Anything?

Have you ever heard only a sentence or two of a conversation and completely misunderstood it? Have you read only part of an article and taken a quote out of context? Have you seen or heard others restate something out of context? Have you heard people do the same with Scripture?

Our stories are all about context. If I told you I average running an eleven minute pace for a three mile run, you might think I was rather slow, if you were a runner. However, when I tell you my age, it makes a big difference. We all know our mobility and athleticism is reduced as we grow older.

That is context, and context makes a big difference when we read Scripture. If we were to pull today’s verse out of Scripture and read it all by itself, we might think we could ask for anything and God would give it to us. But that is not the case. We must read what Jesus says before this verse and what He says afterward.

Before this verse, Jesus is talking about works. He says the works are done to glorify the Father. After this verse, He is talking about keeping His commandments. The verses before and after today’s verse puts parameters around Jesus’s statement. Those parameters include doing the works God has set aside for us to do and obeying his commandments.

Ultimately, this is about being in relationship with Jesus. Our relationship should be one in which we are so close to Him that we know what He wants. It is in this type of relationship that we ask Him anything, but that anything is in accordance with what He wants. In other words, we are asking Him to do what He has already planned.

I pray we all seek to understand the context of Scripture. I pray we seek a close relationship with Jesus. I pray each one of us will ask Him, with full confidence, to do anything that is in His will and use us to accomplish it. Understand context. Grow closer to Jesus. Ask in Jesus’ name. Ask according to His plan.

John 14:14: “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”