"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me anything in my name and I will do it." John 14:13-14 NIV
This verse, at least to me, was something I went to when things were not going the way I wanted them to. Both personally and in ministry. It was a verse that gave me hope. I mean come on, this verse is awesome! I mean Jesus is saying that he will do anything that we ask if we just ask to glorify The Father! What a verse to cling onto for hope! Now I am not saying that I always prayed this or read this verse with true conviction. For me this verse was more of a motivator to keep going, keep pushing through the tough times, something to look for in the future. Not something that was here right now. No, Jesus could not actually mean what he said? Could he?
"For the Word of God is living and active..." Hebrews 4:12a NIV
Well this sounds like he actually does. I mean living and active, what does that mean? If something is living and active that means now. Something cannot be active in the future can it? Or living in the future? If it is living and active that must mean it is for today. Furthermore, if it is for today than when Jesus says ask for anything in my name, he must actually mean it, for today. He is not saying ask me and someday I will give it to you. No he is saying, "Ask me now! What do you want? What do you need? Ask me and I will give it to you!" Now yes there is a heart condition to consider here but I am not going into that now. That's not what God has laid on my heart today.
I have seen something in the past few weeks that has caused me to literally see Gods word come alive! Literally!
We have asked Jesus for things and we have been given exactly what we asked for! No really, exactly what we asked for! From housing, to a car, to money, to bills being paid, to car parts, to ministry opportunities, to a platform to share my testimony, to friends and an amazing church body. Jesus has given us everything we have asked for! We are seeing Gods Word come alive right before our eyes! For me this is no longer a verse of hope but a verse of truth! A truth I can live by. When we sell out to Jesus and our life's intention is to serve him and glorify God, we can ask Jesus for anything and we WILL receive it. Those are not my words, those are the words of Jesus!
For me, can I be honest here? For me Gods Word used to be something I lived by with faith and hope. I mean I knew it was true, and I believed in it and I even tried to live out the life Jesus calls us to live, however it did not look at it as living truth. But something has happened in the past few weeks were it has changed from being true to TRUTH! It is hard to explain but when you see God's Word come alive right in front of you it is amazing! It would me like reading about the resurrection of Jesus, having faith that it actually happened, following Jesus and then actually personally witnessing Jesus rising from the dead! Now that would be powerful! That is what John 14:13-14 has been for me in the past few weeks! Faith has become reality! I now have a glimpse of why the first disciples were so on fire for the gospel! They saw scripture first hand! We can see it first hand too! When we as Christians live a life of intentionality for Jesus the Word becomes alive in our lives! Jesus becomes alive in our life and we can witness his resurrection and we are resurrected with him! When we die to self we are made alive in Christ. It is something that is out of this world.
I think for me fear played a big role in my lack of asking. I was afraid that is I have "more than immediate needs" I would have to much. I would feel guilty for having more than we needed at the moment. But that is not what Jesus says in John 14. He says ask for anything. He does not say ask for the worst stuff or the minimal things in life, or the used stuff. No,he says ask for anything! I have no reason to doubt that if it will glorify The Father and I ask for it, it will be given to us! None whatsoever. Jesus is ok with us having nice things to glorify God. We do not have to settle for the minimum. Now this is not a prosperity gospel by any means. Jesus will give us what we ask for when it is to glorify The Father. He knows our hearts. But we know our hearts too. So when we act in accordance to the Word and ask out of our heart to glorify God, Jesus WILL give it to us! Now this is not only material things, although that is part of it, it also is spiritual things. Spiritual gifts, opportunities, doors to be opened or closed, relationships, wisdom, knowledge, discernment and alike. God has just revealed to me some of the material needs that Jesus wants to give us and that is why I wrote about those today. God is good and Jesus wants us to have what we need, materially, emotionally, relationally and spiritually. Moreover, when we ask him, he is not only willing but happy to give us those needs!
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