I can’t remain silent in the face of such utter rubbish. I apologise in advance if this blog offends any of my brothers and sisters in Christ – but I must address a very serious issue which has led so many people astray in the Church. So brace yourself.

Actually, I withdraw that apology – I should never be sorry for speaking truth in the face of error and if you are offended, then maybe you will have the courage to ask why you are offended by truth!

You know all about the Genie in a Bottle fantasy. It has been portrayed in television and film and comic books for generations. Someone finds and old jar and rubs it or just opens it and out comes a magical Genie who has been trapped in there for years. This grateful Genie now grants you three wishes (or more in some stories). So you get to ask the Genie for anything and he will grant your wish. Does that sound familiar? Isn’t that what Jesus promised?

John 14:14  “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Now as I observe the behaviour and prayers of so many Christians today, you would swear that Jesus said, “Ask me for anything … and I will do it.”  That’s what a Genie says, but that is not what Jesus said. When we ignore those three words, “in my name,” we turn a truth into the most dangerous false teaching gripping the Church today. What does “in my name” mean and why does it change everything about this promise from Jesus? It simply means that we ask Him for what is consistent with His will and purpose for us and for the Church. The previous verse explains this clearly.

John 14:13  “… I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Asking God for a new car or a win in the lottery or most of the things we ask Him in prayer these days will not glorify God. Asking for what is already His will – that is what glorifies God. John made this even clearer in his first letter:

1 John 14-15  “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”

So that brings up the key issue which has attracted more false teaching in my lifetime than any other: knowing God’s will.  I hear it in people’s prayers and testimonies all the time. We seek the Lord’s will on so many things which, quite frankly, the Lord considers secondary and that’s why we don’t get answers from Him!  “Who will I marry? Where will I live? What job will I get? What Church should I connect to? What is the right decision on this issue or that issue…” and a thousand more things we want God to decide for us or give us – just like a Genie in a Bottle.

Thousands of books have been written about discerning God’s will. Most of them are a total waste of space. I can tell you right now, in one simple sentence, what God’s will is for you. It’s the same for me and for anyone who cares to ask. Paul told us in his second letter to the Church in Corinth:

2 Corinthians 3:18  “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

God’s will for you is that you be transformed into the image of Christ – day by day – decision by decision – prayer by prayer. So before you ask God for His guidance, His gifts, or those Genie wishes – simply ask yourself, “What will help, not hinder, me being transformed more into the image of Christ?”  So what does it mean to be transformed into the image of Christ? Simply put, it means allowing the character, presence, personality, priorities and mission of Christ to permeate all that we think, say, do and pray. It is not imitating Christ, as many suggest, it is far more than that. We are transformed into the image of Jesus when we allow Him to influence and impact every area of our lives. Or to say it a different way:

Matthew 6:33 “… seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

So let me re-write John’s verse in context with the above two verses:

John 14:14  “If you are seeking first My kingdom and My righteousness; if you are daily submitting to the Holy Spirit transforming you into My image … then You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Now let me give you a promise … a bold promise at that.  If you understand, accept and change your approach to God based on what I have shared in this Blog, two things will happen in your life – guaranteed.

Firstly, there will be a myriad of things you used to ask God for or about which you won’t bother Him with anymore – because you now know that they have little or nothing to do with His revealed will for you and for us all.

The second thing that will happen is that those prayers you do pray now, which are consistent with God’s will and flow from you seeking Christ’s kingdom and righteousness, will be answered in ways you never dreamed possible!

So please, I beg you, stop asking God to solve your problems at work; stop asking God to change your wife or husband or children; stop asking God for things which have no place in the kingdom of God; stopping asking God’s guidance about things you should work out for yourself as you grow in wisdom and maturity in Christ; and most importantly, stop asking God to do what He has clearly called you to do!