¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Jesus makes a promise for those who serve Him after His resurrection. He continues to act but He does it through His followers. His apostles will do greater things than He did (previous verse) but they will need prayer to accomplish those goals.

¹³ And whatever you ask

The word “you” here is plural referring to the apostles in the upper room. Jesus changes from the third person plural (speaking to more than the apostles) to the second person (speaking to the eleven apostles). The future ministry of the apostles was to transition from the presence of Jesus to the promise of the Father and His resourcing their ministry in verses 13 and 14.

“Whatever” harks back to both the “works” and the “greater works” of the previous verse. The “whatever” does not guarantee that whatever whim a petitioner may ask will come his way. Jesus qualifies answer to prayer by the phrase “in My name,” in what is consistent with who Jesus is.

in My name

The promise of asking has to do with giving Christ the credit. We pray in His name; that is, we pray under the authority of what Jesus did for us and all that He represents. We ask according to all that corresponds to who and what He is (1 Jn 5:14-15). It is to ask according to His will (n 15:16; 16:23-24).

To ask “in My name” is to petition based on the merit of who and what Jesus is. He is our mediator, our High Priest, who intercedes on our behalf (He 4:14-16).

that I will do,

This phrase is a promise also repeated in the next verse. Jesus will personally answer our prayer.

that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Whatever we ask in Jesus’ name gives the Father glory or manifests Him to the world. The purpose of prayer is that the Father will be glorified in the Son.

PRINCIPLE:

The goal of prayer is to glorify God.

APPLICATION:

The thought of this verse is no blanket promise to give people whatever they want. Rather, the agreement has to do with fulfilling Jesus’ mission and the glory of the Father on earth. Using Jesus’ name as a formula is not the point. The idea is that our prayer is to accord with all that His name represents.

Jesus is our Mediator. He will answer prayer as our Intercessor. To pray in Jesus’ name is a great responsibility. We cannot take it lightly. Whatever we ask of God, it must glorify Him. Our prayer must be consistent with the Lord’s will. The main point of prayer is not getting something for ourselves but to glorify God.

Genuine prayer is not selfish but true prayer places its interest in the advancement of the cause of Christ. We saw this in the previous verse (Jn 14:12). All prayer must be in harmony with the will of God or in accordance with everything Jesus stands for (“in My name”). God will certainly answer this kind of prayer.