a kid, my mom used to send me to the store with very specific instructions.
She’d say, “Go get a gallon of milk. Don’t forget… I want 2%. Not whole milk. Not skim milk. 2% milk.
And don’t get the expensive brand.
And make sure it’s not close to expiration.
And don’t get distracted. And come straight home.”
And she wrote it all out on a list. And I said… “I don’t need a list. I’ll just get whatever you told me to get.”
She said, “No… you’ll get whatever you want.” And she handed me the list… Because she knew something I didn’t yet understand: nobody really trusts a kid with whatever.
“Whatever” is dangerous in the wrong hands.
Give a teenage boy “whatever” at the grocery store, and he’ll come home with Mountain Dew, frozen pizza, Resse’s Pieces, and somehow… no milk.
Give a man “whatever” at the hardware store, and he’ll come home with $300 worth of tools and still not fix the problem.
Give a church committee “whatever,” and you’ll have 12 meetings and still no decision.
We like the word whatever… but we don’t trust it very much.
Because whatever sounds unlimited. Unrestricted. Wide open.
And yet in John 14, Jesus looks at His followers and says something almost shocking: “Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it.”
Not some things. Not safe things. Not small things. Whatever.
Welcome to week #2 in our series, “Whatever”. Over the next few weeks we are going to be taking a look at some of the passages in the Bible that contain the word “Whatever.”
Last week, we talked about “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it in my name.” This week we turn our attention to prayer and see what Jesus had to say in John 14:12-14.
Where Jesus says… whatever you ask in my name. Or anything you ask in my name… I will do.
Now… I know that there are certain individuals who have taken this and ran with it, and are misleading people into a name-it and claim-it theology.
But this is not what Jesus is saying here. So… as we dive into this, the first thing that we need to see from this passage is this…
1. The invitation is bigger than you think
When Jesus spoke these words, He wasn’t speaking to a stadium full of spiritual giants. He was speaking to just ordinary men in a small group.
And these were the same men who had doubted and misunderstood Him. The same men who would soon run away in fear.
And yet… Jesus looks at them and says something staggering:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works… You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it.”
Notice the word He uses: anyone.
Not just preachers only. Not just the spiritually elite or those who have it all together. Anyone who believes.
That means this invitation is not limited to a select few. It is extended to every single person who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
Which means this invitation includes you.
And I think many believers miss the magnitude of what Jesus is saying here. We tend to shrink this promise down to something small, manageable, and safe.
But Jesus did not speak these words to give His followers a small life. He spoke them to invite them into something far bigger than themselves.
He says, “You will do the works I have done… and even greater works.” And that’s pretty hard to comprehend… because Jesus healed the sick. He gave sight to the blind. He calmed storms.
He raised the dead. He changed hearts. He transformed lives.
And now He says that those who believe in Him will continue His work in this world.
How can we do greater works than healing and raising the dead and calming storms.
You know what I think is greater than those things… A life that has been changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28, Jesus said…
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Through His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus would make it possible for His followers to live connected to God the Fahter.
They would not be limited to their own strength, their own wisdom, or their own ability. They would now have access to Him.
And this changes everything. You are not just trying to survive life. You are not just trying to get through the week. You are not just trying to manage problems on your own.
You have been invited into a life of partnership with the Son of God.
Jesus did not say, “Do what you can, and I’ll watch from a distance.” He said, “Ask… and I will do it.” That means prayer is not a last resort or a ritual or a check the box for religion.
Through prayer, you are invited to participate in the work of God.
And here is the truth: most believers are living far beneath what has been made available to them. Not because God has limited the invitation… but because we have limited our expectations.
We pray small because we think small. We ask little because we believe little. We settle for what we can do instead of stepping into what God can do.
But Jesus is expanding their vision in this passage of Scripture. He is helping them understand: You are about to live a life that is bigger than your own ability.
Not because of who you are. But because of who you belong to.
This invitation is bigger than your talent. Bigger than your experience.
Bigger than your limitations. Bigger than your past. Because the power behind the invitation is not you. It’s Him.
I remember hearing a long time ago that… “we should attempt something so great, that if God is not in it, it will fail.”
The invitation is bigger than we think and secondly…
2. The authority is greater than you think.
Jesus doesn’t just give an invitation in this passage. He also gives authority.
He says in verse 13,
“You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.”
Now that phrase… “in My name”… is one of the most misunderstood phrases in all of Scripture.
It is not a magic phrase that we attach to the end of a prayer. It is not a spiritual formula. It is not a religious password that unlocks blessings.
