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“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works
that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going
to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me
in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12–14
Have you ever prayed repeatedly for something, only to feel your
prayer was unanswered? In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises that if we
ask anything in His name, He will do it. How do we reconcile
unanswered prayers with Jesus’ promise?
To pray in Jesus’ name is not a formula that guarantees instant
results, as if prayers were magical. Saying “In Jesus’ Name, Amen”
with confidence at the end of a prayer does not compel God to grant
our requests. Faith is not about convincing ourselves that God will
fulfill our desires but about placing our trust in His divine will.
To understand Jesus’ promise, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will
do” (John 14:13), we must first recognize His perfect unity with
the Father. Jesus’ words and works flow entirely from this union,
and He invites us to share in this relationship by aligning our
will with His and the Father’s will.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus began to address His unity with the Father
after curing a crippled man on the Sabbath. When the Pharisees
questioned Him about it, Jesus responded, “My Father is at work
until now, so I am at work” (John 5:17). This infuriated the Jews,
who tried to kill Him because He “called God his own father, making
himself equal to God” (John 5:18). From that point on, Jesus became
increasingly clear about His divine identity and union with the
Father, emphasizing that He was sent by the Father, that He and the
Father are one, and that everything He spoke and did originated
from this unity. When Jesus cured someone, it was because it was
His Father’s will. If He didn’t cure someone, it wasn’t because He
lacked divine ability; it was because, in the mystery of the
Trinity’s perfect wisdom, it wasn’t the will of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. God’s will is always perfect and produces the
greatest good, even when we do not understand that good.
The Son is distinct from the Father, yet there is a perfect
communion of being, will, and action. Though we are not God, when
Jesus says to His disciples—and to us—“If you ask anything of me in
my name, I will do it,” He is inviting us to share in the Trinity’s
will and action. We do not become divine as the Father and Son are,
but we are invited into their union of will and action so that when
we speak, it is Christ speaking in and through us. When we act, it
is Jesus acting. And when Jesus speaks or acts in us, the Father
also speaks and acts. It is in this way that Jesus promises to
grant whatever we ask when we ask in His name.
Praying in Jesus’ name requires great humility and surrender.
Accepting God’s will often requires great trust, especially when it
involves suffering. For example, if it were God’s permissive will
that someone you love endure a long and difficult illness, offering
his or her suffering as a sacrificial act for God’s glory, would
you willingly pray for such an outcome? Doing so would be
difficult, but if our prayer is united with God’s will, we will see
that such suffering, embraced sacrificially, can produce greater
good than physical healing. Jesus’ own Passion is the ultimate
example, as He submitted to the Father’s will, saying, “Not my
will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
Reflect today on how you pray and what you pray for. At the very
least, our every prayer should end with: “May Your will be done.”
An even deeper way to pray in Jesus’ name is to surrender our
preferences for the outcome of a circumstance, seeking only God’s
glory and the salvation of souls, and entrusting ourselves and our
prayers to the will of God. That way, as we truly pray in Jesus’
name, we will be certain that those prayers will be
answered.
Most Holy Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are One God in three
divine Persons. Your unity is perfect, accomplishing all things in
harmony. Please draw me into union with You so that all I do and
all I pray flows from Your perfect will, giving You glory and
bringing about the salvation of souls. Most Holy Trinity, I trust
in You.
Image: The Holy Trinity, by Giovanni Maria Conti della Camera
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