Greater Works and Rightly Ordered Prayer
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
John 14:13
Jesus makes two statements here that are often misunderstood. He says that those who believe in Him will do greater works, and that whatever is asked in His name will be done. At first glance, both of those can sound like something they are not. Greater works can sound like greater miracles, and asking in His name can sound like a blank check.
But neither of those is what Jesus means.
When Jesus speaks of greater works, He is not talking about greater spectacle, but greater scope. During His earthly ministry, His work was largely confined to one region. After His resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, the gospel begins to spread across the world. What is greater is not the intensity of the miracle, but the reach of the message.
That shifts the focus.
It moves the emphasis away from trying to do something impressive and toward participating in something expansive. The spread of the gospel. The building of the church. The work of God moving beyond what could be contained in one place.
And then Jesus speaks about prayer.
“In my name.”
That is not a phrase you tack onto the end of a request to make it work. It is about alignment. In the ancient world, a name represented authority and character. To ask in someone’s name meant to act in accordance with who they are and what they desire.
Which means prayer is not about getting God to align with your will.
It is about aligning yourself with His.
And this is where many people get discouraged. They have prayed for things, believed for things, expected certain outcomes, and when those things did not happen, they assumed something was wrong with their faith. But the question Jesus presses is not how strongly you believe, but whether what you are asking reflects His will, His mission, and His priorities.
“So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
That is the anchor.
And when that becomes the aim, it reshapes the way you pray. You begin to care less about getting what you want and more about seeing Christ honored. You begin to ask for things that align with His heart. You begin to trust that when God answers, whether yes, no, or wait, He is doing so in a way that ultimately brings glory to the Son.
And that is always better than getting what you thought you needed.
John 14:13
Jesus makes two statements here that are often misunderstood. He says that those who believe in Him will do greater works, and that whatever is asked in His name will be done. At first glance, both of those can sound like something they are not. Greater works can sound like greater miracles, and asking in His name can sound like a blank check.
But neither of those is what Jesus means.
When Jesus speaks of greater works, He is not talking about greater spectacle, but greater scope. During His earthly ministry, His work was largely confined to one region. After His resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, the gospel begins to spread across the world. What is greater is not the intensity of the miracle, but the reach of the message.
That shifts the focus.
It moves the emphasis away from trying to do something impressive and toward participating in something expansive. The spread of the gospel. The building of the church. The work of God moving beyond what could be contained in one place.
And then Jesus speaks about prayer.
“In my name.”
That is not a phrase you tack onto the end of a request to make it work. It is about alignment. In the ancient world, a name represented authority and character. To ask in someone’s name meant to act in accordance with who they are and what they desire.
Which means prayer is not about getting God to align with your will.
It is about aligning yourself with His.
And this is where many people get discouraged. They have prayed for things, believed for things, expected certain outcomes, and when those things did not happen, they assumed something was wrong with their faith. But the question Jesus presses is not how strongly you believe, but whether what you are asking reflects His will, His mission, and His priorities.
“So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
That is the anchor.
And when that becomes the aim, it reshapes the way you pray. You begin to care less about getting what you want and more about seeing Christ honored. You begin to ask for things that align with His heart. You begin to trust that when God answers, whether yes, no, or wait, He is doing so in a way that ultimately brings glory to the Son.
And that is always better than getting what you thought you needed.
Posted in The Word Made Flesh
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