To ask in His name means to ask under His authority. It means you are not approaching God based on your merit. You are approaching God based on Jesus’s merit.
In the ancient world, a person’s name represented their authority, their character, and their power.
If a messenger came in the name of a king, he carried the authority of the king. He spoke with the authority of the king. His request was backed by the king himself.
And Jesus is saying to His followers: When you come to the Father in My name, you are not coming alone. You are coming backed by My authority.
You are not standing on your righteousness. You are standing on Mine… And this changes how we pray.
Because many believers approach prayer hesitantly. Timidly. Uncertain. As if they are interrupting God. They think, “Why would God listen to me?”
But Jesus removes that uncertainty. We are instructed in Hebrews 4:16… So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Listen… You are not heard by God because you are perfect. You are heard because Jesus is perfect. You are not accepted because you earned it. You are accepted because He secured it.
Hebrews tells us that we can approach the throne of grace with boldness. Not arrogance. But confidence. Because Jesus has opened the way.
Prayer is not the request of a stranger. It is the request of a son or daughter.
It is the difference between walking up to a random house and knocking on the door… and walking into your own home.
One person hopes they are welcomed. The other knows they belong.
I remember reading about a guy who came home late one night after working a long shift. It was dark, he was exhausted, and he walked up to his front door, reached into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and unlocked the door.
He stepped inside, kicked off his shoes, dropped his keys on the table, grabbed a drink from the refrigerator, and sat down on the couch.
About five minutes later, he heard a voice behind him say, “Who are you… and why are you in my house?”
He slowly turned around and realized something terrifying.
He had walked into the wrong house. Same color. Same porch light. Same layout. But wrong house.
He didn’t belong there.
Now suddenly, everything changed. He wasn’t relaxed anymore. He wasn’t confident anymore. He wasn’t reaching for snacks anymore.
He was apologizing profusely and backing toward the door like, “I am so sorry… I thought this was my house!”
Why? Because when you’re in a place where you don’t belong, you move differently. You speak differently. You act differently.
But when you’re in your own home, there’s no hesitation. There’s no fear. There’s no uncertainty. You walk in with confidence because you know you belong there.
And Jesus is saying when you come to the Father in His name, you’re not knocking on the door of a stranger hoping to be let in…
You’re walking into the presence of your Father, knowing you belong.
When you pray in Jesus’ name, you are praying from a place of belonging. You have been given access to the Father through the Son.
And don’t miss what Jesus says next: “You can ask… and I will do it.” Notice who does the work.
He doesn’t say, “Ask, and you will figure it out.”
He doesn’t say, “Ask, and you will find the strength.”
He says, “Ask… and I will do it.”
The authority is not in your ability. The authority is in His name.
This means prayer is not about convincing God to help you accomplish your will.
It is about aligning your heart with His will and watching His power accomplish what only He can do.
When a police officer stands in the middle of a busy intersection and raises his hand, traffic stops. Not because of his physical strength. Not because he is stronger than the cars.
But because he stands there under authority.
The power is not in the man. It is in the authority behind him.
And the power of prayer is not in the person who prays. It is in the name in which they pray. When you pray in the name of Jesus, you are standing under the authority of the Son of God.
You are appealing to the One who conquered sin. The One who defeated death. The One who holds all authority in heaven and on earth.
Which means you do not have to pray from a place of fear.
You can pray from a place of confidence. Not confidence in yourself… but confidence in Him.
And many believers live as if they have access to God… but no authority with God. They pray cautiously. They pray safely. They pray as if everything depends on them.
But Jesus is reminding His followers: When you pray in My name, you are not praying alone. You are praying backed by heaven’s authority.
The authority behind your prayer is greater than you think.
It is not your name that moves heaven. It’s His.
3. The goal is clearer than you think
Jesus does not leave us guessing about the purpose of prayer.
He tells us plainly in verse 13:
“You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.”
Don’t miss that last part. “So that…” Those two words reveal the goal behind every answered prayer.
The ultimate goal is not our comfort… or our convenience… or our success. The ultimate goal is the glory of God.
And this is really important, because if we misunderstand the goal, we will misunderstand the promise.
Jesus is not saying, “Ask for anything that makes your life easier.”
He is saying, “Ask for anything that advances My glory.”
Because God is most glorified when His power is put on display.
When a hardened heart softens… God gets the glory.
When a broken life is restored… God gets the glory.
When peace shows up in the middle of chaos… God gets the glory.
When strength appears where weakness once lived… God gets the glory.
