Whatever You Ask?

Mark 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
 
THE brothers James and John have heard Jesus’ promise of an abundant  kingdom future. They are also feeling the effects of Jesus’ foreboding prophecy of his death. Perhaps they are thinking, “Let’s get some things settled about our future.” We can understand this. How often – perhaps several times a day – do we tell Jesus, “Lord, I want you to do whatever I ask.” Is this an appropriate demand? A right prayer? A submissive plea? What causes the brothers, and what motivates us to think God will do whatever we ask?
   Could it be we actually believed what Jesus has said? Look in John 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” And what about Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” So then, shouldn’t Jesus do what we ask him to do? He said he would. Or did he?
   To take a verse of the Bible out of context will often cause us to misinterpret God’s entire message. In John, Jesus first pointed to his response to prayer is to bring glory to the Father. Requests that turn people from God will, of course, be rejected. Jesus also spoke this to encourage the apostles’ work in the church. He wanted these brand-new missionaries to know they could ask Jesus for whatever they wanted to advance the church. He would give as it would bless the church’s growth.
   In the Jeremiah verse, God is warning Judah he is about to send Babylon to destroy them. They might have considered Jerusalem too strong to be conquered. But God’s hand would fulfill his purpose.
   John and James wanted their own will to be done in the kingdom of God. Their request is as if you go to God to say, “These are my plans for my life. Now make them happen.” Wha a mess the world would be if God gave each of us what we want. What would be the point of praying, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” if the Father’s will was under your demands?
   Jesus could not have been pleased at his presumptuous disciples. Their only desire should have been to glorify their Lord through a life of obedience to his will and not a life of “give us what we want.” We must be careful, too, because we do not always know the outcome of the things we desire. We’ll learn the disciples didn’t really know the weight of their request.
   Following Jesus requires his continual teaching to help us submit to his leading.