The promise that Jesus gave to do anything that we ask in His name is not just given in John 14. It is repeated a number of times in the New Testament in different ways and with different emphases. This passage in John 14 uses the qualifier, "in His name." I used to believe that the phrase meant He only had to answer prayers for things that were important to Him, not things that were only important to us. We were acting as His ambassadors, conducting His business, in His name. If He didn't answer them, then it wasn't His will, which can only be about important things to Him. So it was a business relationship. It was more spiritual to submit all things to His will. But, I was wrong. I am not dismissing the idea that we are His ambassadors or that we should submit our will to His will. What I was wrong about was the idea that God and I were in essentially a business relationship, and that God wasn't really all that interested in my petty affairs. It is not more spiritual to be stoic. It is not more godly to live with things that God wants to free you from. It is not more Christian to be always in control and never needing help.
"It's just business."
The best way I can explain the meaning of "in My name" is to substitute "as if you were Me." The Bible says that, if I am a child of God, "[my] life is hid with Christ." When God looks at me, He sees Jesus. So what I am asking is what Jesus is asking! How is that possible? It is possible because when you became a child of God, "you" died, the Holy Spirit entered your life, and you were raised to life "in Christ." This is not just a theological truth; IT IS AN ACTUAL TRUTH. This is what happened to you when you believed. (If you have not yet believed, take a look at the previous post, where we discussed belief in a little more detail, and think about the possibility that there may be a divine reason why you are reading this.) I put the emphasis on "you" because the old "you" is dead, and the new "you" is now alive. You may feel in your self-condemning heart that you don't belong in the "righteous" category, and that your contaminated self is the real you. But that is a lie. And if your enemy can get you to believe that lie then you won't know freedom.
The promise of Jesus to do what you ask is contained in His talk with His disciples at the "last supper." They get up and start walking to the garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus elaborates on the promise: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." The illustration He uses is that of Him as a grapevine and us as the branches flowing from the vine. So the concept of "abiding" is a little mysterious, but it has something to do with this idea of the unity of the vine and branches and the life that flows through it that results in big plump grapes! The reality of the promise is dependent on whether or not you are abiding in Christ. Not that any words of Jesus are not important, but these are, perhaps, the most intimate and heartfelt words He will speak to His disciples, because He is walking to the place where He knows He will be arrested and sentenced to the cross. Therefore, we should really try to figure out what He means. "Abide" is also translated "dwell," or "remain," or even "make yourself at home." It is literally camping out. Did you ever camp out with your best friend? Together in a secluded place for the purpose of . . . hanging out. The first time I understood this passage, I reasoned that, if I read the Bible and prayed, that I would be on the path to abiding in Christ. And that was right, as far as it goes. But my prayers became formulaic, and my efforts to improve them just resulted in making them longer. Would you talk to your friends the way you pray? The same was true for reading the Bible. I read it to master the information and to accomplish the feat of reading it all the way through, kind of like beating a video game. I am all for mastering the information. I think it is a good idea. But, we are trying to grasp the supernatural, here! You are having an actual conversation with God. Once I realized that God was actually listening, and that He was actually speaking to me, my outlook changed. I started to see, not randomness and futility in my circumstances, but God at work in my circumstances.
Someone has described abiding as being connected to the heart of God. Music helps me do this in a way that nothing else does. I would love to figure out why, but it is enough to know that it does. From there it is not too far a stretch to understand that the things we desire start to connect with God's desires for us.