Answered prayer becomes a spotlight that points people to Him.
Think about the miracles Jesus performed. Every miracle revealed something about who He is.
When He calmed the storm, the disciples said, “Who is this man?”
When He healed the blind, people saw the power of God.
When He raised Lazarus, He said, “This happened for the glory of God.”
Don’t miss this church… the miracles performed in the New Testament were never the final destination. The glory of God was.
And the same is true in our lives.
God answers prayers in such a way that people cannot explain it by human strength alone. So that the only conclusion is… God did that.
Sometimes God answers prayers by changing your situation.
Sometimes God answers prayers by changing you in the situation.
But in both cases, the goal is the same: His glory.
And here is where many people miss it. We tend to approach prayer with ourselves at the center.
“God, fix this so I can be comfortable.”
“God, change this so I can be happy.”
“God, do this so my life works out the way I planned.”
But Jesus teaches us to approach prayer with God at the center.
“God, do this so Your glory is seen.”
“God, work in this so Your power is known.”
“God, move in this so Your name is honored.”
Because when God becomes the goal, prayer takes on a whole new meaning. Prayer is no longer just about getting something from God. Prayer becomes about partnering with God in what He wants to do.
It becomes less about, “God, bless my plans,” and more about, “God, accomplish Your plans.”
And here’s a beautiful truth: when God gets the glory, we get the joy. Because we were created for His glory. There is nothing more fulfilling than being part of something that points people to Him.
Jesus is helping His disciples understand that their lives are about to become instruments of God’s glory. God wants to answer prayers in your life in such a way that people look at your life and see Him.
So that when doors open that should have stayed closed… He gets the glory.
The goal has never been unclear. The goal is not you.
The goal is Him. And when you begin to pray with that goal in mind, you will pray differently.
You will pray with greater faith.
You will pray with greater boldness.
You will pray with greater expectation.
Because you will realize that your prayers are connected to something far bigger than yourself.
The invitation is bigger than you think.
The authority is greater than you think.
And the goal is clearer than you think.
And here is the fourth thing that we can learn from this…
4. The access is closer than you think
When Jesus spoke these words, He said something that would have been almost impossible for the disciples to fully understand in that moment.
Because within hours… everything would change. Jesus would go to the cross. He would pay for sin. He would rise from the grave.
And then He would ascend to the Father.
And when He did… access to God would no longer be limited by distance, location, or circumstance. Before the cross, access to God was restricted.
In the temple, there was a veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Behind that veil represented the presence of God. And only one person… the High Priest… could enter. And only once a year.
It was a constant reminder that sin had created separation.
But the moment Jesus died, Scripture tells us that the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Not from bottom to top… as if man had done it. But from top to bottom… because God had done it.
Through Jesus, the barrier was removed. Access was opened.
And now, through Him, you do not have to travel to a temple to meet with God. You do not have to wait for a priest to speak on your behalf.
You have direct access to the Father. Right now. In this moment.
Jesus said, “Ask… and I will do it.”
Not someday. Not when you become more spiritually mature. Not when you finally get your life together.
Ask. This is present tense… immediate access. And this is important, because many believers live as if God is distant.
They believe He exists… but they feel like He is far away.
They believe He hears prayer… but they wonder if He hears theirs.
They believe He answers prayer… but they assume it’s for someone more spiritual than them.
But Scripture says something very different. God is not distant. He is near.
Psalm 145 says, “The Lord is close to all who call on him,
yes, to all who call on him in truth.
You don’t have to clean yourself up before you come to Him.
You come to Him because He is the One who cleans you up.
You don’t have to reach a certain level of spirituality before you pray. Prayer is one way you grow spiritually.
You don’t have to wait for the perfect moment. Access is already open. Think about how often we carry burdens we were never meant to carry alone.
We carry anxiety. We carry fear. We carry decisions.
We carry struggles. Not because God is unavailable… but because we forget how close He really is.
Prayer is not about getting God’s attention, it’s about recognizing that you already have it.
You never have to wonder if He is too busy… or too far away.
Through Jesus, access is constant.
This means in your weakest moment… you have access.
In your most confusing moment… you have access.
In your darkest moment… you have access.
In your most ordinary moment… you have access.
You don’t have to wait until Sunday.
You don’t have to wait until things fall apart.
You don’t have to wait until you have no other options.
You can ask… Right now.
And… the power of prayer is not found in how loud you pray… or how long you pray… or how impressive you pray.
The power of prayer is found in how close He is. And He is closer than you think.
