"The Divine Genie?"

  When looking carefully at prayer and the Scriptures that are revealed from God about prayer, one has to be careful of what is being discussed and to whom the Scripture is addressing. The reason I say this is because some have turned verses into saying things they don't say by concluding things the Lord doesn't conclude.

  Here is an illustration: "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:14) That sounds powerful and it is when understood who and what Jesus is addressing with His disciples. If we aren't careful, one can conclude this is a blank check offered by Jesus and ask and you will receive. Wham! Done! Too many think they can turn God into some Divine Genie who speaks, "Your wish is My command!" God is still Sovereign. The Lord Jesus reigns. If we could ask of anything and it would be done according to our request, let's pray for those whom we love dearly that they come back from the dead when they died from a sickness. We could pray for the disease stricken ones that the disease would disappear and complete and perfect health is restored. Let's pray for the aged parents in their frailty that their vitality of youth would return. Wouldn't all these things be wonderful? What would we have? A world of perfection, eliminate heaven and why would Jesus need to die? Why we could pray that there would be no lost people and it would be. And let's not stop there, let's ask God to obliterate sin period and it would be done!!!

  Here's the point in the above verse and verses like it. Upon telling His disciples to ask anything in My name and He would do it comes off the statement in the preceding verse: "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be gloried in the Son." (John 14:13) The purpose is that the Father would be glorified through the Son! That's the will of God. Isn't not a blank check or making God this Divine Genie. The condition is the glorifying of Jesus with God's will at heart. That's prayer. That's how we pray. His will be done!